Welcome to our online BACKSTAGE PASS!
Here we will try to give you a gig by gig update on the fun & happenings that go on behind the scenesThanks and enjoy... Russ

03-25-07 Wow, we were blown away by all the love at the MDA Crawfish Boil at Warehouse live. We kicked things off just after 4P and were impressed at the number of people we had when the doors opened. Thanks to everyone that came out. We had a blast and could not have participated in a better event for an awesome cause. Hey if we are not asked to play, we will probably be there hanging out next year. Deanna Kaye and the folks behind this one, did a great job and our hats are off to ya....Well just a few days left until the Bandara blowout. Start packing today and we will see you in Bandara next Saturday night. Until then-see ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Oh I almost forgot, thanks to Diamond Dave McKenna for joining us on stage. We preciate ya!!!!!!!!!!!

03-18-07 Well, where do I start. Seems like we been on an out of control rollercoaster. The good news is, we finally got it stopped. We are making arrangements to get some new tunes wrote and cut. I am being conservative but I hope to be in the studio within the next six months. As you have come acustomed to, look for some really fun songs. Well I am going to keep it short for now. I will say that I ran across Roger Creager and the boys in Nashville a few weeks ago. Despite being sick, Roger did an excellant show. I will keep you updated with any new information. Before I go, I want to say that we love our fans and friends. It is so great to see you guys and gals singing along with beerholder and WTFE. Note: we have two myspace accounts. The Russellray Band is the official site. If you have the other one, check out the band site and join as our friends. See ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!

06-20-06 - Ok, long tim coming right!!! Well we just wrapped up a great trip to Anahuac, Texas playeing for the Biker Ralley of Texas. We had a great time and the crowd went crazy. I hope to have some photos to put up real soon showing how crazy it was at the end of the show. Those nice folks made us feel like family and we hope to be doing another show for them real soon. News*** As you can see from the home page, Big Daddy Chris English has left the band to pursue other projects. It is always hard to say goodbye but especially to someone who has been with me as long as Chris has. I mean from the start of this thing. We have had many good times and we will always enjoy the memories Chris leaves to us. Good luck brother you will be missed!!!!From that point we move on to who will be trying to fill those shoes. Our good friend Ralph Cadriel steps up to the plate and with two shows under his belt, I think we are in good hands. Join me in wishing Ralph the best and if you don't know him, come out next time and meet him. In the last couple of months since we have talked, Dwayne has married Leah and they are making their home in Katy. Best wishes to the newlyweds on a long and happy marriage. As for something new for me, I got a damn haircut(Boy was my mom and dad happy). It is taking me some getting used to but Angie and most everyone else has helped me through the trama(Thanks Mel). Ken and Chris seem to have been fairly good over the last couple of months and I have no good dirt to drop on them. We keep trying to make something happen, and who knows what lies ahead. Join us the next time out for some fun and new memories. Until next time---WTFE

04-10-06 - Well, as you can imagine, it's ben a pretty busy year so far... between Texas Music Awards, Acoustic Songwriter's Nights, we've had a great start to 2006. Thanks to our good friend JP at Trav's Roadhouse for our new website! Make sure you check out all the cool stuff he did on the new format (video downloads, new photos, new guestbook, new schedule format). We love the new look and hope you do too.

12-20-05 – Greetings to all! This is Dwayne with the report on our recent trip to Amarillo. But first, a belated announcement regarding our newest fan club member. Carlee Fay Milder, daughter of Dana (my sister) and Mike Milder, arrived on the morning of December 1, 2005. Mom and baby are healthy and Carlee is being spoiled by both Grandma Carolyns, Grandpa Louis, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends. Congratulations to Dana & Mike – we love you!

I spent the morning of Dec. 1st at the hospital waiting for Carlee to be born, and Russ picked me up that evening to get on the road. Chris E & Ken joined us at Chris D’s apartment and we were rolling by 8:30. Ken had brought his dual-screen DVD player so the Reynolds Cinema was open for business. With Russ driving and myself riding shotgun in the Sequoia, the other guys enjoyed a few movies (and cocktails). By the time we hit Austin, Ezra Brooks was well-represented in the back seats. Some memorable events that you’ll have to ask the guys about include Ken’s narration of the movies they watched, some song about crackers, Russ’s nerves of steel driving through deer country (that Toyota really handles well), and Chris D’s San Angelo Stroll when we stopped for fuel. I really can’t go into any more detail for fear of consequences and repercussions!

