Lola Ray

Lola Ray Liotta --- Coming Soon

2008-10-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

Lola Ray Liotta ----

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 2008 IS THE FUTURE!!! WHEAT THINS AND TRISCUITS FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER!!!

2007-12-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!!

Things I want for Christmas
1.) My own episode of Intervention on A&E
2.) A horse with antlers (preferably real, but I will take glued or stapled)
3.) Egg Nog
4.) Del Taco and Egg Nog
5.) A robot, trained for killing, but built with human compassion

So, new songs have been coming FAST! John and I have been spending long hours in front of computers and microphones and we LOVE what has been coming out of both. The new stuff is much more like our first record. It is quirky and fun. We can't wait to be able to play it for everyone. 2008 will be spent looking for a suitable home for Lola Ray. A home that is built on digital love and the future of releasing records. We are excited to find this home in 2008, we think it will be an adventurous place with no lions and tigers.

Speaking of labels, I tried to post our video for "Automatic Girl" on our myspace page, but could not post it because it cannot be embedded. It cannot be embedded because it was posted by SONYBMG and they don't want people to steal their music videos. They are afraid people will steal music videos and then they will keep stealing music and next they will steal kittens and shoes. So, instead of posting our video, I found this incredible fan made video that is REALLY GOOD,

It says it was made by Amy Genders and Liz Cheesman. This was the best Christmas present I could ever get! I have said it before, but it really blows our minds when someone does something like this.

So go to www.myspace.com/lolaray and download "Customary Love" for FREE! Warm up by the fire with it. Make wax portraits of yourself with candles. Be safe in what is left of this crazy bastard called 2007!!
-brian

Virtual Lola Ray make a new record in a virtual world.....

2007-11-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Our good friend Barry Owen Smoler took these shots of us in the studio working on our new jams. It is a virtual studio and we make virtual jams and play tennis and bowl.

Some day I will live at Universal Studios.... New Music Wednesday..... Have you met my best friend Charles Shaw Merlot?

2007-10-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

You know when you have those phases where you are super burnt out on music and you just can't find anything that interests you (except for Lola Ray)? Well I just got out of that phase and have been really loving two things a lot.

Here is the first one. It is a French girl named Soko. I like to picture her working at Anthropologie at the mall and being all sweet, cheery and Amelie but inside she is scorning some wicked bitch who stole her man. Sometimes when she says "I'll kill her" it sounds like she is sneezing. I have watched Reality Bites forty times in the last month and for some reason this song reminds me of that movie, I thinks its a confessional Lisa Loeb vibe.

Now this little gem is new to me, from this morning, but I am already hells of in love with this hat man. He is David Ford.

There is nothing better in life than re discovering why you love music and finding songs that just remind you that music is not dead and boring and stale and boring and smelly and jelly and belly and old and fart.

-brian

New Lola Songs........

2007-09-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

This is what our next record is gonna sound like..............

We are fucking Psyched!!!!
-brian

ROBOTS!!!.......Robots for WAR!!!....... Robots for good!!!.......... Robots for guitar!!!

2007-09-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

I usually don't post the next day after a big post (see below) because it overextends my pea brain, but fuck it. I have some video that must be shared and it just can't wait till next week.

Robots are real friends. They are scary and they are real. Don't be confused by what you are watching, these are not animatronics like at Disney Land, that repeat programed movements and speeches. These are robots that are actually reacting (sometimes badly) to stimulus around them. This is end of the world shit, and it rules. Someday I will have one of these and I will program it to read celebrity blogs for me.

I love these videos. Life is about to get SO GOOODD!!!! Go to www.hansonrobotics.com to see the begining of the end of the world.

Check out this awesome robot that they built in the 80's to play guitar

Just kidding. This is the Steve Vai, the only musician whose music really speaks to me these days. Isn't he beautiful? Our new record is gonna be Vai covers,
-brian

I am still not sure this "internet" thing is gonna catch on..... Major Record Labels discover Youtube...... Camp Cucamonga!!!

2007-09-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all-
So I peaced out on modern luxuries (cable, internet, bathing (just kidding)) for the past couple weeks and let me tell you I didn't miss shit. I have been moving and then I started discovering my new neighborhood on my kick ass bike. It is funny when you move into a new place and you get all rustic and you are like "Oh. No electricity for a week, Sure, No Problem." Well, the whole time I was zoning out and bike riding I was thinking to myself "You know what? The internet is totally lame. I don't need that shit. All I do is read gossip blogs anyways and I could just go out and make friends with real life Catty Bitches if I really wanted to. Yeah, and Myspace can suck it deep cause that shit isn't fun anymore." I was just over the whole thing and somehow convinced myself that the world was united against me. I noticed people riding bikes next to me and they would wink at me as if to say "Yeah, your right, the internet is totally last year."

Then the other day I discovered a super phatty wireless network (thanks greghomeXXX) that totally gets low reception if I stand on my bed near the window. Bam!! I was back in the thick of internet action. In a massive couple hour session I got caught up on www.dlisted.com, listened to our friends Mellowdrone's new song (www.myspace.com/mellowdrone), saw pictures of Britney Spears hairless ChoCha, sent a myspace message to Danny Bonaduce and found this on youtube...

Damn! I love the internet sometimes! I realized that the internet is like a warped version of my brain, only better organized.

I discovered something hysterical as I have been obsessively watching Counting Crows videos on youtube. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but music videos used to be posted by regular people who had taped that shit off of TV or something. They would often be a bit grainy and low res. Now the Major Labels (Universal in the case of the Counting Crows) have pulled those videos off and posted the videos for their artists themselves. If you look at the member information on these videos it says Universal Music Group youtube member for one year! Warner Brothers (The Flaming Lips Videos) has been a member for eleven months! Is that funny to anyone else? I see videos posted by twelve year old hicks who have been on youtube for like three years and somehow a major record label just got the idea a year ago to maybe go ahead and post the videos, that they paid for, to promote records, that they also paid for. I just picture a bunch of fourty something a*#holes sitting in an office trying to figure out how to get their crappy new record played on MTV (which hasn't played a video since The Hils hit 24 hour rotation) when some new young intern says "you could always post it on youtube" and they all go "Is that one of those new website things? I have been hearing a lot about this internet thing recently. I think that it is what those kids are using to steal our records. Maybe we should look into this." Seriously these dudes are dinosaurs. But they made this video happen so I can't totally hate. By the way I had to go to some other private posting of this video because you can't re-post videos that are posted by UNIVERSALMUSICGROUP... fuck!!

I miss the day and age when Adam Duritz was considered a great front man. He is pure beauty.....which brings me to Jennifer Aniston.

So I also got way busy on IMDB the other day and let me tell you I WENT DEEP ON THAT SHIT. Am i the only one who gets crazy lost in the zone of IMDB and then realizes he is sifting through the acting resume of Jaleel White (Stefan Urkel) and snaps back to reality? Well I was looking for current pictures of Candace Cameron (Full House) because I heard she was all super christian like her whack job brother and I clicked on a bunch of profiles and the TGIF memories just started flooding back. I instantly snapped back to hanging alone on a Friday night with all these shows when I saw this glory photo............

Does anyone remember this made for TV piece of brilliance called "Camp Cucamonga"? It was an ill conceived marketing scheme to get all the TGIF actors in one piece of crap movie. Look there's Urkel, there's DJ Tanner, there's the guy from Head of the Class, and theres JENNIFER ANNISTON!! What? Yeah that's her in all her glory. You know she is thinking "I am so much better than these losers and I will be so much more famous!"

I love finding this picture and I am back to loving the internet, sometimes. I am gonna go ride my bike for awhile and have Camp Cucamonga scenes play in my head while I process all the beauty that technology has served me with this morning.

