BRYAN RAY NEWS

Dear friends everywhere, Well, that was a freakin' blast!! 2 rehearsals for a tour in 3 countries, 4 cities, 5 shows with 6 musicians (sometimes 7) in 11 days! We started off in Panama with 2 rehearsals, a guitar clinic outreach for kids and parents and our first show. Backing me up on tour was Nube 9, a great band from Buenos Aires, who I sat in with last May, while on break from touring in S. America. At first it was a little rough, with lots of work to do to put the show together but with dedication and hard work from all involved, we had a great show, notwithstanding the noisy amps and a few surprises on opening night. The opening show in Panama The Nubes did a fiery opening show, then announced me and together we ripped into a set of material from my 2 solo albums, Mondo Magneto and This Way Up. I also did a cover of Smokey Robinson's "The Tears of a Clown" and Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" (written for my sister, Jean Ray). I'll attach a picture of my setlist for you to check out! Nube 9 did a great job preparing on their own before joining me in Panama and really delivered when the lights went down! On to Buenos Aires... The next day we flew into Buenos Aires for 3 nights in a row. The first, at The Cavern Club had sold out in 23 minutes and was a real rush. The audience sang along to almost every song of mine, and I was blown away! Still having a noisy amp and trying not to show it became a theme by this time, hahaha! ACTING! The crowd was lovely, so many kind people who have supported my solo stuff for the last years from so far away. On to Tigre... Next was Tigre, a sweet city about 45 minutes away from town in a newly renovated Theater Pacheco. We had a press conference there with the Minister of Culture for the theater opening. He gave me a cool book and wooden boat model too. Good guy! The sound and lights were very good, state of the art. Next night was the Roxy Disco back in Buenos Aires, a standing room rock club. By the time I played my set at 1:00 am the place was stuffed and again, I was thrilled - grinning ear to ear - because you freakin' cool rockers knew my songs, at times better than I did! On to Sao Paulo... oh wait... Ok, so now.. ahhh, day off, the first real day off after 6 long hot late nights straight, before our flights to Sao Paulo, right? Nice.. but then I get an email from my buddy and tour manager, Martin that says, "All airports are closed and flights cancelled due to a Volcano ash cloud blowing over Buenos Aires..." NOOOOO!! I spent the day trying to find a way out to play our last show, in Brazil! So much planning, all for naught? Awww, no! Well, as luck on our Tourette del Sol would have it, the wind carried the ash cloud over some other city so we could continue our gypsy wagon rock show in Sao Paulo. Flights left on time. "HEY!" The last show brought a terrific, big crowd.. Can you imagine my surprise when they all raised signs with "HEY!" on them for my song, "Hey Miranda" and again for "This Way Up". Everyone at Na Mata Cafe was wonderful to work with.. Again, great sound and lights.. Killer local crew and impressive fans too. I'm blown away by the energy of the great fans in Central and South America who discovered my solo material through my tours there with Paul, my videos, my site. They now make up a huge part of the cool fans and feedback on my site. I'm a lucky sap to have met so many of you on this, my first EVER solo tour. Big Thanks to Nube 9 BIG thanks to Nube 9 for the musicianship, support and laughs, Martin Urionaguena for the planning and hard work, Cliff (at Na Mata), Priscilla Ann Fauza, Sara Bassan, Joy Yoros, David M. Benaim and Turko for all of your love and support. Mostly, huge thanks to the fans whose love for real, live music transcends the miles and language differences between us, to find a way to join me and sing along to my songs with the energy of the Volcanos. I do it all for people like you. Live DVD coming soon! Stay tuned for a live DVD with highlights of my Tourette del Sol, coming soon! I hope to take my show to a town near you all in the future, the world is waiting and I can't wait to meet more of you. Until then, take care of each other and rock onwards! With love, Brian Ray