*****Please be advised this interview contains discussion on suicide, depression, and COVID-19*****
*****If you feel you need help, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or reach the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.*****
When I first came across this artist, there was something about his story I was immediately drawn in. When we sat down to talk about his story, I was emotionally torn. I was elated from the good things we discussed, saddened by the struggles he went through, and all around amazed by the things he has done. This interview was probably the toughest one to write about because I wanted others to hear his story and I wanted to get it right. This is the interview with Awesome Ray Ray.
Awesome Ray Ray is from the Arlington VA area and unlike most of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival artists, he is a solo artist. “I’m a recording artist, drummer, producer”. And he covers a wide variety of genres from hip hop, rock, EDM, and more. “I’m from a very multi-cultural area. The DC/Maryland/Virginia area is full of every type of music and culture you can think of. And growing up in that, I’m going to naturally being a musician rock with different types of music. Different ranges. Awesome Ray Ray does slide around.” And it’s great to see an artist who is willing to take a chance experimenting with different genres of music. As he says, “Awesome Ray Ray has a little bit of everything.”
Before he made his way off as a solo artist, Awesome Ray Ray was the drummer for Year of the Locust. They played He made the decision to step aside as the band’s drummer and decided to chase his career as a solo artist. One of the current songs he released is “On the Run”. He laughed when I asked him to talk about it. “‘On the Run’ was written like a movie in my head….I was working a private security contract at an Amazon warehouse during a terrible thunderstorm. I sat in my truck and I had my laptop, messing around with some guitar riffs, I have a little MIDI keyboard, and I kind of spit out this story.” Besides the fun tale Awesome Ray Ray concocted, it was the vocals that absolutely immersed me into the song. This bassy, guttural, blues sound puts the finishing touches on the song. He continued, “I started almost screaming in this, gut-curdling blues voice and I said, ‘I never made that noise before. I like it!'”
He ended up sending the video to Brian Bonds, one of the founding members of the Florida Georgia Line, who helped him with the production of the guitar work on the song. Awesome Ray Ray then flew out to Los Angeles for a vacation and met someone from Studio City Sound where he ended up going out and recording the single. It’s a fabulous, fun single that I feel music listeners will enjoy.
And then there’s the other side of his music. The emotional, tackling serious issues side. When I watched the video for “Therapy” it hit me really hard. I don’t know if it was because I connected with it, or because I felt saddened from the pain and struggle Awesome Ray Ray went through, but it’s a song that needs to be heard. And even he said, “One day I was praying and crying to God and he said, ‘Put it out, somebody needs to hear it. It might help. It might help somebody.'” Ironically, he wrote the song a year before he started dealing with the struggles he dealt with during his “stormy season”.
During 2020 Awesome Ray Ray caught COVID-19. It was so bad he had to be hospitalized and fought the virus for over 22 days. “There were nights I didn’t think I was going to make it.” Fortunately, he recovered. A week after he received his first negative test, his father passed away from a heart attack at 55 years of age. “I didn’t know how to deal with that. You can’t prepare yourself for something like that.” 2020 was supposed to be the year he was to launch himself as a solo artist, and then the pandemic shut down concerts. Awesome Ray Ray felt the need to fill that gap with work and he worked a lot. “I picked up some really unheathy habits and I’m not talking about drug use or alcohol. I mean unhealthy habits towards myself. I started treating myself bad. I started knocking myself down. I got into this deep depression. It lasted all year up and until the beginning of this year.” Unfortunately, his struggles got even worse.
“I was in a relationship for several years and out of nowhere it evaporated. It ended. She left. And she also helped start up and build Awesome Ray Ray. And that spun me into a place that I never I thought I would be. I questioned everything in my entire life. I questioned who I was. I almost didn’t even know who I was. And it just took me into a dark place.” So dark that on February 23, 2021, Awesome Ray Ray chose to end his own life. All of the loved ones he lost in his life, his dislike of himself was all too much to bear. But, he said that God reached down to him and said, “I’m not done with you yet Raeshwan.” And that’s when he realized he needed help. Awesome Ray Ray started attending therapy sessions. He also took this song he wrote a year ago and brought it into the studio, tracked it, and released it.
Awesome Ray Ray plans to release another single right before his performance at Blue Ridge Rock Festival. He would like to release a full album possibly within the next year. Scotty Mack from Year of the Locust will be performing with Awesome Ray Ray. He may have a few performances prior to the show.
He is currently focusing on being healthy (physically and mentally), loves to bowl, shoot pool, and wants to get into axe throwing. What many people may not know is he is also a volunteer firefighter! He hasn’t had as much time to volunteer due to his music career. “That is definitely something I care about. I definitely like helping people.” Awesome Ray Ray has a background in law enforcement and security and as he was in the process of changing positions, one of his friends who was a firefighter recommended he come down to the station and take the test to be a volunteer firefighter. Originally, he wasn’t interested. And one day he decided to go down to the station and check it out. “I ran a couple of calls as a ride along. And I’m telling you the second I sat in that fire engine and we went on our first call, I was bit.” He applied, went to the academy, and got his certification. He loved it and said, “There’s something about helping people when they’re having the worst day of their life.”
One of the things I really enjoyed about speaking with Awesome Ray Ray was his genuineness. Like me, he’s a people person and loves interacting with fans, chatting with them, and spending time with them. “I love watching people go after their dreams…don’t give up on whatever it is you really want.”
Awesome Ray Ray will be performing at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival on Saturday, September 11th. Come check out his new music, come meet him when you see him around at the festival, and check out his set during the festival. I think people will absolutely enjoy it. You can check out the full interview below Awesome Ray Ray‘s social links.
Awesome Ray Ray
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