New tunes are right around the corner,
-brian

John's interview with Suicide Girls

2007-08-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

Hey guys-
Here is John's interview for legendary booby website suicide girls. You can see it at www.suicidegirls.com but then there will be naked girls distracting you. Thanks to Arlan for a great interview and thanks to suicide girls for their support.......
ummmmm it did not really paste the way I had hoped it would so it is a total cluster fuck, but read it anyway, it is funnier this way. I would fix it but my mom is coming and I am not supposed to be looking at porn.

By Arlan Hamilton
Aug 23, 2007
If the Killers met Hot Hot Heat in some swanky NYC hotel bar, had a night that involved lots of vodka-soaked linens and a hefty dry cleaning bill, and then never called each other again, nine months later one of them would give birth to Lola Ray.

At one point the guys in Lola Ray were signed to Good Charlotte’s Sony imprint and enjoyed playing in front of thousands in arenas across the country. Now back to their indie roots, they’ve easily planted themselves high atop my top-10-favorite-bands-of-all-time list if for no other reason than that their music sometimes makes me question my sexuality.

Though there may only be four members in the group -- John Balicanta (Guitars/Vocals), Brian Spina (Guitar), Frederick Beck (Drums), and Chris Upton (Bass) -- they have the strength of 100 men. They can leap tall buildings in a single bound. It was once rumored that their bassist could read your thoughts just by sitting on your lap, and their drummer may have invented ink...and the fanny pack.

John Balicanta is a young soft-spoken Filipino man with a penchant for hard liquor and soft women. I sat on a park bench and chatted with him about the birds and the bees, the elephants of DC (Flag) and breasts. Lots and lots of breasts.
Arlan Hamilton: Are you guys back in California?John Balicanta: Yeah Brian just got an apartment in Long Beach with his girlfriend, and my girlfriend just moved from New York to be with me in Orange County. She and I are trying to save some money, so we picked up this bench on Craigslist for $25. You know those outdoor benches that are made of wood and iron? We took it apart and sanded it down, and painted it.AH:So you went all Tim Allen on it?JB:(laughs) Yeah, we went mad Tim Allen on it. Twenty-five bucks for a bench that we’re using indoors. It’s fuckin’ sweet.AH:Do you guys know the band, Girl in a Coma?JB:No, I don’t think so. Are they any good?AH:I just interviewed them. I absolutely fell in love with their music. They’re so good. You should definitely check them out. Their lead singer Nina is 19, and she’s just a ridiculously amazing vocalist.JB:Is she hot?AH:(laughs) She is hot, yes. But she’s also 19. I’ll say that part again.JB:(laughs) That’s a whole different kind of hot. It’s like, I won’t actually date her, but I’ll totally make out with her.AH:(laughs) Right.JB:Let’s start the interview off with me talking about nubile honeys. (laughs)AH:Absolutely. And now to some band questions that involve nubile honeys of a different kind: can you tell me why you’re no longer on Good Charlotte’s label?JB:Sure. DC Flag was basically a vanity label for Benji and Joel who are in Good Charlotte. Sony gave it to them as a subsidiary. There were two bands on the label, us and Hazle Street. And they poured a bunch of money into the other band, but then Hazle Street ended up breaking up. So when that happened, the label stopped running the whole project. And I think Good Charlotte was having a little trouble of their own at the time. So eventually the label just went under. When that happened, we wanted to sign to Sony proper, but they didn’t want us.AH:How has the change been, in ways you can quantify, like album sales, and in other ways?JB:Well I feel like we learned a lot when we were on the label, cause we had a lot of resources. We got a taste of what goes on when you have lots of money and people behind you. We paid attention to the publicists and the managers when they were running around and learned how they did things, especially touring-wise. We got to see what we really needed to go on tour and what we didn’t need. So now we’re able to tour on our own really efficiently.AH:Right.JB:Yeah it’s one of those things where you get really excited (when you get signed) and you’ve got big dreams about making it big. And then when that goes away, you’re like ‘holy fuck, we’ve gotta work just as hard as anyone else.’ It was weird. We did it ass backwards. We were handed all this great stuff and then had it all taken away from us. It was good cause we learned a lot. But it was a big blow to all of us, morale-wise. When we started over, (former bassist) James wanted to go do something else, (former drummer) Alex didn’t want to be in the band anymore. And it came down to Brian and I wanting to do this and not wanting to do anything else. It was a really difficult change, but at the point where we are now (with the new lineup), Brian and I feel fortunate cause we own everything we are. Liars came out and we did it all ourselves. It’s a really good feeling. It’s not much, but it’s ours, ya know?AH:Is the goal to get back to that same level again on your own, or do you feel like that was too much, or not what it’s cracked up to be?JB:There are certain things that we’d really appreciate having from a label—that having a label would make a lot easier—but there is also a lot of freedom we have not being on a label. On one hand it would be rad to have more money, but on the other hand, most labels are wasting money doing things the old-fashioned way. Like radio and whatever, and not on touring…the things that hold everything together. They’re too impatient. They don’t want to invest time and wait and watch things grow. I think at a certain point, when we build it up enough ourselves, labels will want to come back again.AH:If you build it, they will come.JB:Yeah, exactly. Before that point comes, a label isn’t going to be that good for us. But I think that extra push that certain bands need, labels are great for. Right now I think we’re still trying to build a better foundation to get to that point.AH:You know that video you guys have where—(interrupted by a homeless man screaming about El Pollo Loco while sitting on a bench outside at a park)JB:(laughs) Whoa…AH:That was my dad.JB:(laughs) Man, your dad’s like, drunk on a bicycle yelling at you? That’s rad.AH:(laughs) All day. That’s why I had to get out of the house to do this.JB:(laughs) You’re in the living room while your dad’s on a bike just yelling at you.AH:Just circling and circling, yelling about chicken.JB:(laughs)AH:Yes, so the video you did for this older song “What It Feels Like,” you know the way YouTube is right now, I feel like it’s the type of video that could become viral. Are you going to do something like that for a newer song? You guys have such a fun, creative time with things like your blog and the way you promote yourselves.JB:Yeah definitely. We actually made another video for the song “We’re Not Having Any Fun.” We shot all of the footage less than a year ago. We just haven’t had the money to get somebody to edit it. It’s shot really, really well, and it’s just a matter of finding someone to edit it for us, or coming up with the money.AH:You know who does editing? I know this is kinda random, but Clea Duvall does editing.JB:Really?AH:You should totally get in touch with her and see if she’d do it. She did this 10 minute short film recently. It was this funny take on global warming about this girl named Green. It was about herself…and she did the writing, direction and the editing. She did a great job on it, so it would be cool, right?JB:Definitely. That’d be sweet.AH:The direction you already have with it, is it something that’s really cool that you think people would show their friends and could possibly become a cult hit?JB:Yeah, well I just love the song so much--AH:It’s my favorite of yours…JB:The video is basically us standing in front of a brick wall, getting tons and tons of food thrown at us. Like cakes and tons of beans, and eggs and tomatoes. It’s amazing actually. (laughs)AH:Wow. Yeah I’d love to see that. Ok, so you call the album Liars. Was that directed at anyone?JB:Originally I drew a bunch of elephants for the cover and I wanted to call it "Mice.” So it would be, ya know, untrue. (laughs) But the title is more directed towards myself, if anything, or what people have thought of me. Like people in my life, ex-girlfriends, etc. Most of the album is about my old relationships. I had this crazy summer of drama and MySpace (laughs) and ex-girlfriends, and new girlfriends. It was a mess. I wrote most of the record with Brian on acoustic guitar, or by myself at 4 o’clock in the morning, really, really drunk, and sad. The whole record is basically me confessing a lot of how I felt about things that were going on. It was almost an apology to the people that I hurt. It was a way for me to come to grips with the many things that I don’t like about myself or haven’t liked about myself for a long time. It’s just me exposing myself a lot. It’s the most I’ve ever done. But it’s the not the most that I could do. I think the next record will be more so like that, maybe in a different tone ‘cause I’m in a different place now. I’m trying more and more to really say what I really mean. That’s always been a difficult thing for me. I’m always trying to like, sugar coat things, and make things pretty. But I really want to get across certain things that I feel. The last record was an attempt to do that.AH:So your next album will basically be a how-to guide for guys?JB:(laughs) Yes, “How to not get yourself in a situation where you would write “liars” for your next record.”

