Happy New Year!!!! :-)

Granted it's four almost five months in to the new year but better late than never! Wow, my last newsletter was on the 29th of Dec. 2007. That should tell you just how busy I've been. I'm still flat out so this newsletter will be brief but as informative as possible.

People have been telling me on regular basis what a great 'time waster' babies are. Well, I can tell you now my little girl sure gets a lot of daddy's time but I don't consider a second of it wasted. Time well spent I say :-) Faith now 8 months young, has 6 teeth, crawling all over the place, screaming just because she likes the sound of her own voice and growing like a beautiful flower. She keeps Sharlene flat out which once again shows there's something extremely special about moms. (Have a listen to my song "Happy Mother's Day."

Speaking of mom's don't forget Mother's day is Sunday the 11th of May in New Zealand. And speaking of Sunday:

Every Sunday for the Acoustic Country Sundays at Bar Africa (1b William Pickering Drive, North Shore City/Albany). JamesRAy & Special Guests including: Kevin Greaves, Tami Nelson, Marian Burns, Dave Khan, Les King, Karen Davy and more have been entertaining the best bunch of folks anywhere at the one and only afternoon of hard core country music. From 12pm - 3pm every Sunday.

With loads of indoor and outdoor seating and plenty of parking there's no place better in Auckland to spend your Sundays. Bring the family in for brunch/lunch and enjoy the day. Feel free to wear your cowboy hats and your cowboy boots.

Every Thursday Night This is now an open mic 'talent' night at Bar Africa . I've been asked to host the evening starting at 8pm

This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your talent whether it be vocals, instrumental, songwriting, poetry, comedy or whatever it is that requires a stage, sound system and a live audience. Original material is always encouraged.

It's real easy and lots of fun! All you do is show up on Thursday night with your act polished and ready to shine. Microphone, cables, tuner, music stand, sound and lights and live audience are provided. Sign your name on the call sheet when you get there and be ready to take the stage when you're called up. It's that easy.

(!!!This is also now an Audition night for solo/duo acts and Bands wanting paid work at the bar!!!)

If you're hungry or thirsty there's plenty of food and drinks to order at the bar. Bring your friends, family and supporters. The more the merrier!

Don't forget your guitar, keyboard, lyrics or whatever you need to be your best.

 

It's always great to catch up with any and all of you in person so please come to any of my live performances for a catch up. There's plenty of gigs this month.

For something a little different you can hear me performing classic hits and easy listening music some Fridays between 5-8pm in the Bar Africa Village. The JamesRAy Band performs regularly at the Silverdale RSA, The Stetson Club and Muldoon's. Check out my online gig guide for dates, times and locations.

Be sure to look at the "LIVE" page to see where the JamesRAy Band is performing next.

LATEST NEWS

Comedy meets Country - 8th of May 2008 (early mother's day gift ;-)

JamesRAy and Colin Parris are teaming up for a one night only stage show on the 8th of May at Centre Stage Orewa (60 Centreway Road). Show Time 7:30pm. Tickets are $25 from the theatre box office 09 426 7282 with $5 going to the local Plunket.

89.9 Times FM is proudly supporting this exciting toe-tapping, laughter filled night of entertainment. With hilarious accuracy, Colin will appear as Steptoe, Sam Hunt, Dame Edna, Billy Connolly, Helen Clarke, The Muppets and many many more, and keep the audience rolling in the aisles with laughter.

JamesRAy will take you on a journey of country music with a special set dedicated to the tradition of country music and the Grand Ole Opry.

Tickets can also be purchased at any JamesRAy performances prior to 8th of May. Check out the LIVE gig guide

Please download the show poster HERE (this is a PDF file)

JamesRAy Win's North Auckland Local KFC

YOU DID IT!!!! Thanks to all your votes I am now one step closer to winning that coveted $15,000 music-industry prize from the 'Sounds from Your Hometown' music competition presented by KFC and Amplifier.co.nz.

Out of 311 artists and more than 95,000 votes your votes have put me in the 94 Finalists in the KFC - Sounds from your Hometown - competition.

I will now perform at my local KFC store (Glenfield Mall) on 03 May to celebrate NZ Music Month 08 at 11am and then it's up to the competition judges to tally the votes gained from the 94 finalists and other unknown criteria to determine the grand winner.

Keep watching here to hear how it goes.

Again, thank you all so much for all your support.

JamesRAy and Friends double bill with Hello Sailor

April the 20th JamesRAy and Friends (Neil Hannan - Bass, Rick Cotter - Drums, Keith Prictor - Lead guitars, Craig Denham - Keyboards/accordion, Dave Khan - Fiddle/mandolin) starred at the the Hobbs Wharf Festival in Gulf Harbour with Hello Sailor. The festival was a huge success with great weather and festivities for all. Check out the photos below.

Lots of love and happiness to you all.

Be sure to keep a regular watch on the LIVE page for the latest additions and I'll look forward to seeing you.

JamesRAy

JamesRAy and Friends at the Hobbs Wharf Festival 20 April 2008

Left: Arrr..Matey - Pirates everywhere!; Center: Keith, JamesRAy, Neil & Craig (Rick and Dave were hiding ;-); Right: Colin Parris shows us his Willie......Willie Nelson impression that is :-)))

- Photos by Sharlene.

If any of you have performance or candid photos that you'd like to share that I can include in this section of the newsletter please email them to photos@jamesray.info

*Remember you can check out the MUSIC page for audio, song lyrics and copies of the Story Behind the Song series.

You can listen to and read the lyrics of my songs from 'Chasin' the Dream' on the music page along with listening to audio of the 'Story behind the Song' Series.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...

1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you would forward this to if it were an email.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually looked back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.