We arrived in Amarillo around 6:30 am Friday and were met at the local “Toot & Totem” by our gracious hosts Mike and Bridget Hare who led us to the house. We enjoyed a hot breakfast and a couple of cocktails before Russ retired to the Lizard Room and I to the living room couch for some much-needed rest around 8:00. Chris, Chris, & Ken, who had slept for about half of the 10 hour drive, found Mike’s music room and performed a Beatles Tribute Concert to lull us to sleep. After a late lunch and a few rounds with the air-soft gun, we hit the music store to pick up the bass rig and went on to Hoot’s to set up and sound check. We left the club around 5:30 after having a couple of drinks with Joe, the owner of Hoot’s. Russ took us to the World Famous Golden Light Saloon on old Route 66 where we had a beer and then rolled back to the house for some brisket with all the fixins. Thanks Bridget!

When we got back to Hoot’s that night, the Agave Possee was our opening act. During their set, who should roll into the parking lot but the Jagermeister bus! The Jager gang was handing out promotional items and the Jager was flowing. They were scheduled to leave before our show so we spun our CD of the Jager song for them. We took some pictures with the bus and bid our new friends farewell before going back inside for our show. Amid the trays of Jager being passed around, I remember a few things. One big ol’ boy knocked over a table (including at least a bucket of beer) which spilt all over our friend Steve Lamb and his wife. Sorry, Steve! Club owner Joe even joined us on-stage for our song “Jagermeister”, and Mike jammed with us all night on acoustic guitar and fiddle. All-in-all, a great night for our debut at Hoot’s. We made many new friends and Joe and his staff treated us like family.

Saturday morning (not too early) was Russ’s scheduled radio interview at The Kar 95.7 with DJ Brock. Mike and I accompanied Russ to the studio where we met Dustin Garrett, our Saturday night opening act, and his dad. Russ and Dustin discussed their histories in the music biz and performed a couple of songs. Thanks again to Brock and The Kar for putting us on the air and plugging the show. After the radio show, we went back to Mike’s, loaded up the rest of the gang, and drove out to Panhandle, TX for a visit and photo shoot with Steve Lamb at the Redneck Ranch. After a half an hour of visiting, Ken’s Shiner Bock, and Chris E’s taste of Steve’s homebrew, we went outside for some pictures with Steve’s Mustang (and matching drum kit). It was finally time to get back to Mike’s house for supper and to get ready for our show at Hoot’s.

We got to the club in time to catch Dustin Garrett’s sound check and were very impressed. This 17-year-old singer/guitarist is very talented and you need to see his show if he’s ever playing in your area. Russ has posted a link to Dustin’s website on the links page, so check it out. We enjoyed Dustin’s high-energy show and knew we would have to be on top of our game to out-do the opening act. Therefore, we consumed a bit less Jager than we had Friday night, and met the challenge with our own high-powered show. Another great night and a good time was had by all. We packed up the equipment and headed to the house to get some sleep so we could get on the road early Sunday. At the house we stayed up a bit later than we planned. Russ and Ken had a fried bologna sandwich & Chris E had a bean sandwich.

Of course we overslept and were rushing around at 9:30 am to get packed up. While loading the car, we had the most bizarre experience. A man was putting up flyers along the street to find the owner of an English bulldog that had wandered onto his property. The bulldog saw us across the street, came over to Mike’s yard, and climbed into the back seat of the Sequoia. He made himself right at home and wouldn’t get out. Ken reached in to pull him out and the dog tried to bite him. After a few minutes of trying to put a pillow over his face and grab him (without any luck), Russ opened the back hatch and picked up the nearest thing he could find (Ken’s guitar), and commenced pushing the dog off the seat from behind. This maneuver eventually proved successful as the dog was pushed out the door. It was a scene right out of Keystone Cops to get all of us into the vehicle without letting the bulldog back in! I was last and had to run a fake to lure the dog away far enough I could beat him back to the car. By 10:00 am we had stopped for coffee and cigarettes and headed down the road. The trip home was less eventful and good weather prevailed, until we got within 10 miles of Chris’s apartment. We caught up with the rain at Brookshire and then hit traffic due to a wreck on the overpass right before our exit to Katy. We got home around 9:00 pm and put another Russell Ray Roadtrip in the books. Check often for updates! - Dwayne