No, there are a lot of things that I’ve struggled with spiritually that have nothing to do with relationships—wait no, actually I think it has everything to do with relationships. I think that’s why Liars happened. I was figuring out my relationships and how they related to things. I’ve also always been interested in religion. Troubled by it and plagued by it. The next record will be more of an expression of a journey that I’ve been going through lately.AH:Speaking of journeys, how long is Brian’s hair going to get before he can’t see his face anymore? What is the goal here?JB:(laughs) What I think we’re looking for in the forecast for the next few years is something where if you stretch it out it can go around the world twice. Right now it’s like a big orb of joy. But if you were to look at individual strands, I think you’d find tiny towns and people who have been trapped for days. Then if you cut his hair in half, just straight down the middle, you’d see the rings of all the touring we’ve done, and all the stress. I think he’s older than he says he is. He says he’s 26, but I think he’s 400 years old.AH:I was thinking something like 270, but you know I’m bad with guessing ages. Do you think he’ll ever do the Lenny Kravitz thing and cut it off to just take away all of his stress and mellow out?JB:The Lenny Kravitz thing and go black?AH:Half. Go half. Lenny is half. But to be fair, Brian is already half black. So…JB:(laughs) He’s got a lot of soul.AH:And what’s with his fascination with Ben and Fred Savage? Is he gay, or?JB:(laughs) No, I don’t think he’s gay. Brian’s very into pop culture. His world is reading US Weekly and People. It’s an addiction and we’ve been trying to figure out how to help him kick it, without hurting him. We might have to bind him to a wheelchair or something and have him listen to only indie records.AH:That’d be a cool stage show, if you bound him to a wheelchair.JB:Watching the IMC channel only. You’re done with the pop culture man. (laughs)AH:SuicideGirls -- I don’t know if you know this or not, but there’s a rumor that there are naked women on the site.JB:I’d have to verify that rumor. (laughs)AH:This leads into probably the most important question of the entire interview: Do you prefer the left boob or right boob on a woman? Which one has served you best?JB:I’d say the left boob because it’s closer to the heart, so it’s swollen a little bit more.AH:I was not expecting that answer.JB:It just looks great. It’s wonderful.AH:They don’t usually talk about Britney Spears on the site, but I think we should for a second. Cause I know it has a lot to do with your life.JB:(laughs)AH:Did she go crazy because you broke up with her, or…?JB:(laughs) Well that’s why I took down my MySpace page. Cause she kept messaging all of my friends saying that we were still in love, ya know or that things were great. But you know what, that bitch stole my Xbox 360 and I will not forgive that!AH:She stole your what?JB:My Xbox 360, yo.AH:Oh I thought you said your virginity! And I thought, well that explains a lot.JB:(laughs) Yes it does.AH:The questions I had planned for this are just becoming so much different.JB:They’re just becoming more and more real, Arlan.AH:Which of the four of you guys would pose naked on the Internet?JB:(laughs) Hmm…I’d probably say, our drummer Beck. He even calls his penis “The Great Redwood.”AH:(laughs)JB:I think that’s something he’d want to share amongst the great multitudes. It’s not gigantic by any means, but it’s a beautiful thing. It’s like a natural rainforest, if you will. I think more people should bare witness to its greatness.AH:And how often do you guys share these things with each other?JB:How often do we show each other our wieners?AH:Well, yeah.JB:I think that all of us try to pee in urinals that don’t have dividers. I think that subconsciously we want to see each other’s wieners. We don’t talk about it. Like, you know someone’s taking a piss next to you, so you’re like, "Hey man, how’s the show going so far?" And if you can see a shadow of it out of your peripheral vision, you’re like, "Yeah, that’s Brian right there." Makes you feel safe. Or like if we’re in a hotel and we’re really drunk, and one of the guys is like, “Man, I’m gonna pee over this balcony,” and we’re like, “No! don’t do it!” but secretly we kinda like lean over and think, “That’s some good shit.” (laughs)AH:That’s amazing. I wanna live in your head for one day. Your brain! Your brain, I wanna live in. I should say. Oh man…JB:(laughs) My ‘shroom. I think the problem is that my brain and your brain are too similar.AH:That’s interesting. We’re kind of an androgynous pair too, I guess.JB:(laughs) Exactly.AH:We should do a side project thing. I’ve been wanting to do a really messed up spoken word poetry thing, cause I’m so bad at it. I want to try to make people take it seriously. I want to go to Hotel Café one night and convince them to let me up there. Walk up there, have the place full of people. And wear a sweatband and never break character. I want a friend of mine to play bongos behind me, and there’s just one really soft red light hitting the stage.JB:(laughs) Right…AH:I want to request silence from the audience. Like put up signs that ask that no one speaks for the 15 minutes I’m up there. And for the first 7 minutes, just have the bongos going. And then on the 8th minute, I just stand up and scream out, “Vagina!!”JB:(laughs)AH:…and just look really sad, and kinda scary. Just walk offstage, leaving everyone to try to figure out what the hell just happened.JB:I’d totally do that with you! We could be the Ambiguously Straight Duo. That’d be rad.AH:(laughs) We should do that! That’s a genius name for it.JB:It’s beautiful.AH:Ok, we’ll work on that. I wanted to talk to you about tattoos, but I don’t know how to segway into that now. I know you have several, and I’ve never really talked to people about why they get them. I’m curious.JB:I have a theory about why people get tattoos.AH:Oh great! What is it?JB:My theory is that no one actually gives a shit about what any of them mean, they just think they look cool. I think 75% of the people you ask why they got a tattoo, they’re really full of shit. They might make up some grandiose story, but it’s really because they have a sweet picture on their arm or their chest. It comes down to vanity. It has nothing to do with heart or soul or anything. I think it’s pretty rad.AH:That’s….JB:(laughs)AH:We’ll just end it on the “ambigiously straight” thing.JB:(laughs) Well what do you think about it? Why do you think people get tattoos?AH:I only have my brother as an example. He’s completely different from me in almost every way, except our sense of humor. He’s in Dallas and he has a ton of tattoos. He has so many that I’ve lost count. And they’re mostly names of people in his life.JB:Right…AH:And I think he does it because he likes the pain.JB:Yeah, I was actually going to say that too. I know personally I’ve enjoyed it so much…you know when you’re about to ask someone on a date, and you get really nervous, and you get really scared? And whether or not you fail, it’s the fact that you did it and you survived it and you’re alive after that, it gives you a rush. And the next time it happens, it’s not as difficult. It’s like overcoming a fear. Tattoos hurt a lot, but they don’t really hurt that bad, just enough that you know what it’s like to hurt. And you’re alive, and you’re fine.AH:So it reminds you of what you’re capable of withstanding. It reminds you that you are alive and you’re feeling things. Hmm. I might have to try that!JB:It’s like people who do the suspension stuff, right. All of that mind over matter stuff is fascinating to me. I have no control when it comes to that. If something hurts, it hurts. But talking to people who do things like that, they really do conquer pain or suffering. It’s weird.AH:That’s beautiful, John.JB:You’re beautiful, Arlan. You really are.AH:(laughs) Oh John, we know who wins in the beauty category right now. I love your hair and I hope you win.JB:(laughs)AH:I had my family vote for you. That’s how much I want you to win.JB:(laughs)AH:Ok, so this is my final question--JB:Ok…AH:So you think you can dance?JB:(silence)AH:Oh god, you don’t know the show?? Oh man!JB:(laughs) There’s a show?AH:(laughs) Ok so that won’tbe my final question. I’ll just keep asking people until they give me the answer I want. I just don’t know what that answer is yet.JB:“I just want to express myself with the art of dance.” Have you ever seen that Dane Cook skit? Where he’s like, “Girls are always like, forget guys. Let’s just go out and dance. I just want to go out and express myself with the art of dance. You never hear a bunch of dudes go like,*deep voice* “Dudes, fuck girls. Let’s go outside and dance.” (laughs)AH:(laughs) You know what? I don’t think Dane Cook is funny. But I think he’s funny when you deliver it! Maybe you should be a cover artist for his work. Just do a Dane Cook cover coffee shop tour around the whole country.JB:(laughs) I’ll be like Dane…Balicanta.AH:Perfect!

