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Free First Friday Concert Feat. Hazy Ray & Daniel Gonzales Band
July 4, 2014 @ 8:00 pm - 11:55 pm
HAZY RAY
The story of Hazy Ray started with the half jazz-half soul, alternative compositions of singer/songwriter Joshua Ray. Adding trombone phenom, Mike Hayes, to the mix not only yielded a name for the project, but also injected a strong blues element that was previously a rare occurrence in Ray’s music. The blues was a surprise to Ray much like Mike’s energetic and addictive stage presence. In April of 2011, Hayes and Ray were joined by adding “Flecktone”-inspired double-bassist, Mitch Curtis. This influence is undoubtedly the source of the unison line transitions and runs found in the band’s new tunes “Stay and Fight” and “My Song”. After adding Curtis, Hazy Ray began a rampage of 30 live performances in 40 days, which started in New Orleans, Louisiana and concluded by recording their first album, “Deep and Shallow”, at Wire Roads Studios in Houston, Texas. During that process, guitarist Ryan Noormohamed came in to the mix; laying down shredding solos on “Deep and Shallow” and “Rainy Day”. “It is rare that you meet a musician who wants to be part of a group project AND has no limits.” said Josh Ray of Ryan. At the conclusion of the recording process, drummer Saint John Wesley took a leave of absence and Houston native Willie McCullen would take his place. McCullen brings the perfect percussive match to Ray’s writing style with a seemingly unlimited bag of chops that will turn any drummer’s head. At the end of 2011, the band relocated to New Orleans and with them took Willie McCullen. Hazy Ray has begun its viral spread through Louisiana by landing on bills with singer/song-writer John Lefler of Dashboard Confessional, Everclear, and Grammy award winning Rapper/Actor Ludacris. After releasing “Deep and Shallow” in the spring of 2012, Hazy Ray continued to play regular live shows in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Houston, and College Station. The 2012 summer revealed a need for expansion of the group’s operation, Alabama and Tennessee answered that call. Hazy Ray has now added Nashville to its list of regular cities and with two tours in line for 2013, Hazy Ray is excited to get out and play music to the masses.
Hazy Ray on Facebook | Hazy Ray on Twitter | Official Website
DANIEL GONZALES
Daniel Gonzales is a singer/songwriter out of Dallas, TX currently living in College Station performing with his full band this night.