11-16-05 - Ok it has been way too long since I updated this journal but I will try to keep up with things better as we go into the Holidays this 2005 Season. This last weekend was just one of those great ones. I found out Tuesday Night 11-8 that I was going to Greensboro, North Carolina for a meeting with our Management Company. I was up at 3:30 A the next morning bound for Houston IAH Airport. Got there and got my usual security screening. I am not for sure it is because I have long hair but It never fails, my ticket gets the extra screening. Hey no problem, I know the drill and to tell you the truth, I am glad they are doing a great job. I get through and aboard the plane and off to NC. Once I arrived, I was picked up and we went straight to a meeting. Following the meeting, we went to Arizona Pete's a huge night club where our friend Chris Stacy and Rain were performing. After hanging for a while with the band, I hooked up with Tracy Thorton, do you realize who he is. Only the best Steel Pan Drummer in the World(what an honor to be in his company). Since I have some Family that are Texas Transplants to NC We made about an hour trip from Greensboro to Burlington and visited with my family. From there is was back to Greensboro for another meeting and finally a cold beer(just two Jager Bombs - Ken don't be sad because you were not there)!!!From there I was able to grab a few hours of sleep. The next morning Michael Giancana and I picked up Curry(now I apologize to Curry because I can not recall his last name but I will take care of that and list a link to him on our links page when I get the info) . Curry performed a quick show in the parking lot and I quickly learned not only was he a bad ass guitar player but quite the showman himself. Needless to say we got along just great. We went to the Raleigh Airport to pickup my good friend and Producer Doug Deforest. Doug was coming into town for some Production Planning on several future projects. After coming back from the Airport we stopped back off at the club were Chris and his band were blowing up balloons for the balloon drop. I explained to Chris that being from Texas, we had our own Balloon Crew and a Bus for them(cause not only would my guys not blow up balloons, I think they would all pass out after just 2 or 3). Oh well Chris was not buying that and we all got a good laugh. From there we grabbed some dinner and cleaned up before going out to the Rain show that night at Arizona Pete's. Ok now they asked me to get up and do a few song during the show. I had no problem with that. When we got the club there was about 150 people or so there. But they told me it was soon be full somewheres around 1700 people. Well Rain took that stage and kicked some Butt doing an all original showcase. After their break, they planned on doing about 5 songs or so and getting me up. Well I had Doug on bass, Tracy Thorton on Steel Pan, Joe Sink, on Drums, Curry on Guitar and Rain's Keyboard Player Jason Edelmann on Keys. When they called us out the place was packed. A sea of people from the front of the stage to the back of the club. It was awesome and when I did WTFE (using Greensboro and their college) they went nuts. It was one of the best moments I have experienced in music in a long time. We then did a little jam before turning the show back over to Rain. Thanks again to Chris, the musicians and everybody there for making us feel like family. Well we got out of the club that night around 3:00A and we to our girlfriend Dorothy's House for some breakfast. After eating and visiting there was no time for any sleep. My flight left the airport at 6A which is 5 Houston time and it was already after 4A. So I get safely to the airport at 4:30A. Thanks to Michael Giancana for a wonderful trip and I was great to finally meet everyone(Joan, the kids, Dorothy, Lloyd, Ann, Tracy's wife Lisa, and everyone else) Well I am now at the airport and you guessed it, get the extra screening at the airport. When I finally got on the plane, I warned those around me if I dozed and snored, just holler or hit me. I did doze a little but I just can't sleep on an airplane. Around 9A I arrived in Houston and get picked up by Crash(oh I mean Dwayne-just wait). Dwayne picked me up and said do you want to drive. I said no so while taking me home, he exits the beltway and runs into the back of a van(my new truck&*^^). Well no one was hurt and it was very minor damage to either car but Damn that boy needs to take a defensive driving course!!!!! Ok I get home a quick two hour nap and its off to a Friday Night job at the World Famous Lone Star Saloon in Richmond, Texas. I had never been it this room which is a small venue but let me just tell you, we had a blast. We had guest appearances by Steve Haygood of Badlandz, Maura an up and coming young female singer from Houston, and David and Kelly Hanshaw. Everyone did a great job and the night was so much fun. I have already been asked back and I will post the new date as soon as I get it. Luckily this was an early 8-12 job and we got out of there around 12:30. We stopped on the way home at Chelsea's and caught the end of the Stephen Traywick show. Only there a minute(really mom) and we got back on the road to the house. I could not wait to hit the bed. After a good nights rest, it was up and loaded for a Private Party for our friend Ray Modeland. Ray's wife was turning *& and he was having a surprise party for her at this Ranch in the Hockley/Waller area. All I can say about this one was that we showed up and the stage was in a cow pasture. Yes thanks Ray I have Cow crap all over my equipment and trailer. But let me just tell you, you would never have known it was a pasture when the sun went down. This was one of the best parties we have every done. Everyone treated us like family and like I said when the sun went down, everybody crammed in front of the stage and it was like one hell of a concert. Great Food and Great People made this one to remember. Yes there was Jager there and it was the biggest bottle of Jager I have seen. Sorry, it was empty before we left...Well my hands are cramping because I have not typed this much since I did a report at the old Sugar Land Police Department. Thanks for reading and we hope to see you this weekend at Chelsea's in Rosenberg.-----Russ

