BillRayDrums profile picture

BillRayDrums

Hey, I won a Grammy award!!

About Me


It's Finally Here!!....Buy Cirque du Soul "Protificus Polificus" from www.buymusicdirect.com
Only $15.00!! Own a piece of freakin' modern art for a fraction of the cost of a Van Gough!



Past Featured Tunes:
Ernest Lane- "Don't Mess With My Woman"
Jamie Varley- "Slow"
Ryan Montana- "Use Me"
"Steel Guitar Rag" Ike Turner, Vienne, France 2004
Cirque du Soul- Excerpt from "Western Time Zones" called "Coop's Parrrr-tay!"
Cirque du Soul- "Blues for Xairan" A tune for my son, Xairan
Jamie Varley- "Runaways"
State of Mind- "Sing to Me"
Tubby-"G-Jam"
Ike Turner- "Rockin' Blues"
Tubby- Penny Says
Tubby- Mary Jane
Cirque du Soul- Protificus Prolificicus 4th Movement- "Western Time Zones"
Grant Clarkson- "Be 'Bout Yo' Biz"

"Success comes in cans; Failure comes in cannots"

I am a musician living in North County San Diego, California, USA, Planet Earth.

For specifics, I'm a drummer/collaborator. This is my job and while it can be the most stressful career on the planet, to me it's the most rewarding. It all started when I got this crazy notion at about 4 years of age that I would someday become a well-travelled and recorded musician. So here I am, 33 years later (never older), doing what I set out to do.

I was born and bred (not born INBRED, lol) in Jackson, Miss. and seem to have kept some of my southern groove, even while living on the West Coast for the past 17 years. So far so good!
My Dad is also a drummer (though you'll never extract that information from him.....not even with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers!) and I "found" his drumset when I was about 15 mos. old. My mom was a classically trained pianist and artist and is into the art world now. Grandparents, all musically inclined.....However I'm the "Black Sheep" that decided to do it as a main life-focus. The old geezer still lives back in Flowood, Miss. and I always love it when I can get back to visit.

Currently I'm freelancing as a drummer-for hire here in Southern California. I specialize in all things rhythmic and can play whatever it is that you need. My main focus in life now is being a good, no, GREAT father to my child. If you need a drummer for a session or gig, hit me up! I need the work! Kid's not gettin' any smaller (neither is his appetite)!

Nonetheless, and not lesser by any means are my other gigs- The Wild Truth which is a GREAT rock band comprised of San Diego's greatest names in talent, I'm Staff drummer for SOTA Music , and I sometimes sit in with Bill Magee Blues Band . I am not a "hired gun" but rather a "great juggler". Although if you offer me some coin for a gig on an off-night.....well...I probably wouldn't turn you down! :) I've worked really hard to steer my career in this direction and things are starting to finally pay off, little by little. Check my "official" website for more details on who I am/what I do. www.billraydrums.com

I've been fortunate to have played on about 50+ albums, worked with countless bands of varying styles, and am like anyone else just tryin' to make it in the jungle. So don't expect any of that pretentious rock-star crap outta me. And If I do act like that, just slap me silly. ;)

My Interests

I do websites on the side when $$ gets tight from the drumming (or perodical lack thereof) I like to fix things....computers mainly!! SO if you get in a jam hit me up and I'll straighten you out if I can......

I'd like to meet:

Cool people. Creatives. Strangers are friends I don't yet have.

Music:

Anything played in an honest manner is what I like, be it a guy blowin' on a jug or a full band. If you and I play together, I just ask that you keep your ears open; some musicians have a tendency to "introvert" into themselves when they play. Just listen and play outside yourself. It's safe out here, I promise!!

Movies:

Kill Bill. Definitely. Also "Walk the Line". GREAT film!! Anything Quentin Tarantino does. He's brilliant! I just watched a movie called "One-Eyed King" that was just amazing,

Television:

If I must, then it's the Science Channel or any Discovery-type programs.

Books:

"The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman, "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Persig, Any James Michener, "Fear of Flying" by Erica Jong, I'll think of others when I get more time......

Heroes:

Any good parent. That's who I look up to. Anyone who tries to make a difference.

My Blog

How I've infected MySpace

So more and more I see artists with whom I've recorded popping up on the MySpace. Here's a small list that I've compiled, and their profiles (at the time of this writing) contain tracks that I've play...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:06:00 PST

Gregg Allman!!!

Played a show last night with the Bill Magee Blues Band opening for Gregg Allman at Humphrey's by the Bay in San Diego!!And yeah, I got pix w/ Gregg and I.
Posted by BillRayDrums on Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:23:00 PST

Sha-Sha-Shiela Sonnnnnnndergard.......

Today we went in and cut the first 5 tracks for Sheila Sondergard's new album. I was hopin' to get 3 down but we got 5 (yay) and I am really psyched!! It's gonna be a GREAT album. The players on the g...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Sun, 03 Jun 2007 07:36:00 PST

Grammy Awards and stuff.....

So today I'm in a shitty mood. This past week has been full of "ups" and finally it's all kind of winding down. For starters, this past Sunday I find out that the Ike Turner album I played 8 tracks on...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Sat, 17 Feb 2007 01:53:00 PST

Colorado, end of week 1

SO tonight we end the first week of gigs on the Tubby "Go for Broke" tour(as it is so aptly named...we're gone, and we're broke.)To recap, we started in Tempe, AZ at the Loft then on to Pagosa Springs...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:26:00 PST

Tempe to Pagosa Springs......

The Tempe to Pagosa run- we got started this AM at around 9:30. Finally, an uneventful drive! Everything all fixed up and the van runs way better. Better or not, it WORKS. We had to hit Pagosa Springs...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Fri, 25 Aug 2006 01:41:00 PST

The long road to Tempe......

So....this AM we departed on the Tubby Colorado run. We have a myriad of dates you can check Tubby's MySpace page (www.myspace.com/tubbyfunk) to see our dates......Anyhow we set out today around 11:30...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:49:00 PST

The Tubbyfan's Guide To Navigating StarTomorrow's Page

The Tubbyfan's guide to navigating the Star Tomorrow page Important links: Star Tomorrow (main Page) Tubby's Fan Page on Star Tomorrow (Our not-yet-updated Star Tomorrow page) Video of "Let'...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Tue, 08 Aug 2006 02:38:00 PST

Montgomery, Alabama

So here I am on the road again......THis time I am in Montgomery, Alabama to play a gig with an old friend of mine, Quintin Gerard W.. Quintin and I played in a band called Under The Lake some 10 year...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Fri, 28 Apr 2006 11:13:00 PST

More road madness....

Tales from the road, pt.2If you've been following along, we had a few problems in the beginning of the trip with fuel and tires. The latter part of the trip hasn't been any easier, but more on that la...
Posted by BillRayDrums on Tue, 21 Mar 2006 10:58:00 PST