Joshua Ray Summey

So, as some of you may know, Hazy Ray got back together for a show at Grand Stafford Theater this passed weekend! I had been looking forward to this reunion for some time and it didn’t disappoint! I’d performed a lot in the year and change since the band had last done it’s thing, but I thought I was under no illusions that a rock show was a different animal.

Leading up to the weekend, I practiced furiously to the delight of my little daughter. I worked out at odd late night hours to the dismay of my little wife ;). Generally, I looked at the many differences between singer/songwriter shows, and what I used to do, and tried to account for them in one way or another. Whether I had remembered it or not however, there was no accounting for adrenaline LOL!

I was struggling for breaths deep enough to matter during the first five songs of the set to keep up with my drumming heart. Happiness, via staccato breathing, sabotaged the moisture necessary to effectively do my job; this particular struggle tempered my previously uncontrollable glee and breathing into a more manageable pace during the song, “Superman” (one I wish I could get back hahaha) and the rest of the set went quite well!

We opened the set with Pearl Jam’s “Present Tense” (Ryan’s idea!); the set of lyrics was the only fitting way (in my mind anyway) to shrug off the our 15 month absence without provoking questions I didn’t want to answer. Lo and behold, they were asked anyway smh.

We rocked faces. We got them dancing, jumping and screaming. We worked the room, and then faded away as if nothing had ever changed; as if we would be doing this again next month and the one after. Changes though, they have occurred. Ryan is a lawyer now. Whether he wants to or not, he will not have time to be in a band with all the things that entails. It is building a business, and so is being a lawyer. With few exceptions, the success of a business requires its founders to put it before all other businesses. Ryan priority needs to be ryan. And with him goes the 3rd, and most rock-your-face-off-iteration of Hazy Ray. Whispers of a 4th started between Mike, Willie, and myself. We will see if they come in to fruition. For now though, onward and upward! “Second Chances” from The “Joshua Ray & Ryan Patrick Live @ Marigny Studios” is available for viewing on my YouTube channel!

The next night, Ryan and I went to war against the incredibly high noise floor of The Republic 1836. We did so with nothing but two acoustics and a rented wedge. It started somberly, and ended with a lot of flash and fun! Just what the doctor ordered. We said our good byes to the post-gig-fuego run as we laughed at the next generation of imported-young-intoxicated-minds College Station, TX. We didn’t do it because we think we are better, but because we were once members of such a group. We did it because, it’s what we do.

The next day Sean added himself to the mix and we jammed to a quiet-post-lunch-rushed Village Cafe. Dynamically, musically, we said our farewells in song to each other to close this chapter of our lives and make room for the next. The 3 of us exchanged lick, harmony, and rhythm for 6 friends, several long-lunchers, and an enthusiastically entertained kitchen staff. One of whom, understandably ignorant of the situation, implored us to keep it up because we were going places. His complement was greeted with a soft chorus of knowing mischievous chuckles as we quietly exited. Coffee was had, luck was given, hugs were exchanged, and then all was quiet.

And so the LAST weekend ended exactly as it should have, perfectly.