Fall in love all over again by showering yourself with Lola Ray’s music at www.lolaray.com and redefine literature as you know it by visiting their blog at lolarayband.blogspot.com

I feel pretty, oh SO PRETTY!!!!

2007-08-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.myheritage.com

A fairly convenient truth.......... Puppies are the groupies of 2007........... Shia Labeouf is a fraud, a crook and a drunk

2007-08-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

Hey there-
One thing struck me hard on this last tour, I am not really sure that global warming is REALLY happening. Keep in mind that we were out in about every climate that the US has to offer for the last thirty days. Basically, it was beautiful everywhere. Even the places that were hot were not as hot as they usually are (Phoenix was practically tolerable at 102, as opposed to the 118 that it was last summer). Look I am not trying to lead no anti earth coalition or anything, I will go green with every other 20 something douche that I know, I am just making an observation. This really was a mind blowingly cool summer tour. Let it be known, that I am also not some anti Gore man or anything, dude has been known to own a sweet beard and I heard that he is directing Transformers 2 (Optimus Prime runs on Bio Diesel) and that would be crazy sweet! Also, as soon as someone gives me some damn money I will totally convert our sweet black van to run on dolphin farts or chocolate kisses or whatever the hell gets me to the next show. Go EARTH and go weather!

It is weird to reflect on a tour and try and capture it in words. So instead or giving a bunch of dumb road stories I will relay a conversation I had with my mom at the end of this tour....
Mom; So how was tour?
Me; Uh, it was ok.......um........yeah
Mom; How were the shows?
Me; They were good......um......yeah
Mom; Does your hair still look like a pile of shit?
Me; Um.......Yeah
Mom; Did you do ANYTHING exciting?!? You guys are so boring.....why don't you do drugs or be cool or something?
Me; OH!!!! I WENT TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA FOR FREE!!!!!!

And that's the DAMN truth. What can I say, I am a hopeless amusement park junkie and this really was the highlight of the tour. We rode so many movies that my mind almost exploded. I would like to thank our tour guides Jonathon (from Orlando based band Pop Culture Clash) and his ultra cool girlfriend Erica (not currently in a band that I know of) for giving us a great day of pretzel and churro dreams!!

Early in the tour we walked out on Transformers the movie because lead actor Shia Labeouf was not the star of Boy Meets World and I demanded my money back on that fact alone.

Seriously though, this is Shia (Transformers, Disturbia, Next Indiana Jones, Casablanca 2, Gone with The Wind 2, EVERY MOVIE EVER!!)

And this is Ben Savage (Boy Meets World....um....that's it)

I smell a conspiracy here people!!!

But in WAY more important news......... we are about to start writing some brand new songs for all you beautiful people to enjoy and consume!!!!!! I am serious and really really thrilled. It is official, we are about to start work on the songs that will make up our next record. Expect the new stuff to sound really really different or to sound exactly the same, we are not sure yet because we have not written it yet. This is always my favorite part of being in a band. New material is like springtime for a band that tours a lot. It is the time when you look around and smell the flowers and get re-invigorated and sniff your armpits and realize that your new deodorant crystal is maybe not working so well and you go and borrow your girlfriends deodorant and fall in love with yourself even more somehow......
It's a beautiful time people, JUST TRUST ME!!!!
-brian

Everyone I know is gonna be Famous........... Ice Coffee is my new Life Partner....... Rhino's on TV are Big, Sexy and Lethal

2007-06-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

I had the best thing happen to me the other night. I almost never wake up in the middle of the night because waking up is stupid and I try and only do it once a day. Well, last night I woke up at two in the morning and I was mad thirsty. I needed water because I had sodium mouth like a skank and simply could not handle the dehydration in my Sahara throat. I went and got some water and then could not sleep so I turned on MTV. Luckily MTV was showing videos and not Super Sweet Sixteen. That show is a brutal case study in the life and times of spoiled brats and it makes me want to fling dookie turds at rotten little kids. Either way, a super hella fly jam came on the TV and it was Lil Mama "Lip Gloss." This song is so red hot and it reminds me of when Punky Brewster used to rule the world and it was OK for a young man (maybe named Brian) to have a Lisa Frank trapper keeper with bright neon green Nike dunks.

So as I am watching the video, about 3 minutes into the thing, I see a woman (in the video playing the role of the classroom teacher) and I am like "I KNOW that woman!" It is crazy, that is our manager's super fly wife Malissa Hunter. She is in the most blowing up video of the moment and we could not be prouder. She is so nice to us and comes out to a ton of our shows and tells us we are cool and even allowed us to go to her wedding (despite the fact that we looked like lame douche bags with mismatched suits.) So congrats to Malissa, she is gonna be the R&B/Hip Hop Queen of 2008 and we will still be guys with Lisa Frank binders.

I officially have a new summer addiction. It is Iced Coffee from Starbucks. It makes my brain work incredibly fast. I no longer drool on myself and I am a better person for finding this new obsession. Don't make fun of me if you see me walking around with this shit super sized. I REALLY REALLY like it.........

After I watched the Lil Mama video, I slowly retired back to dream land with a nature channel special all about Rhino's in Africa. They are really such majestic beings. They are fat, but somehow sleek and mysterious. I would like to drink Iced Coffee out of their tusks......... Is that illegal?

We are gonna destroy the month of July by playing eight million shows in 34 days. This tour is hot so come and see us, and don't give us some excuse about Warped Tour being in town or something because Warped Tour is fucking stupid and Bro Rock is going down hard in 2008. Lisa Frank forever!!!!
-brian

Failure is ALWAYS an option.........

2007-06-19T23:48:00.001-07:00

um............so go ahead and just forget that last blog post.
-brian

An illness in the House of The Ray............... I am going to smoke my dog's skull............... Gummo is a better movie than Citizen Kane

2007-06-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Friends-
A great death illness has cast it's dark cloud on two of us Ray Rays. Only god knows how many more of us will have to succumb to the power of this great disease. It has now been three days since I have been afflicted, John has been ill for seven (possibly more) days. What is the disease that hangs over our heads? What could possibly drive me to the verge of total insanity and then push me over the edge with a humiliating laugh? The disease I speak of is actually the tortuous process of hell hounds that I call QUITTING SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why Why Why did I ever start up such a horrible habit?

Or wait.....the habit was great, I love smoking.....

Why Why Why did I ever start to give up such a horrible habit? Now that is the question. I feel like I am letting everybody down by giving up smoking. It had always been a dream of mine to influence a whole new generation to light up and smoke a cool drag. I feel like kids really looked up to me when I was smoking. They thought "Now there's a guy who is really going places." Now that I don't have cigarettes kids just look at me and laugh and say "That guy has a beard like my crazy uncle Jimmy." Well Fuck your Uncle Jimmy because he is probably cool enough to smoke and he probably did not chew his bottom lip raw within the last two days.

I think I might smoke my dog's skull. It totally looks like a cigarette in some warped and twisted way. It probably smells like strawberry tobacco from the hookah bar when his head is on fire.

