Saturday, August 28 at 6:00pm
$5 General Admission Cover
There is a sound and feel to tradition that you can't invent on the spot. One has to learn it. One has to inherit it. Solid Ray Woods has inherited and learned the sounds of the past in order to take the tradition of soul and rhythm into the future of a new American music. One listen to his voice and the steady and solid pace of his drumming, and it's easy to realize this new artist has the history of rhythm and blues, gospel, and soul on his sleeve, and is able to create a new direction for singer songwriters who sit behind the drum kit rather than the guitar.
While growing up he listened to the music of James Cleveland, Andre Crouch, the Staples Singers, and other gospel groups were always playing in the house.
Ray began his steady presence in the Joshua Tree music scene and played with as many troubadours as he could. He made a name for himself as a drummer who would show up at a open mic or sit in on a gig with someone he had never met before and make the music sound rehearsed. While sitting in at the Beatnik Cafe in downtown Joshua Tree, he was approached by Victoria Williams and Mark Olson (a founding member of the Jayhawks). They added him to their band The Creekdippers and gave him his first break, with a tour of the States. That first tour led to many more around the States and Europe, and recording sessions for Creekdipper records and a subsequent Jayhawk's tour as well.
Years of songwriter association paid off as Ray began to debut his original compositions along side traditional soul and folk tunes while drumming and singing in the house band. It wasn't long before he gathered his own band and sound using accomplished local musicians, which enabled him to start playing packed shows at Pappy's.
Solid Ray Woods released an EP of originals, which feature the vocal sound that has endeared him to many music fans.