Fan Photos

Barb Potter took these photos recently in Manchester and Liverpool. Thanks Barb for sharing them with the rest of us! Click on photos to view full size.

Brian Ray surprised by fans

Paul McCartney guitarist Brian Ray's fans not only remembered his birthday on Wednesday, but they did it in a special way.

As fan Julie Clark told us, " A group of us who call ourselves the Whooray Team teamed up recently to honor guitarist Brian Ray on his birthday by making a group-effort donation to MusiCares, an organization that Ray also supports." She said team members from four countries participated,  from the West Coast of California to coastal Virginia and many states in between.

Read more HERE

Very Happy Song, by Brian Ray

About This video
Here’s my music video for “Very Happy Song” from my second solo CD, “This Way Up”. This song was written in response to a dear friend asking for me to write a happy song.. I told her I don’t like happy art, that all good art comes from struggle, pain, alienation or heartache.

I thought about it and decided to write one anyway. In fact she inspired the tone of the whole album to be more positive in tempo and lyric and I’m grateful for that, but I couldn’t help but write a sardonic and sarcastic lyric for this one, given the times we are in today.

When the #occupy movement started out with less than 100 protesters in Zuccotti Park, it resonated for me as a musician who struggled to make a living for most of my adult life. I have been plugged in to politics since I was a kid and now realize I’m a total political geek!

On a recent trip to NYC, I grabbed a cab to see the burgeoning protest at Zuccotti for myself and sang along to my song while walking thru the occupy camp.

Brian French at Tempo Entertainment cut together the footage along with protest scenes from all over the USA.

IMHO, there is nothing wrong with success, wealth and capitalism, it is only the perversion of capitalism at the hands of our elected officials, with bank deregulation which has led to this fissure in the center of our country with huge income disparity. The less advantaged see their chances at the American dream dissolving in front of their eyes, while the rich have watched their incomes accelerate exponentially, with tax codes favoring only the richest. Our planet’s health has been imperiled by the reckless disregard for climate change, in favor of profit, with resulting extreme weather affecting us all now.

This video is a simple document of the times we live in, from my point of view..

These are the voices of the 99%.

It is not partisan, it is not an attack on our great country. It is a music video. My father fought in WWll to protect my right to say whatever I want about where I see our country today and I will never back down from my right to say what I feel.

Thanks for your support.. Stay tuned for more!
“Very Happy Song”
Written by Brian Ray and Oliver Leiber
The musicians are: Davey Faragher - bass, Pete Thomas - drums, Adam MacDougal - keys, Russ Irwin and Jason Paige - backing vocals, Brian Ray - lead vocals, guitars, shaker.
Recorded and Mixed by Joe Zook

All the best,
Brian Ray