The only thing that can make me feel any better right now is the theatrical trailer for my favorite movie of all time.... GUMMMO. This movie is jacked the fuck up and DON"T WATCH IT because I don't want anyone to be all "THAT MOVIE WAS SO DISGUSTING!!!" I don't care. This movie practically raised me. John and I watched it so many times in high school that it was like a baby sitter to us. We would cuddle up with a bottle of Hooch and our virginity as our blanket and watch this bitch from start to finish, pausing only once to check the nipple shot on Chloe Sevigny in the bed jumping scene.

Honestly that movie made me a better person. Kids these days don't understand the power of totally pretentious art house cinema. Without these arty films of the mid 90's there would be no Napolean Dynamite. And without Napolean Dynamite there would be no Bench Warmers........ and without Bench Warmers there would be no...no.........no....FUCKKKKKKKKK IIIIIIIIII WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTT TTTTTOOOOOOOOOO SMMMMOKKKEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
DDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
-brian

Tour Antics ...........SLAYER!!!!............ Pirates of The Carribean was confusing

2007-06-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hey All-
We just got home from our nice little jaunt with our special new friends Siren's Sister and Cavil At Rest. It was a big old band love session with all involved and I wish I had some crazy stories to tell you from tour, but sadly there are just no crazy stories to tell. We were fascinated to slowly learn that Siren's Sister have a hidden passion that rivals even their love of playing music........these dudes REALLY like swimming!! I don't mean swimming like "Hey, lets go back to the hotel after the show for a dip in the pool" I mean swimming like "Hey we found a great local swimming hole in Yakima, Washington and the water is like 38 degrees. Come for a swim with us before the show." It should come as no suprise that the Ray are pretty strongly opposed to the outdoors, but we did our best to keep up with these crazy earth children. We even went camping in Oregon for a night!!
The whole camping thing basically went like this........we got to the camp grounds at eleven at night and were greeted by the most beautiful sight I have seen in a long time. Our black van and trailer were silouetted by a bright full moon and a huge lake that we were parked next to, on a brisk summer night. We sat next to the lake for a good five minutes trying to muster up the words to capture the beauty and grandeur of nature in it's finest setting and then John said "This is pretty cool, I am gonna go play Halo in the van." It was perfect. I could not have agreed more.

This tour featured a lot of driving in the desert. The desert is really hot right now. We made a little movie to help everyone understand what it is like to tour in the desert during the summer time.

That movie is way trippy right? I have to go coat my acid tongue in milk for like ten minutes after that shit. I have so much more to write soon,
-brian

Chriss Angel "MindFreak!" Gets a Haircut............Italian Intervention...............To All My Baby Momma's

2007-05-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

Uhhhhhhhhhhh........
So the longer we are off from tour, the less relevant this blog will become to actual band activity. Luckily, we leave for our next tour in one week. On that note, let the bullshit begin,

So I have been watching the best late night television of my life recently, and I must share in some of the nonsense I have seen in the midnight glowing apocalypse. I watched Conan the other night to see one very special guest. He just happens to be my favorite entertainer/illusionist/pervert/weirdo/guitar teacher/idol of all time..............CHRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK!!!!!!!!!!
This guy has been turning every day back to 1988 for the past couple years and I am just in awe of his oddness. How the hell does this guy get a television show? He is total car wreck footage for me. So, I am watching Conan to see him and when he is introduced and appears from the curtain I am blown away by the fact that MindFreak got a haircut! Look at this cut it is totally..........MINDFREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!

But here's the best part, he didn't just get a haircut......he turned the weirdo dial to 1995 and got the Rachel Haircut from "Friends!" I know that cut, my Mom had it and so did every girl in the nation. This guy is so mental. He totally did the supercuts commercial and went in with the Skid Row hair and said to the hair lady "Give me something my mom would like."

Love is Mindfreak and today is about Love so Love Mindfreak in 2007 just like you loved your Rachel bob cut in 1995.

Last night I watched my Italian people be degraded by the worst "Intervention" episode I have ever seen. Let me just say that not all Italians work in and operate pizzerias in Jersey with Caesar haircuts and bad jewelry. Well not only did the family on "Intervention" live up to all these stereotypes, but they also had a son who smoked mad crack and still worked the family pizza parlor for twelve hours a day. I am only half Italian so I must have just gotten that hard working gene and totally by-passed the Caesar haircut and crack smoking gene. Remember, crack is whack but huffing spray paint is just as fun as an adult as it was in eighth grade!!!

Last but not least, I would like to shout out ALL MOTHERS on this very special day!! Lola Ray has had many offspring across this fine country and I would like to holler at all the proud mommas out there. So raise your hand if Lola Ray is your Baby Daddy and put your hand back down if you think you are getting a dime off our broke asses for child support. This day is for you lucky ladies,
-brian

The Great Wall: A Quest for Manhood.

2007-05-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

The Wall: A Quest for Manhood.

What is a man? Anatomically a man is defined by the nether-regions; the penis and gonads. Sociologically, a man is coined as being the provider, the strength, and the rock upon which a family is rooted. The idioms which flatter and galvanize us can also confine the potential artist that we all have lying deep within. Being in a band can often cause one to question their manliness, case in point…

Scenario: Loading in to ghetto D.C club.
Crackie #1: Oh shit! Is it gay night???
Me: Nope. Disappointed?
Crackie #2: Nice pants.
Me: Thank you.

Too often have we shyed under the shadows of masons and carpenters, marines and jedi knights, l.a.p.d. snipers and ultimate fighters. We musicians are as manly as any man, and it must be known! Although countless burly moments present themselves while on the road, i.e. driving through snowy mountain passes miles above sea level, semi-trucks screaming by with reckless abandon kicking ice and slush up into waves of Nordic murder. Really, there is no better way to comprehend the Manimal without becoming the Manimal. This is where John's and my vision quest begins… The Man Within.

A wall was to be built in the Lola Ray trailer. Schematics! We need schematics. Yes, yes…blueprints as well, we need those. Measuring tape, check…hammer, ballpene or claw? Fuck, I dunno. Thin-thread screws 3 inches with oxidation preventative zinc coating. Two by fours of Oregonian pressure treated Douglas fir. Plywood planks four feet by five and nine inches. Four testicles, two wife-beaters, one AC/DC record with powerful car stereo, cigarettes, sweat, sawdust and a touch of blood bourne of slight splinter incision. “If you build it, they will come” resonated deeply within our newly bastardized souls. Sons of no mother, we were now children of the greats…George Washington, Denzel Washington, Daniel Boone and Captain Kirk. No more did the Iggys and Bowies flow through our fickle girly veins.
With saw in hand, I began to hack through the dense fibers that once were tree as John installed the planks with surgical precision. We eyeballed, we cussed, we became elated in the pure ingenuity that must have filled the men of Egypt while they struggled to heave 5 ton blocks one by one up those pyramid steps. Hours disappeared, the sun turned its reign over to the slight gray moon, and yet we continued to work in to the coming night. Her thoughtful luminescence guiding our weary hands away from the blades and blunt crude tools. Tap tap tap, the whir of an electrical motor, tap tap tap. At around 9 p.m. the wall was completed with one final trigger pull of John’s craftsman built, sears bought corded power drill…18-volt bitch, wassup.
Standing back and admiring the finished product can only be understood, strangely enough, by a woman after birthing her first seed. A tear may have been shed but will never again be spoken of…real men do not cry. A hi-five was indefinitely shared, as were a few tall, chilled Millers.
You can look for us not up on stage, plucking frivolously at strings and singing songs of love and woe, but on the frontlines, M-60’s in hand and HOO-RAH’s tipping our tongues. Plugging away at anti-American vermin pouring oil into their oversized cereal bowls. I hope the Corp. can handle a few good men, even if they happen to be devilishly handsome musical visionaries, new to the world of drill bits and fucking for sport. Believe it, for we…are…man. Grrrraawwwr!!!!

