Ray Allen
I am a solo artist with 20+ years of experience. I grew up in Redondo Beach, California where I played in various bands covering a lot of different genres. I enjoy a "stripped down" feel to most of my songs but love to crank it up when the need arises.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I play a ton live. I play at least 2x a week at my church (over 2,000 members) and for special outreach events. One special moment I had was...I used to play in a children's band and one time we were coming out on stage and I strapped on my guitar and the strap had twisted up to the point that the guitar neck swung around and caught me just above the eye. Needless to say we had white t-shirts on and my eye was really bleeding. There were tons of people there and I started bleeding on the stage, etc. so I excused myself and walked off stage to get it under control. The band freaked out and everyone except the drummer left the stage (who continued to play). We got the bleeding under control and we continued the concert...we joke about how that was the one and only drum solo that he will ever get!
Your musical influences
Gospel, Christian, Acoustic, Acoustic Folk, I will also admit I love the 80's. I lead worship at a church in Texas and cling to many styles. I enjoy Country, Bluegrass and Rock but can't do the rap thing.
What equipment do you use?
Larrivee D-09e acoustic, Fender strat copy, Fender Blues Deville, Various custom boutique pedals I built myself. Ibanez Bass, Fender Mustang Bass, a sweet 80's Guild Lance Flying V!
