On February 17, Deception played to a packed house at the new Bull ‘N Raven in downtown Abbotsford. The new owner of the former Yorkshire Rose did a good job of cleaning the place up, and from my perspective, fixing the stage as well. I’m glad I no longer have to worry about twisting an ankle or falling into the crack that ran up the centre of the stage…Especially now a days: the chances of that are way higher than they used to be.
It was wonderful that night to have my good friend, and fellow sax player, Ray Myers come out with a table full of his friends from Vancouver.
I met Ray a month or 2 after moving back to BC in fall of 2004, when I answered an ad looking for a baritone sax player for an R& B band. I auditioned and got the gig. Working with Ray was a great deal of fun.
If you’ve never heard Ray play or sing, and you like R& B and soul, you really need to check out his band. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he was heavily influenced by blues, soul and jazz in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Ray is also one of the kindest souls I have ever met in my life. I am very fortunate to be able to call him my friend.
Our bass player, Steve, was not able to play with us because a medical emergency landed him in the hospital that night, so we had a friend of Art’s sit in at the last minute. Charles, our sub bass player was star struck when Ray walked into the place. He didn’t know that Ray was there because I invited him, and he said to me, “Do you know who that is? That’s Ray Myers!” Ray joined the band on stage for a song, and blew the crowd away with his musical and personal stylings as he walked the bar while soloing.
Photo by G. Kraft. © 2008
Hi Luella.
Thanks for stopping by.
Deception’s playing schedule is updated regularly, and can be found on our Upcoming Show Details page of the Deception website.
I’m hoping Ray will have a chance to come out to one of our shows at the Church of the Blues. That would be a lot of fun!
Hi Helen:
It was interesting finding this blog…..I didn’t know you had Ray and yourself on stage…..you both sounded great at the Bull and Raven……..send me your updated playing schedule……..Luella
Hi Stephen.
Don’t know where Greg went. He was an OK guy. He treated the bands well. I miss him actually.
He dropped off the radar screen after he closed place. Haven’t seen or heard about him since.
Where did the past owner go?
Is he still in Abbotsford?
Nice Site!
http://google.com
Saw the show and yes, Ray was entertaining. He is quite a showman.