A contemplative poem in retrospect of a great accomplishment.

Torrid burning sun
On our backs as we work
Building with wood
Love has turned sour
Our thoughts on nails
On hammers and axes
No tree is safe
We will build walls around walls
Until death greets us openly on the battlefield
Timber of heaven beware
There are REAL men in this place.

------Brian Beck.

The best day of my life!!!.......The worst day of my life!!....Ok, maybe that is a little dramatic

2007-05-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

At the intersection of vanity and self obsession sits a little band called Lola Ray. When we are not at Best Buy looking for our own CD, we can most often be found near a laptop searching youtube for videos tagged "Lola Ray." Most often we just find live footage that proves the sad fact that we tend to play every song way to fast. This realization can become tedious and even disheartening. So you can imagine my blissful shreek when I found THE GREATEST LOLA RAY VIDEO EVER POSTED ON YOUTUBE!!! This video is a high school band performing Automatic Girl at their school's talent show!!!!

This band is called Mr Pansy and The Travesty!!! I fucking love that name! I love everything about this band! It honestly is the nicest thing to know that these guys took the time to learn our song and they took it to their school's show and fucking slay with it!! I am on goddamn cloud nine over this video!! It is all I have ever asked for in life to have a band cover one of our songs. When I was in middle school I totally covered Alice In Chain's "Would" at some talent show and it blew. I think I tried to rip some solo or something and just over exerted my unskilled hands and was forced to become an akward high schooler who lived vicariously through The Real World. OK, maybe it wasn't the talent shows' fault that I kind of watched way too much TV in High School, but it certainly didn't help the situation. I am glad these kids have bright futures and their band is good and they are probably totally well adjusted. Hats off to Mr Pansy and The Travesty (seriously the best name EVER!!!)

So the weirdest and saddest thing happened to me yesterday and I have to write all about it because it truly was odd. I was sitting in my new favorite internet coffee shop with my laptop and I decided to plug my sweet computer into the wall for a little battery charge up. I use my laptop and other forms of electrical relient equipment (lamps, blenders, power drills, etc) all day every day and I have never seen anything like what happened next. My battery pack was sitting next to me and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little flame come out of it!!! The flame was glowing and smelled like plastic. I swear it whispered my name. I nearly shat myself, it was so scary! I blew out the flame and the power box began sparking in a desperate attempt to re-ignite. I yanked the power cable out of the wall and sat for ten minutes with my heart beating loudly. No one had noticed the tiny little flame and I then began to sulk in the heavy reality that I will no longer be able to charge my fine Toshiba honey. Here is a dramatic photographic re creation of how the whole thing went down in my warped memory...

OK, I said it was gonna be dramatic. So my laptop is down for a little while and luckily John let me borrow his for a trip back to the scene of the crime and this little blog update. John has a fancy Mac so I am sorry about all the typos, but my fingers are not used to this fancy keyboard of the future. I am now terrified of electricity and have not watched television or turned on a light for two days. This means that I missed Gilmore Girls tonight and I am hence devastated. To bring this whole thing together, I blame my Gilmore obsession on my horrible middle school talent show! I also owe all my happiness to Mr Pansy and The Travesty! And without a tenth watching of their school performance video I would not have had to plug in my lap top with such devastating results! This whole crazy world is somehow interconnected and it is all coming together now isn't it?

I am sad and happy and sad and happy today...........I hope that you are having a wonderful day of internetting and I hope that you don't explode.
-brian

Show with Sparta!!!!.........THE WIZARD CLIPS ARE HERE..........Beck Makes Sexy Photos?!?

2007-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hello friends-
I am so amped to announce that we will be playing a one off show with our old friends and tour mates Sparta!! The show is at UCLA on May 2nd and all the info is on our myspace page. Supposedly the show is for UCLA students only, but I also heard today that tickets will be available to everyone on the day of the show. Either way, don't miss this show cause like Sparta slays and we will do our best to keep up with them.

In all honesty I will be fine if no one shows up for this show because I just want an excuse to hang with these guys again. I am gonna bring tons of alcohol to make sure that Jim gets nice and toasty and proceeds to tell me hours of stories. Jim Ward is honestly the best storyteller I have ever met. He makes me want to build make shift hobo fires wherever he is so I can warm my hands and listen to tales of his fascinating life. It is so ON!!

Speaking of Sparta, I have finally taken this time off to do a little research on this King Leonidas fellow that everyone has been saying I look like....um......

............uuuuhhhhhhhhh.........What can I say? I don't see the resemblance so much in the face, beard, or hair, but other than that it's a total dead ringer!! We look like brothers...........That is totally what I look like when I slay lions.

I found this awesome clip when I was searching for scenes from "The Wizard." I totally forgot that I was like three seconds away from making this my Senior Quote in my High School yearbook.

Can you imagine how stupid I would have felt? Looking back on my high school memories and being reminded of what a total idiot I was. I am so happy that I went with a quote from Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey instead!!

I just posted a bunch of new dates on our myspace and they are gonna keep on coming for the next couple of days. Our little two week tour with Sirens Sister and Cavil At Rest is totally gonna have no days off!!! I am thrilled because I hate days off....it just gives me more time to look up super stupid shit.........
Can you imagine a grown up human being actually writing the script for this movie? Is it just me or is that the most romantic scene in the history of all Cinema? How is it that I was in love with Jenny Lewis when I was like five and am now 25 and am still in love with Jenny Lewis. Weird right?

Our drummer Beck has taken up a new interest in photography and has asked me to post some of his super awesome compositions here. These pictures are really nice and they fool me into remembering tour as a long, dusty winding road of happy memories and cowboy sunsets.

This picture makes tour look like a Parisian still life.....which of course it is.

If I was actually looking for Diesel I would be way pissed that that sign is like 100 percent illegible. It is a nice sign though.

There I am, King Leonidas in the flesh!

Fuck all the haters and mad love to the skaters. Tell all the bro's to kiss my ass
-brian

Home At Last!!!.....McDonalds Double Cheeseburger Officially Banned By Lola Ray Van LLC......Sweet Tunes For Sweet Dudes

2007-04-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Look at this thing!!! Honestly....stare into the eyes of this beautiful beast. This piece of total rectal trash has reeked havoc on Lola Ray for far too long!! I won't take it anymore! I know that it is only $1, but seriously. We have returned home today from an eternity of touring with full on rotten internal structures and weakened bone marrow. We are pudgy and doughy and move like bloated sea lions now. The biggest toll this garbage piece has taken is on our new bass player Chris. It has single handedly destroyed his optimism for touring, music, life and caring. He started the tour out as a novice and we introduced him to the double cheeseburger with real enthusiasm. We said "Listen Chris. This hamburger is gonna be your best friend on tour. It is one dollar and will fill you up for exactly 6 and 3/4 hours. It will always be by your side and will never let you down." Yesterday he said "Fuck the double cheeseburger. I hate this piece of trash. It makes me sweat pickles and I see Ketchup stains in my nightmares." I am so so sorry Chris. We never should have done this to you. You were such a good kid and now you just wanna......

I would like to thank the following CD's for keeping us sane and keeping us reminded of why we love music;

The Oohlas lent us this record and we "accidentally" forgot to give it back. This CD is so good , but it is kind of cheating to have Paul Simonon play bass for your band. It is like asking Michael Jackson to be your back up singer or something. Either way, this disc got played more than any other on this tour.

Modest Mouse has been my hands down fav since senior year of high school and "The Lonesome Crowded West" collided and first introduced me to the sweet feelings of being totally pretentious. I have never been a Smiths fan so I was kind of indifferent to Marr's involvement in the record, but this CD is 100% the shit! If anyone tries to even holler "sellout" over this CD I will straight up octopus whip a punk for talking total nonsense!!

I never really liked Kings Of Leon and am not quite sure if I do now, but either way this CD is way good.

