New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ In Music We Trust) Where the so-damn-American power of Americana blends with the so-bloody-British immediacy of pop, that's where you'll find Ray Tarantino. His forthcoming full-length album, Good Things Will Happen (Tiny Drum Records), which will be released nationally on October 6, 2014, is a tribute to the American dream: the story of a guy who walked a road of trial, carrying nothing but a good dose of courage. Against all odds Ray Tarantino carved a tunnel through the mountain of possibilities. With no plan B, he has weaved together themes of hope, love, and reaching for the stars.
His father was a Sicilian diamond dealer; his mother a Tuscan countess. Born in the north of Italy and raised in the UK, Ray brings an international sensuality to Americana music. Ray's lyrics are written with a deliberate pleasure in playing with words, and he seems to savor every word as they seep through his lips. If it was possible to make love to music, Ray would have broken through that boundary long ago. His passionate guitar playing and singing pierce through the coldness and darkness of lost love to warm the heart and excite the imagination.
As a performer lucky enough to realize his own dream and living proof that good things can happen, Ray has played more than 1800 shows on his American and European tours. While living in Nashville, the heart of America's songwriting scene, Ray became a fixture, performing every night in the cities' most famous writers' rounds. "There's a guy on the radio asking me how it feels… It feels good: when you got nothing you got nothing to lose!" Ray Tarantino croons as he sings about an American dream built from the bottom up.
The singer-songwriter has received critical acclaim from a wide variety of media outlets, which all seem to agree that for Ray, as suggested by his new album title, Good Things Will Happen. "Consistently entertaining and utterly devoid of filler. It's rare I get to hear an artist so obviously on the edge of major success. It seems the big time is beckoning, and with the right push and some good fortune, we could soon see Tarantino taking on the arenas of the world," trumpeted Leicester Bangs Blog. The press has associated his poetic lyrics with the mastery of
Bob Dylan and his sound with the integrity of Springsteen, U2,
David Gray and
Daniel Lanois.
Ray Tarantino is now a member of the Americana
Music Association, NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) and a voting member of NARAS (Grammys), Ray kick-started his musical career with a number one placement on the MySpace UK charts, hurled up there with indie-band
Gomez and major-phenomenon Amy Winehouse. A few weeks later he had inked a deal with boutique label
Massive Arts and Sony
Music Publishing.
In 2010, Ray was invited to open one of Tori Amos's solo shows; his song "Senza Pelle" (recorded by Italian folk artist Patrizia Laquidara and produced by Arto Lindsay) was chosen by Howie B for a remix; his composition "Your
Heart My Heart" was recorded by Delmar Brown (Sting, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius); his call-to-arms hit "Recusant" topped the Great American Song Contest; the lyrically inspiring "Five O'Clock In The Morning" received an honorary award in the West Coast Songwriters International Competition. Ray Tarantino's second critically acclaimed studio album "Ray Tarantino" was released by Tiny Drum Records and published by Sony Music/ATV -
Massive Arts.
The start of Ray's music career was as dramatic as his lyrics. After a high-speed traumatic car crash nearly ended his existence, Ray threw in the towel on his life as a money making corporate drone and traded a pencil-pushing nine-to-five for a guitar and a '97 Econo-line van with a queen-size bed in the back.
True to the title of his new album, Good Things Will Happen, Ray Tarantino has celebrated sweet success living his dream as a singer-songwriter with only greater successes coming his way.
This is the kind of hope-filled journey Hollywood makes movies about.
TOUR DATES:
05/24/14 - Rock Creek - Hillsboro, OR
05/25/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
05/26/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
05/27/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
05/28/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
05/29/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
05/30/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
05/31/14 - Al's Den At The Crystal - Portland, OR
06/01/14 - River City Saloon - Hood River, OR
06/02/14 - Adrift Hotel - Long Beach, WA
06/03/14 - Adrift Hotel - Long Beach, WA
06/04/14 - Rumor Mill - Friday Harbor, WA
06/06/14 - The Green Frog - Bellingham, WA
06/07/14 - Jones Radioator - Spokane, WA
06/09/14 - Live From The Divide - Bozeman, MT
06/11/14 -
Little Bear Saloon - Evergreen, CO
06/12/14 - Park House - Denver, CO
06/13/14 - The Grapevine - Clive, IA
06/13/14 - The Wise Owl - Cambria, CA
06/14/14 - The Friendly - Berwyn, IL
06/15/14 - Moe's Tavern - Chicago, IL
06/16/14 - Moe's Tavern - Chicago, IL
06/17/14 - Bowery Electric - New York, NY
06/19/14 - Silvana Harlem - New York, NY
06/20/14 - Greenpoint Gallery - Brooklyn, NY
06/21/14 - Teri's Bar - Philadelphia, PA
06/22/14 - Solly's U Street Tavern - Washington, DC
06/23/14 - The CAMP House - Chattanooga, TN
06/24/14 - WDVX Blue Plate Special - Knoxville, TN
06/25/14 - Belcourt Taps - Nashville, TN
06/27/14 - Wheels And Deals Car Show - Poteau, OK
07/06/14 - Hotel Paisano - Marfa, TX
07/09/14 - Badlands - El Paso, TX
07/17/14 - TRIP -
Santa Monica, CA
07/18/14 - Stax - Morro Bay, CA
07/19/14 - Wayside Grill - Mt Shasta, CA
07/25/14 - The Birk - Birkenfeld, OR
07/26/14 - Grand Lodge - Forest Grove, OR
07/31/14 - Terminal Gravity Brewery - Enterprise, OR
08/02/14 - Hotel Oregon - Mcminnville, OR
09/27/14 - The Taste Of
Morgan Hill -
Morgan Hill, CA
Pre-order the album at: https://raytarantino.bandcamp.com/album/good-things-will-happen
