VONRAY
Add one more to the list! Orlando has managed to produce yet another local band that is receiving national promotion by way of the five man rock group VonRay. Previously known as Vonra (minus th Y), this local band has found its way to the Elektra label and are now sharing the road with creed on there 2002 national tour.
I caught up with singer VonRa and Bassist Boo backstage at there July 12th Hard Rock Live show where they played a great set with openers Boxelder and SomeOtherLife. Read on for the details of there success story and there much anticipated CD Fame.
Moriah Cain: Tell us about the new band lineup.
Vaughan: The new band lineup is a five piece. There are two electric guitar players, plus myself so its a three guitar arsenol thing. The new guys are just amazing. Dave and I of course have been together forever. We have been playing together since 95-96 as the band.....so after the album we kind of put a band together. They're all guys from Orlando, which is quite nice. Theres Jeff Azurie on drums whos's amazing. Todd Hackenburg on guitar, Garret Coleman on guitar.
MC:Where did you record your album?
V: We recorded in Hollywood....
Boo: Right in the middle of Hollywood.
V: Its called Cello
Boo: You can step out the door and see the Hollywood sign up on the hill. It was so much fun, dude.
V: It used to be Ocean Way a long time ago, which is about as historic as the capital building. They did Pet sounds and Sinatra did a lot of stuff there.
MC:Who produced this CD?
V: Mark Tanner. He produced Nelson back in the day and did some stuff with Aerosmith. Lately hes doing The Calling. That was a huge success. It was good to have him. He allowed us alot of creativity and he gave alot of input whe we needed it.
MC: So when is your ne tour schedule to start?
V: The tour begins Monday July 15th. We have a show in Charlotte, NC
MC:Is this your first national tour?
V: Yes we are very excited.
MC:What label are you on?
V: Elektra We were signed as of Oct. 16th, my birthday. It was a great present.
MC: Now real quick back to the tour, before you were saying that because the albums not released yet, you're going to put two songs on a sampler and give them to anybody who will take them.
V: No doubt. Thats the beat way to do it man. Get the two song samplers out there and give them a taste, with the website right on there, so they will have a real taste of the album. We'll have some post cards too with the Vonray logo on one side and then all the information about where we'll be on tour on the other side.
MC: Now, how did you guys get signed? How did that come about?
V: I've been plugging away for a long time and I got hooked up with Matt Alverez Matt Alverex M & P, Matt started putting together packages and we decided to go with a demo produced by Brett Hestla. we released that demo as an album in August. and then in October I was signed, so it was a very short courtship. It didnt take long at all. I did two showcases and thats all it took after that album. The guys at Elektra thought it was one of the best demos they had heard in a long, long time. So they said you gotta put together a showcase in two days. Monday we'll be down there to watch you guys and we'll see what happens. So it was pretty amazing how fast it was.
(OG) I was in my soon to be wife in Oaklahoma when he calls me up "get here man. we gotta do a show as soon as you get back (two days).
MC: How long have you been playing in the Orlando area?
V: Solo. I started back in 1991.
MC: Are there any local bands that stand out, that you guys are really into?
V: Some Other Life, I liek them alot and I really like Boxelder. Those are the guys who are playing tonight. I think there just really really talented. and I like Cider; they're really great, and Ambitions End is a great up and coming band, also.
MC: Do you have any advice to lend any unsigned bands reading this interview?
V: Persistance, patience, and practice. The three P's.
Boo: I tell everyone, the only way you can guarentee you wont make it is if you give up.
MC: Did you walk away with any good stories from the studio?
Boo: He was a felon in LA.
V: Well I get out there and everybody took care of everything for me it was like all I had to do was just sign in to my apartment and sign up for a car and evreythign was taken care of. Nobody told me that every month I had to go back to budget and renew my car. So twelve days into April I was a felon. They sent a letter to my wife saying Vonra was a felon int he stae of California because of a stolen vehicle: grand theft auto. So that got worked out really fast.
BOO: We got to meet some really cool people liek Flea, Stone temple pilots, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Dean Deleo, We were in there domain they were all working. and it was cool because we werent just there as fans. Well, we were fans and working.
BRIAN: Are there any bands out there that have influenced your music? How did you arrive at the music on your album?
V: It was a good marriage of the old Vonra which is much more singer/songwriter oriented. If you listen to the Pains album or the one right after that which is really just a reissue of pains with a couple new songs. and then the stuff I did with Brett Hestla, which is alot heavier, has alot of his thumbprint on it. I allowed him to take the reigns and this album's a great marriage of that.
BOO: It seems like a nice evolution of him as a songwriter.
MC: Alot of bands have core thememes on their albums. Is there a recurring theme to this album?
V: Not on this album. every single song has its own life. I listen to the album and it'll be a bunch of little short stories andd theres not a set theme throughout. Theres alot of positive stuff going on in it, even through negativity. Liek, I listen to "Part of me" and it takes me into a whole new realm.
BOO: Its like a triumphant spin on negativity.
MC: Alot of bands do that these days. They use the negative to show you how ugly things can get in order to turn you away from that negativity.
V: That relates to alot of the kids, though. and im lucky that I was able to pull that out this time because i think alot of people are going to relate to this album.