The Righteous Kind

Award-winning singer/songwriter Charles Ray Martin leads an all-star cast of rock and blues musicians in a rock-n-roll revival called The Righteous Kind. Hailing from Gainesville, FL, a hotbed of musical activity that has produced artists as diverse as Tom Petty, Against me! and Sister Hazel, The Righteous Kind has an innovative garage/psychedelic rock sound that is influenced by both classic-‘60s and modern-alternative rock. The band features superior song writing and has tremendous stylistic range - from garage to alternative to classic to psychedelic to pop rock. The Righteous Kind are superb showmen, and their live shows are more than anything else fun. Three of the songs on the band’s debut CD entitled ‘Some Are of Love’ won songwriting accolades, including ‘Righteous Man,’ a winner in the 10th Annual Great American Song Contest. ‘Show me the day,’ their tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., won honorable mention in the 2009 Peacedriven.com songwriting contest. Joining guitarist and front man Charles Ray are Tom Miller, formerly of Chicago blues sensation Vini and the Demons, on bass, and Larry Thompson, from the ionic country-rock band dblWiDE, on drums. Rounding out the group is B.B. Brashear, BBB, on the Hammond B3 organ. “Rock ’n’ roll fans will get a kick out of The Righteous Kind at the Atlantic on Saturday night. Featuring the one-of-a-kind Charles Ray Martin on guitar and vocals and one of Gainesville’s best rhythm sections, these guys bring back riff-infused rock 'n' roll with a strong psychedelic presence.†Dante Lima, Music Editor, Gainesville Sun, July 9, 2009 Find the Righteous Kind on Facebook. Buy a CD at www.CDBaby.com/charlesray charlesray67@gmail.com ----------------------- Press Release, August 6, 2007. Official Biography of The Righteous Kind The Justice Department today disclosed that Gainesville, Florida, long known as a center for the alternative lifestyles that defined the Sixties, provided a haven for four influential personalities from that era, each long thought to be dead. Astonishingly each, unknown to the others, had lived under an assumed identity for decades, and only realized the similarity of their situations after joining a band devoted to playing Sixties music. The disclosure is the result of months’ of negotiation between law enforcement officials and Charles Ray, Slam Gunther, Larry California and B. Burrhus Bran, now members of the band The Righteous Kind. “We felt that we could not make this music unless we were honest about who we really were,†Ray said. Of the band, the disappearance of Charles Ray is the most famous. In June, 1968, Ray’s band, Charles Ray and the Ravers, had both the number one album “Ravelations!†and the number one single, “Righteous Man,†in the country. Ray appeared to be at the beginning of a long music career. Unknown to even his closest friends, Ray was already planning his exit. On August 18, 1968, Ray staged his own death. “It was so easy! I had a fancy Porsche. I put some of my clothes and some drugs in the back seat and pushed it over a cliff on the PCH. The Malibu cops assumed that I was high and naked, and that was it,†Ray said. “I had had enough. I just walked away from the whole thing.†Ray, who had never attended college, enrolled under the name of Charles R. Martin, ultimately receiving a PhD in Chemistry and going on to a distinguished career in academia. Recently, that has not been enough. “War! Intolerance! The same damn things we protested in the Sixties! I knew it was time to put a new band together and take a second shot at spreading the message through my music.†In a series strange coincidences, each of the musicians Ray contacted had also abandoned Sixties celebrity and was living under an assumed identity. The artist/bassist Tom Miller was in fact Fritz Schlager “Slam†Gunther, German artistâ€provocateur, best known as the creative force behind the controversial LA band Squatting Dogs. When the bands’ explicit anti-war message became the focus of an FBI investigation, Gunther, who was also sought by German authorities, went underground. Larry Thompson, the Righteous Kind’s drummer, was actually Larry California, one of the most respected drummers of the Sixties and a member of the supergroup, Circus McGurkus. California was forced to change his identity following several public indecency arrests with the 17 year old daughter of a powerful state official with apparent ties to organized crime. Keyboard player B. Bruce Brashear was actually the controversial philosopher Prof. B. Burrhus Bran, best known as the author of Translating the Universe, condescendingly referred to in the Sixties as “The Hippie’s Bible.†Bran, a reluctant guru, dropped out to find the peace and calm he needed to complete his philosophical works. “I left it to Tim Leary to take the heat,†Bran said. After the band began practicing, it was not long before they learned of each other’s past. They ultimately contacted the Department of Justice. DOJ representatives were initially skeptical. “We thought the whole thing was some kind of publicity stunt, but we investigated each story. As strange as it first appeared, we found all of it to be true,†said Tess Tracy, the assistant district attorney assigned to the case. All charges in the U.S. and Germany have been officially dropped.

