Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bill Ray Drums

Bill Ray: “The main goal is to get people hooked on my feel.... Then they may be compelled to call me.”
Bill Ray: “The main goal is to get people hooked on my feel.... Then they may be compelled to call me.”

Drummer Bill Ray has played with dozens of local groups (Tubby, Playground Slap, the Wild Truth), though he’s probably best known from Ike Turner’s band, having appeared on the late rocker’s Grammy-winning 2006 album Risin’ with the Blues.

Ray posts solo drum tracks at BillRayDrums.com, inviting others to download and create their own songs around his beats.

“Neil MacPherson has been creating melodies and lines to some tracks,” says Ray. “Smooth-jazz guy Bill Cornish turned in a tune, and Dog Plays Bass from Craigslist sent one along. A guy in Austria sent back a death-metal version to one of my tracks. I’m waiting for the gangsta rappers to start sending me squished, remixed, and tripped-out versions.”

He gives away the drum tracks for free. “There’s no way anyone can keep a lid on digital media anymore. You might as well go in prepared to give it away and hope that somehow good things come around.”

As to his motivation, Ray says, “I’m an artist, and these are my paintings. Use them as you see fit. I draw lines around musical shapes and expect others to color in the parts. Ultimately, they are there for collaborating, songwriting tools, looping, and remixing. The main goal is to get people hooked on my feel during songwriting sessions. Then they may be compelled to call me for their studio work.”

Earlier this year, Ray left for Paris, France, to promote his sponsorship for Supernatural Cymbals, which manufactures handcrafted Turkish cymbals out of Istanbul. From there, he toured Holland in March with soul trumpet player Ernest Lane. He’ll spend July touring with local Sublime tribute band 40 Oz. to Freedom.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

Sponsored
Sponsored

1) Chris Carpenter, Knock Knock. “I’m learning his catalog and will end up playing some dates with him.”

2) Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Of Natural History. “Because it’s brilliant music.”

3) Mike James, Cinematic. “From Idaho. He writes amazing stuff.”

4) Mr. Bungle, California. “I’ve been on a real Mike Patton kick lately.”

EVER BEEN INJURED ONSTAGE?

“At Viejas, in the Dreamcatcher Showroom, I stepped down through one of those little cable holes that open up to underneath the stage, and the little door flap zipped open my right shin. Paramedics came and bandaged me up, and I managed to play all night on my sliced-up leg. After the gig, I stopped at the ER in El Cajon and got eight stitches.”

BEST DAY OF THE WEEK?

“I like Mondays, because I’ve engineered my life to make Monday my day off.”

IF YOU COULD TIME TRAVEL, WHEN/WHERE WOULD YOU VACATION?

“I’d go back to the Renaissance and tell some futuristic secrets, and — just as they were burning me at the stake for heresy — I’d be, like, ‘poof’ and be gone. The legend would live on for centuries!”

FAVORITE CONCERT?

“Dr. John, at Montreux Jazz Fest in 2002. We were on the road with Ike Turner and had the night off. We rolled up into Stravinsky Hall and ended up at the side of the stage, about ten feet from the man himself.”

BIGGEST LIE YOU’VE EVER TOLD?

“I had a pseudonym in my formative years in Mississippi. I suppose it had something to do with wanting to escape from the doldrums that was Jackson in the late 1980s.”

FIRST TIME DRUNK?

“I was 15 years old in Jackson, Mississippi, with a bottle of Cuervo, in a darkened closet between two speakers, while Metallica’s Ride the Lightning was piped into my head at about 110 db. I almost joined the 27 Club [musicians who died at age 27], as my sister and her friends found me retching my lunch. Because I slept on a bare waterbed mattress for the remainder of the drunk, which was like sleeping on an iceberg, the hangover wasn’t too bad the next day.”

ANY FEARS OR PHOBIAS?

“I cannot stand cotton balls! They make my skin crawl. When I open the top of a bottle of aspirin, I have to pull out my Leatherman tool and deftly extract that white glob of fibrous voodoo and get it away from me, before the gooseflesh hits.”

THREE THINGS WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

1) “I was raised on gospel music by a black Creole woman in Mississippi.”

2) “I once wanted to be a heavy-equipment operator.”