We were really lucky to play with these guys in Salt Lake City the other night and I was totally into this band. When we put in the CD the next day we were jealous of ourselves for getting to play with such a great band. They are out on tour with Mute Math right now. They are a total mash up of early Weezer, Pavement and Elliot Smith. A pretty yummy mash up if you ask me.

So we are officially home for the next month and I can't ever relax, so I will be posting this piece up like crazy. I probably won't have anything interesting to say, but I will milk the humorous moments of our last voyage for all they are worth. Coming up in the next blog week is the highly publicized "Interview with our Bass Boy Chris Upton", a fabulous string of text messages that is simply entitled "LA in a nutshell.......Are you the owner of Sky Bar?" and a little gem I am working on called "Lorelai Gilmore I think I love you."

Stay tuned and prepare for the boredom to take control......
-brian

SPRING IS HERE!!??!!.......Photo tour of La Crosse, Wisconsin....Dear weather man, Snow is WAY SATANIC!!!

2007-04-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal. If one more person tells me "I don't know what happened. It was 70 degrees and sunny here yesterday" while I rub snow from my dampened curls, I will kill someone. We have honestly been in a snowy hell for the last week and it is horrible. The other night I turned on CNN and the leading story was all "A COLD SNAP HITS THE MID WEST AND EAST COAST" and I was all "Sucks to be them" and then I was like "Oh crap! I am an idiot! I am in the east coast and mid west! No wonder I am watching CNN in a parka."

The other night we played in the charming and quaint village of La Crosse, Wisconsin. I was immediately struck by the signage in this town and immediately went on a photographic scavenger hunt of some of the best signs I could find.

I am totally enrolling in the scientific college of beauty barbering next semester. It is perfect for the man who has a more than passing interest in science but a true calling for beauty barbering.

I like that they totally re worked the marque at this hardware store to give top billing to the varathane wood stane that they just got in.

It doesn't get much better than "We hav great donut." My immediate response was "Really, only ONE great donut?" Just priceless, and for some reason I love that the bakery is named Consumers.

Even Lola Ray got in on the La Crosse sign craze as we were immortalized in the venue window with one of the most psychedelic posters I have ever seen. This poster is so hot! It is totally the same color scheme as Bubble Yum Cool Burst!

Oh La Crosse, I could stare at your signs for days!

Chris met the easter bunny in Chicago!! He is totally humping the good bunny's leg.....

I think this might be the scariest photo ever taken of me. I would like to thank Beck for making me stand in a creepy alley so this photo could happen.

This is what John and Beck look like when they are scared!

By the way, I totally wasn't kidding about the Lola Ray tattoo photo post. We are gonna document every beautiful piece of Ray inspired ink. This sweet piece is from tonight's show in Omaha. I totally thought this picture was Sharpie when I saw it, but it's not. This is the second tattoo in like a week!

Last night we all watched an American Gladiators re run on ESPN Classics in the hotel and were blown away by the shows poor production value and mediocre athletic performances. I remember this show being full of real Gladiators and really great clothes.

So the tour has been really great but definitely REALLY long to. I think we all have some pretty crazy California fever and can't wait to get back. Personally I am going straight back to MALIBU if you know what I'm saying (just watch the video!!!)
See you there!!
-brian

Day off in New York......We are tourists in our own city.....Starbucks is for junkies and me!!!

2007-04-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

I lived in Brooklyn for three years and I am still a tourist in New York. I can't help it, everything I love in the city just happens to be what everyone who visits from Ohio happens to love too. When I was living in New York I clocked serious hours at Central Park, ate dinner in little Italy and most importantly I spent every afternoon at my favorite Starbucks in the whole universe!

This is the Starbucks at St Marks and 3rd ave and it is like heaven on earth to me. I initially sought it out when I moved from California because it is the only Starbucks in the city with an outdoor patio. I soon found out that New York has a bitter pill that they call winter, but still I sat outside in the freezing cold and snow. I would sit here for hours filling notebooks with observations about all the junkies that have permanent residency at this place. The junkies here became the center of my own imaginary universe and I chronicled their lives. I still have no idea why junkies love sitting at Starbucks so much, but it is a passion that we share and who am I to judge anyone else for pursuing a lifestyle that I hole heartedly condone. I once saw a fight here that toppled into a bus stop and eventually into the street, but for the most part these were a peaceful people who mostly enjoyed McDonalds, Sparks, and borrowing my cell phone. Anyone who tries to claim that Starbucks is destroying the city can just march on down and check this place out for a bit of old time New York charm.

It should come as no surprise that my favorite restaurant in New York is actually just a stall of vending machines. This place is what I picture Japan to be like, except in Japan you can buy everything from vending machines like cars, boats, haircuts and really great style. Oh wait, I don't think they have boats in Japan cause they have had hoverboards over there for like fifteen years already. In the future there will be a more efficient way of delivering Chicken Pot Pie Kroket, but in the meantime this will totally do...

And for those with a more mature pallate, I give you Roast Pork Bun out of a vending machine. Its basically the culinary equivalent of buying a tuxedo at Target.

For the ultimate tourist experience, I took Beck and Chris to Magnolia cupcakes in the west village. We waited in line behind bridge and tunnel housewives who had just been to a taping of the Martha Stewart show and I was once again in my element. We chatted about Rachel Ray and how we were totally "cheating" by having cupcakes.

The other best part about being back in New York is getting to see all my favorite New York friends. We spent the day with ex-bassist James and he is doing great. He has been spending his time cultivating an active caterpillar on his upper lip and somehow becoming smarter than he ever was.

He came out to the show and met our new bass player Chris and it was like a beautiful passing of the torch. Stay tuned for a hard hitting expose all about Chris. I think it is gonna be called The Man, The Myth, The incredible groomed facial stubble...

Last, but not least, there is a new rule here at The Lola Ray Blog Headquarters International. All those fine Lola Ray Tattoo's now get immediate entry into the blog and all the acclaim that comes with such recognition. Here is a sweet new piece from the show in Chicago, displayed next to John's magnificent ink

Peace out all you fine stallions. I am gonna sip my Green Tea Frappucino Double Blended Creme and watch The Outsiders with my man Beck.
-brian

Has anyone ever told you look like Columbus, Ohio?

2007-03-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today we played Columbus, OH and we were treated to spending our day with some of the coolest kids I have ever met. The show was so fun thanks to all of our new friends and here is the crazy part......everyone at this show was like ridiculously good looking. I was so blown away by ridiculously well dressed 18 year olds that I had to sit in a corner talking on the phone to my mom about my sad threads.

She's on the line being all like "Dude, I told you your style was hella weak and now 18 year olds are making you look like a straight Skank!!"
And I'm all "Whatever mom's"

So here is one of these little style mavens in action...he is like a cherub of ruby cheeks and great hair.

Luckily John was able to hold his own in the face of such stylish men and showed them how we do it...

Speaking of good looking how the fuck did we make our way in to the RADDEST group photo of all time. Can anyone say THE FUTURE OF MUSIC!! Two bands, sunglasses inside, and Blender Banners! This might have to be my new desktop background...
oh wait I am using someone else's computer.....OK, now she just got a sweet new desktop background..

So I don't know what the deal is with this movie 300, but if one more band guy tells me that I look like someone named Leonitus I am gonna rage on a mother. No matter how much I might look like a man named Leonitus there is no way I am going to go and see the molten swill that is 300. On a side note, how random is the resemblance between this random drawing in the bar we played tonight....

and yours truly...

That drawing is way Fugs! I kid you not, some guy told me today that I look like "Joaquin Phoenix with Hair." I was like "doesn't Joaquin have hair?" I don't want to get all technical here but I think he meant "You look like Joaquin Phoenix but like with crazy hair." Fuck that.
-brian

Austin "The City Of Dreams".........A South By Southwest Re-Cap

2007-03-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all
Greetings from Texas. We just finished a two day marathon of South By Southwest in Austin that I am going to try and put into words here for you. Of course, the most important part of any SXSW experience is the actual show that you are there to play. Our show was Friday night and it was a real ripper of a show. It's not that we played particularly great or anything but it was more that we were so in awe of our great friends who came out and represented and made our show so much fun for us. South By really does feel like a form of "This is Your Life" for bands.