Thursday, July 31, 2008 2:02 AM EDT The Righteous Kind: Professor and band balance work and rock By BAILEY PARKE, Avenue Writer THE INDEPENDENT FLORIDA ALLIGATOR For quite some time, Charles Ray Martin’s life equation was out of balance. Somewhere along the line, he had lost touch with his passion for music, and he became more focused on his career in the chemistry field. “I was out of equilibrium, as a chemist might say,†Martin said. However, about four years ago the solution to his problem became clear: He must start a band and learn how to balance his passion for chemistry and music in one harmonious mixture. His life became a stable blend a year ago when he found three people to form a band now known as Charles Ray and The Righteous Kind. Martin is a distinguished professor of chemistry at UF. He teaches general chemistry and is also a research mentor for students pursuing their doctoral degrees in chemistry. He began writing songs for an album a few years ago before he even had people to play in his band. “This music has been playing in my head for three or four years,†he said. He searched throughout Florida to find musicians who could help make his dream come true. The outcome became a band consisting of Martin as lead vocalist and guitarist, Larry California on drums, Slam Gunther on bass and B. Burrhus Bran on keys. Their music is influenced by the catchy pop sounds of The Beatles and the rhythmâ€heavy notes of The Rolling Stones. The group celebrated its first CD “Some are of Love†at its CD release show on Saturday at Common Grounds. A crowd of about 230 people attended the event, including members of Martin’s chemistry research group who all sported tieâ€dyed shirts in support of their research mentor and his band. The audience was very diverse, consisting of a crowd who grew up in the ‘60s as well as much younger audience members. An older gentleman with long white hair and a long white beard to match wandered through the crowd, and a younger twentyâ€somethingâ€yearâ€old man in tight pants and Converse sneakers rocked his head as he yelled to his friend, “I love this band!†The Righteous Kind performed tracks from their new album, which took about 100 hours of work to produce. “It feels great to have this out,†Martin said. “It’s a culmination of all our artistic efforts.†Before the band members took the stage in Gainesville, they were all a part of the music community in some form or another in the 1960s. They played music about issues of the time period such as war and intolerance. The issues from the past, including war, are still relevant today. “It seemed like a replay of the ‘60s,†Martin said. The Righteous Kind decided to write psychedelic rock tracks to spread the word of compassion and love in a time of instability, he said. On the track “First RocknRoll Song,†Martin sings about the Vietnam War and college students being sent off to fight. He sings, “Well he started out at Davidson pledging Sigma Nu, but Uncle Sam had another plan, and his college days were through.†While their genre of music may be unique to the Gainesville music scene, it is well received in the local community, Martin said. California agreed. “We’re paying homage to the old school,†California said. Bran explained that The Righteous Kind are not just making music that represents the 1960s but are fusing together sounds from the past with music from the present. “A band that is merely trying to replicate what happened before is doomed,†he said. The band has found much support and camaraderie in the music community and is very proud to be a part of it. “Gainesville has such an amazing set of rock bands,†Martin said. Bran said he thinks they will produce two more CDs. The second one is already about halfway done, and they will be going into the studio next month to work more on their second album, which will feature a special Halloween song called “There’s Zombies in my Car.†“The material is just flowing,†he said. Martin said he has high hopes for his band, which works very hard every day. He is also very excited for the next two albums. The band’s next show is Sept. 5 at Brophy’s Irish Pub. “There’s music in us, and if that music doesn’t come out, we will surely explode,†Martin said.