3) “I’ve managed to find an outlet for both my ADD and OCD, without the assistance of pharmaceuticals.” ■

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad
Next Article

Mid-range fleet scoring bluefin limits off Ensenada

Rockfish to open at all depths April 1st (no foolin’)
Bill Ray: “The main goal is to get people hooked on my feel.... Then they may be compelled to call me.”
Bill Ray: “The main goal is to get people hooked on my feel.... Then they may be compelled to call me.”

Drummer Bill Ray has played with dozens of local groups (Tubby, Playground Slap, the Wild Truth), though he’s probably best known from Ike Turner’s band, having appeared on the late rocker’s Grammy-winning 2006 album Risin’ with the Blues.

Ray posts solo drum tracks at BillRayDrums.com, inviting others to download and create their own songs around his beats.

“Neil MacPherson has been creating melodies and lines to some tracks,” says Ray. “Smooth-jazz guy Bill Cornish turned in a tune, and Dog Plays Bass from Craigslist sent one along. A guy in Austria sent back a death-metal version to one of my tracks. I’m waiting for the gangsta rappers to start sending me squished, remixed, and tripped-out versions.”

He gives away the drum tracks for free. “There’s no way anyone can keep a lid on digital media anymore. You might as well go in prepared to give it away and hope that somehow good things come around.”

As to his motivation, Ray says, “I’m an artist, and these are my paintings. Use them as you see fit. I draw lines around musical shapes and expect others to color in the parts. Ultimately, they are there for collaborating, songwriting tools, looping, and remixing. The main goal is to get people hooked on my feel during songwriting sessions. Then they may be compelled to call me for their studio work.”

Earlier this year, Ray left for Paris, France, to promote his sponsorship for Supernatural Cymbals, which manufactures handcrafted Turkish cymbals out of Istanbul. From there, he toured Holland in March with soul trumpet player Ernest Lane. He’ll spend July touring with local Sublime tribute band 40 Oz. to Freedom.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

Sponsored
Sponsored

1) Chris Carpenter, Knock Knock. “I’m learning his catalog and will end up playing some dates with him.”

2) Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Of Natural History. “Because it’s brilliant music.”

3) Mike James, Cinematic. “From Idaho. He writes amazing stuff.”

4) Mr. Bungle, California. “I’ve been on a real Mike Patton kick lately.”

EVER BEEN INJURED ONSTAGE?

“At Viejas, in the Dreamcatcher Showroom, I stepped down through one of those little cable holes that open up to underneath the stage, and the little door flap zipped open my right shin. Paramedics came and bandaged me up, and I managed to play all night on my sliced-up leg. After the gig, I stopped at the ER in El Cajon and got eight stitches.”

BEST DAY OF THE WEEK?

“I like Mondays, because I’ve engineered my life to make Monday my day off.”

IF YOU COULD TIME TRAVEL, WHEN/WHERE WOULD YOU VACATION?

“I’d go back to the Renaissance and tell some futuristic secrets, and — just as they were burning me at the stake for heresy — I’d be, like, ‘poof’ and be gone. The legend would live on for centuries!”

FAVORITE CONCERT?

“Dr. John, at Montreux Jazz Fest in 2002. We were on the road with Ike Turner and had the night off. We rolled up into Stravinsky Hall and ended up at the side of the stage, about ten feet from the man himself.”

BIGGEST LIE YOU’VE EVER TOLD?

“I had a pseudonym in my formative years in Mississippi. I suppose it had something to do with wanting to escape from the doldrums that was Jackson in the late 1980s.”

FIRST TIME DRUNK?

“I was 15 years old in Jackson, Mississippi, with a bottle of Cuervo, in a darkened closet between two speakers, while Metallica’s Ride the Lightning was piped into my head at about 110 db. I almost joined the 27 Club [musicians who died at age 27], as my sister and her friends found me retching my lunch. Because I slept on a bare waterbed mattress for the remainder of the drunk, which was like sleeping on an iceberg, the hangover wasn’t too bad the next day.”

ANY FEARS OR PHOBIAS?

“I cannot stand cotton balls! They make my skin crawl. When I open the top of a bottle of aspirin, I have to pull out my Leatherman tool and deftly extract that white glob of fibrous voodoo and get it away from me, before the gooseflesh hits.”

THREE THINGS WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

1) “I was raised on gospel music by a black Creole woman in Mississippi.”

2) “I once wanted to be a heavy-equipment operator.”

3) “I’ve managed to find an outlet for both my ADD and OCD, without the assistance of pharmaceuticals.” ■

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad
Next Article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.