YOU CAN ORDER RAY'S CDS RIGHT HERE!
.. --> -->Goin' By Feel -->
.. --> -->Roll It Down -->
.. --> -->Rough Luck -->
.. --> -->Gust of Wind -->
.. --> -->On The Main -->
.. --> -->Solid Ground -->
Influences
Slim Harpo, Tony Joe White, Hank Williams Sr, Mississippi John Hurt, early Taj Mahal, Jimmy Reed, Roy Orbison, New Orleans, Flannery O'Connor
Note to Ray's friends and fans: Ray's MySpace is maintained by a friend, but Ray does check in from time to time.
Ray Bonneville calls himself a North American. Born in Canada, he moved
to the Boston area in his early teens where he started playing guitar
and harmonica. His last 30 some odd years have seen him seeking
adventure and playing music throughout the world. Being a dual citizen
allows him the freedom to live in both Canada and the United States.
Bonneville is a distinctive artist, a man who cooks up a deep groove
soup, stirring his own unique percussive electric guitar style, his
weathered voice, and soulful rack harmonica lines into songs that can
be believed. He uses his index finger and thumb, sometimes a slide, and
a Fender tube amp. He also brings his foot down on an amplified piece
of plywood on the floor. The result is a powerful and visceral sound,
with an almost primitive quality to it and a lot of forward momentum.
"When I first heard good blues and country music I was very young, but
I felt a deep excitement within, and I somehow knew right then what I'd
do with my life," says Bonneville, remembering his introduction to
roots music in Boston in the mid 1960s and early seventies. Over the
next decade, Bonneville honed his sound up in the Northeast, Colorado
and Alaska, and then moved around between Seattle, New Orleans, and
Paris, France in the 1980s.
"I remember playing in Memphis Slim's club in the heart of Paris in the
early eighties," says Bonneville. "I'd show up for the gig at four in
the morning after doing another show across town. The place would be
really jumping at that time of the night. "Slim was often there, as
were other jazz and blues players, and a whole slew of late night
characters from all kinds of places. After the show I'd take a taxi
back to my flat around eight in the morning in the full-on Paris rush
hour traffic".
In the streets and clubs of New Orleans, Bonneville soaked up the
prevalent back side of the beat attitude that ran through the music
being played there. "There were so many great drummers to learn groove
and time from, not to mention the piano and guitar players, and man,
the singers and horn players too! This was the place that influenced me
the most," he says. "It was infectious. In New Orleans, you learn that
solid rhythm is like a tightrope on which the notes and words can do
their dance."
Says Bonneville: "I'm deeply in love with playing live music. It's the
time and place where I really live, where I feel the most centered and
alive. When a show is over, I just want to get on down the road to the
next one, always
looking to get back onto another stage and do it again."
"I write the songs as they come to me, without predictability or in any
set way. They come from real life mostly, snapshots of emotions and
feelings lived and felt, and the recall of observations of things gone
by along the way. I'm forever looking to write another song, find
another groove."
Ray won a prestigious Juno Award, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy,
in 1999, for his third album, Gust of Wind. His next release, Rough
Luck, and his fifth album, Roll It Down, were also nominated for the
coveted award.
Ray is currently working on a new recording, slated for release to the
world on the Red House label in early 2007.
Thank you for being our friend. Mike Dollins & The Cruize Bros "Live" Hot Springs Blues Festival 2009 jamming Sissy Strut.
Guido Ciardetti – Born in Chicago, and was Buddy Miles Bass Player
Brad Messer – Born in Texas, and grew up with SRV
Mike Fraz – Born in New Orleans, playing same venues as Dr. John
Mike Dollins – From California & Arkansas Delta, played in the King Biscuit Blues Band, and with the great blues legends Big Daddy Rucker and Len Rainey on the west coast.
These veteran players love jammin’, and Sissy Strut is becoming a fan favorite on YouTube, AOL, MySpace and FaceBook. United as brothers in the roots of Blues, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel and American Rock.
Hi there, Ray Bonneville! We'd love to design a custom MySpace profile for you! We also offer full website design, flyer/poster design, and more. Check out our portfolio on our MySpace page.
You can also visit a few of our most recent MySpace Designs:
crone pride day at the carousel lounge saturday september five! lili and walter 6-6:45, regan brown 6:45-7:15, african drum group 7:15-7:45, mo mcmorrow 7:45-8:15, dana mcbride 8:15-9. avoid the ut football traffic and bring cash for the bar. 1110 e 52nd. st. 452-6790.
After hearing the single “Burn Down With Willie” off my upcoming debut EP “Don’t Be Mad Cuz I’m Late”, Daniel Barrett, Austin producer and guitarist/vocalist for the award-winning roots-rock band Porterdavis commented, “Monty and the band barrel through their AmericanaTexadeliccountrybakedroots blend with abandon and charm. This music is bound to please from El Paso to Tyler, in between and beyond. Pour yourself a Shiner, roll yer own, and be prepared to grin!” Would love for you to come on over and check out a few tracks for yourself. Thanks for your support and thanks for being friends.
SO sad that we missed you at the Station Inn last night! Linda and James said it was great. I was on the road back from Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR where our South East Regional Folk Alliance conference will be in October. Hope it's not too long before we get another opportunity to hear you live again.