08-20-05 - Well this was a benefit for the It's the Pits Cookers at the American Legion Hall in Rosenberg. The money raised from this event goes to the Fort Bend County Fair Scholarship Program and a good time was had by all. They had some great fried fish and after the auction with did a concert. This one I can't even believe...My mom was boogie dancin......Yes it's true but you had to be there cause that one may never be repeated. Good friends, Good food, and Good music made this event a big success. Thank's to everyone that came out. The only downside to the night was that when Chris E. went to pick up Chris D. he could not get into the apartment gates. Despite good intentions by both the event turned sour and Chris E. busted off to the show and Chris D drove his own self. Don't worry after some tough love counseling everything is ok.......until next time..see ya

It's official: 8-17-05 Ken and Tammy Reynolds are happy to announce the arrival of Georgia Mary Diane Reynolds. Mom and baby are doing fine.

08-14-05 - Well it was roadtrip weekend. We started out in Austin on Friday Night at Taz Country. Ken Reynolds is still expecting and could not make the trip with us. So instead of hiring out a guitar player for the night, we sucked it up. Chris English played a little lead and did a find job. I played a little bass guitar(not so fine of job) and Dwayne as always filled all of the gaps with some double leads, fiddle, piano, bass, and you name it. Chris and Caleb made us look pretty and at the end of the night, the fans were screaming for more. We stayed at the Omni 6 Resort and made it back to Houston the next day in time for another show at Chelsea's. Ken was back and we had a blast. I guess that was about it. But being on the road is always a good time. If the rhythm section would quite whining about our snoring. Ha!!!!!!!!! Until next time, see ya!!!!

08-04-05 - Hey all, it's been too long. But good news. We have a new song out to radio this week. Who's with Me is the title and you can start calling the stations for us. We were at Hot Country 102.5 in Bay City, Texas on Thursday and had a wonderful time with Ms. Helen. Look for a show real soon in that area. I also listed on the front page several other places that are playing our music. Here is just a quick note to let everyone in on our latest happenings. Two weeks ago I was in a major accident and totaled out Big Russ Ray 1(our Ford Powerstroke Crewcab) That truck logged a lot of miles in Texas and beyond to get us to shows and radio stations. She will be missed!!!. Thankfully I was not injured and we have since replaced our truck. We have been writing songs for a new record and look to be in a studio sometime over the next month or two. Our Buddy Ken Reynolds and his wife Tammy are expecting a new baby just any minute. We will let you know as details become available. More to come later, I have got to clean the dishes before you know who gets home.....Thanks for your continued support......

Until next time...