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 Back
in 1964, Ray was a young boy with a big secret to hide.
He really liked the Beatles music and was fascinated by their
strange accents and unique sound. In February he was watching
with the rest of his family when they hit the stage on Ed
Sullivan. He had seen the Saturday morning promos for the Sunday
night program. “I saw their picture and their hair and wondered
what all the fuss was about as my sister flew into the room just
to see the commercial.” In the months ahead he would curiously
sneak a peek at the many Beatle posters hung on the walls of his
sister’s bedroom and would eagerly listen to the Beatle music
coming from the radio in her room or from the big “Hi-Fi” in the
living room. He’ll never forget the Saturday that she got the
new 45 rpm single “Twist and Shout” and then proceeded to play
it over and over again until his mother put an end to the show.
“I stayed around the house just to hear
 her play that record
again and again. I loved that lead guitar riff and sound. The
problem was that it just wasn’t proper to like the Beatles if you were a boy. The goofy girls kind of ruined it for us with
all of the screaming and crying and all that other mushy stuff.
Not many young boys wanted to admit they were Beatles fans.”
Thankfully Ray’s cousin Johnny came out to visit for a few weeks
in the summer of 1964. “Johnny was a little older, very cool and
hip and he knew all the words to every song on the newly
released “A Hard Day’s Night” album. The very same record that I
used to sneak into my sister’s room and play
 when no one was
around. Johnny’s eyes lit up when he saw the album. He fired up
our Hi-Fi, popped on that record and actually sang along…I was
awestruck! Not only did he know all the words…he wasn’t
afraid to sing them…and he had already seen the movie!
As the first chord of “A Hard Day’s Night” rang out I
knew this was going to be good. If Johnny openly likes
The Beatles, then damn it, so can I.
I
didn’t actually use those words but I was free at last!”
“At Christmas 1964, I received my first transistor radio and toy
Emenee guitar. Christmas '65 brought me my first Beatles
 albums.
By the summer of 1966, I was the proud owner of my first guitar
and the lessons to go with it.” Four months later, Ray and his
instructor parted ways after the instructor showed no interest
in how the Beatles played the lead guitar riff in “Day Tripper.”
“She suggested that I stop wasting my time and focus my
attention on my lesson book. At the time “Day Tripper” was the
song that tripped my guitar trigger. I
wanted to play that riff.” And so it all began. A few months
later,
armed with his first $40.00 electric guitar he proceeded
to figure out how to play every Beatles song he had in his
record collection. He willingly acknowledges that he would be a
whole lot better guitarist if he would have continued those damn
lessons.
“Some of my best childhood memories are of me and my sister
Karla performing Beatles songs. I’d play and she’d sing. My
sister actually had all of the talent and she eventually went on
to international success with “Meat Loaf” and then on to
Broadway in “The Pirates of Penzance” She would later release
two solo albums on CBS and later A&M records.
Next stop…the ‘70’s. After touring the “circuit” with his
first high school rock band…The circuit meaning…basement to
garage to gym stage and back to the basement and garage. “Our
biggest gig was a sock hop at Lincoln-Way High School,” he
formed “Sundance” a wedding band in 1975. “We were all
frustrated musician wannabees that had real day jobs but wanted
to stay connected musically. Weekends weddings allowed us that
opportunity. We had a horn section and were able to do some
pretty neat stuff.” After thinking about that for a moment he
adds “One of the highlights…or maybe I should say “lowlights”
of our time in Sundance was at the Mokena Bi-Centennial Parade
on a very hot 4th of July 1976. We wanted to promote our new
band and built a very nice float for the parade. We connected up
a generator and had ourselves pulled through town in the parade
while we performed live. No problem…right? Well it turned out
that we actually won the award for “Best Musical Entry”
something we hadn’t expected or anticipated…still no problem
right? Well, since it was the Bi-Centennial, every grade school
band from the surrounding area was marching and performing in
that extra long parade, in that intense heat…in those hot
uniforms. Each school wanted to win that award and when we won
it…mind you…we hadn’t even thought about an award…we had
literally hundreds of hot sweaty and angry kids ready to ring
our necks.”
“In the late ‘70’s my sister sent me my first pair of real
Beatle Boots. She was living in New York City and the Punk Rock
thing was really happening. All the Punk Rockers were wearing
them as they were now offered in many wild colors. I have more
than a few pairs of them around the house. In fact, I just got a
brand new pair last month.”
It was in 1981 that Ray met John when he auditioned for the bass
guitar vacancy. “John was an instant hit with us because he had
a Brian Wilson-like ability to hear and sing all of those
intricate harmonies that used to go right over our heads. He and
I began our songwriting collaboration shortly thereafter. We
often wished we could play more of the British Invasion/Mersey
Beat music but there just wasn’t much of a demand for it in the
wedding business. The rest of the guys weren’t as interested as
we were. John and I always seemed to be on the same page
musically.” Sundance lasted until mid 1995 when “We all just
grew tired of the weekend grind even though by then we had the
luxury of a real road crew for all the hard work. Surprisingly,
in over 20 years I don’t think we ever played more than one or
two Beatle songs in any of our set lists.”
In late 1995 with Sundance now a memory, John and Ray began
writing their own material again. “It was kind of nice to have
our weekends free at last. John and I were really enthused to
sit down and try something different with a simple 4-track
recorder. We were thrilled to actually have one of our first
compositions published.” Still, they continued to talk about one
day playing before an audience again. Says Ray, “The problem was
that I had never outgrown my interest in the Beatles and their
“sound”…I had the Vox Amps, the Rickenbacker 12 string, the big
Gretsch guitars and all the songs I wrote were essentially my
attempt at re-creating a Beatle-sound and then trying to make it
not sound too “Beatle-ish” in the final mix. For those that may
remember, “The Rutles” and “The Wonders” come immediately to
mind.
Jump ahead to 1999 when John and Ray finally decided to have a
go at it and spent the better part of a year polishing up their
act. “This time we were on our own without a road crew so we had
a different perspective…whatever equipment that we could fit in
the trunk of John’s car comes with us. The rest stays home.
Fortunately with just two of us we don’t need much equipment and
we don’t often have the luxury of much extra space when we set
up. If only I could squeeze that Rickenbacker in there somewhere….”
So here they are today having aptly named themselves the
“BeatleBoys.” “We’re neither Beatles or Boys but the name
kind of fits anyway. “I even talked John into his first pair of
Beatle Boots! I guess you could say that for me musically, it
has come around full circle. We’re having the time of our
musical lives finally doing the music that we’ve always wanted
to.”
Ray actually has a day job as a successful Southwest Suburban
Realtor for over 20 years. He has also appeared on TV in
“Friends,” “Ellen”, and “Jesse” He popped up again in “Modern
Love” a film featuring his sister Karla and her husband Robby
Benson who also wrote and directed the production.
In March of 2003 he appeared on stage at “The House of Blues” in
Hollywood with Karla performing four of their favorite Beatle
songs. “This time we had the help of a full backup band, horn
section and background singers. It was the first time we’d
played and sung together in 34 years.”
Before leaving LA he was thrilled to spend an afternoon at the
request of his young nephew showing him how to play “Day
Tripper” on the guitar.
And so it begins, again.
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