Gainesville, Florida and throughout the universe.

1. The Beatles 2. James Brown 3. The Supremes 4. The Beach Boys 5. The Rolling Stones 6. Bob Dylan 7. Aretha Franklin 8. Sam Cooke 9. Jimi Hendrix 10. Ray Charles 11. Elvis Presley 12. Otis Redding 13. Marvin Gaye 14. The Byrds 15. The Who 16. The Four Seasons 17. The Temptations 18. The Miracles 19. Wilson Pickett 20. Stevie Wonder 21. The Kinks 22. Roy Orbison 23. The Drifters 24. The Four Tops 25. The Shirelles 26. The Doors 27. Martha & The Vandellas 28. Dion 29. Sam & Dave 30. Jefferson Airplane 31. The Impressions 32. The Mamas & The Papas 33. Solomon Burke 34. Cream 35. Jackie Wilson 36. Creedence Clearwater Revival 37. Booker T. & The MG's 38. Sly & The Family Stone 39. The Yardbirds 40. Simon & Garfunkel 41. The Rascals 42. The Marvelettes 43. The Animals 44. Buffalo Springfield 45. Etta James 46. Del Shannon 47. Joe Tex 48. Jan & Dean 49. The Velvet Underground 50. The Ronettes 51. The Lovin' Spoonful 52. Janis Joplin/Big Brother & Holding Company 53. Lee Dorsey 54. The Ventures 55. The Crystals 56. The Band 57. The Chiffons 58. Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention 59. Mary Wells 60. Ike & Tina Turner 61. The Monkees 62. Gary "US" Bonds 63. Canned Heat 64. Dick Dale 65. The Isley Brothers 66. Ben E. King 67. Paul Butterfield Blues Band 68. Gladys Knight & The Pips 69. Chuck Berry 70. Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs 71. Lesley Gore 72. The Righteous Brothers 73. The Turtles 74. Jerry Butler 75. The Hollies 76. Irma Thomas 77. Sonny & Cher 78. The Grateful Dead 79. The Everly Brothers 80. King Curtis 81. The Dave Clark Five 82. Van Morrison/Them 83. Percy Sledge 84. Moby Grape 85. Gene Chandler 86. Eddie Floyd 87. Junior Walker & The All-Stars 88. Tommy James & The Shondells 89. Love 90. Carla Thomas 91. Rick Nelson 92. Major Lance 93. Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters 94. James & Bobby Purify 95. Paul Revere & The Raiders 96. Chuck Jackson 97. Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels 98. James Carr 99. Donovan 100. Billy Stewart

Old School 60s gear!

The Gainesville Sun Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 6:01 a.m. Writer: Kyle Mitchell While we're on the topic of fun factor, let the attention be turned to Saturday night at Common Grounds for The Righteous Kind's album release party, where they will be accompanied by Big Oil and Blacksnake. There are plenty of good things coming from those without new media to share, first of all. But it's the former that takes care of the floor show. From the perspective of a relative youth that has a penchant for the strange, I have to say that these are some weird old dudes. Diving headlong into the characters of actual late '60s hippie rockers, the four put on an intriguing and entertaining show that allows you to go right along with them. The 10-track record, "Some Are of Love," compiles new tunes and some off their earlier EP releases. The tendency in all revivalism is to miss the mark, but a good portion of their work seems as though it may have been done in the era †minus the tiny plastic disc that makes no sound under a needle. But like the previous evening's gathering, the attitude of just letting loose and having a few laughs is ever-present, so don't hold back thinking it's hokey or you'll miss the whole thing.