Throughout the years I have had the priveledge of singing with different bands and individuals throughout the world. As a missionary the music was always about the message that the people needed to hear, not what people necessarily wanted. Some of the dear band members are no longer alive today and others are still in far-away countries throughout the world.

 

I count it a priveledge and honor to present these songs as a tribute to the many personal friends- fellow missionaries, some of whom have paid the ultimate price of serving in the Kingdom. I know that my poor portrayal and presentation of the music could never fully do justice to either the music or the message or the messenger. Those that I have played with I truely miss.

 

I want to put these songs down and into the hands of others before they are lost and gone and forgotten. I hope that in hearing these songs, something in your life is better because of it.

Witnessing music

As noted on the home page, Ray's Music is more of a new concept of presenting Christian music than an actual place. The songs of Ray's Music should be sung to the unchurched, unspiritual and broken people today. The songs address the problems, hurts, heartaches and emptiness found in unchurched young people, the dropouts of society or the lonely business man miles from home. The songs point out the shallowness of the world and the emptiness of an unfulfilled life and the hollow "freedoms" of making personal choices that round out to a 'do your own thing' lifestyle. They also speak about the frustrations of trying to get along in a loveless society that is based on selfishness, greed, and pride, subjects that are not popular to sing about, then gives the 'this is what happened to me' solution.

But it is not enough to sing about the problems of life; songs have to tell about the solution! And to do that they have to HAVE the solution. A lot of musicians can point to things around them and say for certainty "that's not where it's at", but not many can point with any certainty to where it IS at!

Today's poverty is not limited to money, and you do not have to be poor to realize that you are an outcast from society or a misfit in this world! If you feel you do not quite "fit", cheer up! God has a special place for you and we all have something to sing about. All you have to do is open the door!

 

The songs of Ray's Music have been sung in coffee shops, pubs and park benches, shopping malls, stadiums and mission outreaches to the un-churched, unspiritual and broken people today. For more information contact: rdm@arconlab.com

 

It has been the goal of Ray's Music to present the general idea of how the song fits together and could be done. Because the songs are meant to be shared via other performers they are kept simple, usually limited to 4 or 5 instruments (Drums, Guitar 1, Lead Guitar, Vocal, Keyboards and Bass tracks) so that the songs can sound the same live. If musicians want to perform the songs, they can be arranged and ramped up or entirely stripped and scaled down to a single guitar if necessary. If studio musicians want to re-arrange the song, it can be taken out of the rough and polished to perfection as they see it.

The music is done "live" without loops, synths, sequencing or extensive multiple takes or extensive MIDI orchestration. By presenting the music in this way, re-performance of the songs can be recreated using live performances on stage and the songs can then be scaled up with more instrumentation or down with less as needed by whoever.... I've sung them several different ways throughout the years, depending on my audience, which includes park benches, .

These songs are not only Church Songs, but also suited to public performances. The songs have been sung around the world publicly (and personally) over the years and have had great response, resulting in personal life stories of how the music changed them! These songs are meant to be shared and performed!!