This is what the show felt like from stage from my perspective;
Start playing first song.....
guitar feedback and then into "We're Not Having Any Fun"......
stage sound sucks......whatevs, it sounds like we are playing alright.....
where am I?.....
try and not look like a douchebag.....
look out into the crowd......
Hey look it's James from Brazil!! His beard is way better than mine, dammit, that dude totally just showed me up......
turnaround and play guitar into my amp so I don't have to stare at another man's beard.......
sing chorus......look into crowd.....
Hey it Micah from Hawthorne Heights! He is the best guy in the world and totally rich now! I am jealous!......
Damn!!I wish some really rich guy was here to sign us and take us out to some ridiculous dinner (more on that later).....
Hey The Oohlas are here!!! Everything is right with the world!.....
David Wallace, BFF from New York in the House!!! He looks kind of drunk, he is my favorite drunk EVER!!....play more songs.....
Josh from New York is here, he is really a handsome man and deliciously well dressed........
Finish playing......load out and onto the packed streets of Austin! All i can say is thank god that all our friends came out to the show because it really was like playing for all of your favorite people in the world, what a treat!

On Friday night, after our show, I was treated to the first incredible show I have seen in a long DAMN TIME! Mr David Wallace politely escorted me at two in the morning to the Blender Space to see the Albert Hammond Jr (of The Strokes) show and it honestly blew my mind....We stood right up front and it was a full on face melt of triple guitar attack!! The best part is that his band is made up of four of the most curly haired men I have ever seen, honestly they made it look REAL good. For the first time I embraced my curls and felt proud in a new way. I felt like the Bee Girl in the Blind Melon video when she finds her friends in the field of other bee people. Then Kirsten Dunst swarmed the front of the stage and I scowled at her for bringing her ridiculous good looks into our curly haired man party. She ruined everything.

Saturday was a day off and we looked forward to spending the day soaking in the South By experience without the pressure of actually playing a show. We pretty much just spent the whole day soaking up the magic that is The Oohlas and hanging out with them on their beautiful hotel rooftop. Another highlight came when we had the extreme pleasure of joining the Oohlas and the magic queen of cool that is Sarah Ultragrrrl in a delicious Sushi Dinner that included many Sapporos and the most delicious sushi roll I have ever eaten! Thanks to Sarah and The oohlas for such a great evening and such great company as always!

That night we saw another great show when we got to watch one of my favorite bands Cursive. Here we are standing outside of a party and watching them through the chain link as the ultra cool stood inside and watched them from the safety of their coolness radiations.

We also saw the cops swarm up on some bloody woman who had been beating asses in the ally all night. It took eighty cops to sedate this lady and I like this picture cause the cops armbands are glowing in the night like the transformer GI Joe Ho Bags that they are.

So to sum up the whole experience it was just so nice to see all the great people that we are so lucky to be friends with in one tiny city. We left Austin under an overcast sky and headed to Dallas to officially start our next tour. We can't wait to see y'all out at our shows coming up and please have a great day and night and afternoon and morning....
-brian

A week off from tour......I have watched Walk The Line on repeat for four days now!!!

2007-03-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hey All-
So it is always a little disorienting when you have a week off from the road. This is the bizarre situation we find ourselves in now. We just finished the west coast tour and are getting ready to go tackle our more burly friends to the the south and east. This is how the vicious cycle goes, you are on tour and all you wanna do is get home, oblivious to the fact that you are having the time of your life on tour. The closer you get to finishing tour, van talk turns to friends you are gonna hang out with, food from home you are gonna eat, family you are gonna finally see again, etc. You get home and sit in bed and you can't fall asleep, you question if a week off was really what you wanted. On the one hand it is great, like a vacation, on the other hand it sucks because your job is already a vacation so it is like a vacation from a vacation which nullifies itself and just makes nothing, except for unparalleled levels of boredom. You get to see your friends again, but they just keep asking you when you are leaving again in hopes that they can return to doing nothing without you. You long to be in the van so bad that friends and family are forced to treat you like a dog or toddler and place you in their cars with the engine on, running you around the block so that you can finally get some sleep.

I usually spend my time off keeping myself busy with the more mundane elements of being in a band. I pay parking tickets, order new merch, and most importantly watch music related films over and over. It is like how they show Rambo on loop to young child warriors in far off countries to get them stoked on war and killing. I stay away from Almost Famous because that shit is just to obvious. I stay away from Spinal Tap because it just hits to close to home. Recently I have really honed in on Walk the Line and I am fucking hooked. I can't stop watching this shit. I skip the beginning when Cash's brother dies cause that part sucks but the rest of this movie is just the god dam best. The thing about Joaquin Phoenix as Cash is that he portrays exactly what every guy in every band wants to be. In particular, the scene where Cash plays in San Quentin to a bunch of rowdy convicts who just wanna rock and kick a whole bunch of ass.

This scene is fucking ridiculous, first Cash sticks it to the Warden and takes him down in front of his own prisoners (who will probably riot and kill him later), then he sings jams all about doing blow and shooting shit and getting arrested. The whole time his super fly chica is just watching him with a look that says, "god dam that might be the baddest mother that ever lived!" The prisoners are all in to it and they are creaming themselves like Jesus himself is pardoning them and Cash just sneers and in the back of his head is thinking "God dam I am going to make a shit ton of money of this live album." Seriously, this scene is my dream and if I ever die I just want heaven to be this scene on loop with me replacing Joaquin in the title role of "Official Bad Ass Mother Fucker."

I am Out!!!! I gotta go watch Dr. Phil, I think I am starting to lose it!
-brian

The Devil And Lola Ray

2007-03-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

The last time I spoke with Brian, the hellfire within his nostril had matasticized and taken control of his mind, soul and body. It’s an unfortunate loss, but as far as I can tell, he can still rip the shit out of a B.C Rich. So until he lets me perform some backseat plastic utencil surgery, I’ll continue to champion the blog so YOU are always in the know.

Yes, the Oohlas are nice…and yes, the Oohlas are fun, but what he didn’t tell you was of their obsessive and perverse association with satan. While roaming the back alley of some venue in some city, I happened to notice Oohla songbird Ollie Hopnoodle snipping off a lock of a sleeping John Balicantas jet black hair with a pair of rusted (possibly bloody) scissors. I hid behind a dumpster and watched as she placed the snippet of his essence into a small plastic bag, a pentagonal star drawn in sharpie ominously detailed her devilish intent. I shuddered, how could such a pleasant young woman have duped me into thinking her a model songstress when really the ink of Diablo himself coarsed through her black veins. She stank of sulfur and the rot of a thousand mangled kittens. Could it be that the Oohlas were actually the musical mercenaries of the dark lord? I decided to further investigate, hoping beyond hope that I had stumbled upon a misinterpretation of a wicken ritual, those cats are down with trees and shit. I tiptoed out from behind my hiding spot with an unlit cigarette dangling from a pair of trembling lips, sure that she had not seen me. “Need a light love?” she said delightfully, her face bright with honey and hearth embers. I nodded, trying desperately to conceal my horror. With the flick of her pretty wrist, my Marlboro red began to smolder. Panicked, I sipped deftly as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but the taste of black magic was strong in the smoke. “I know you were watching me. I saw you, I see everything,” she said in a voice not her own. “Join us and you will posses the power that you so obviously covet, dear boy.” All of a sudden a fist grew tight around my rapidly beating heart, bringing me to my knees. “Ollie please no!” I stammered, but she did not relinquish her poltergeist grip. “I WANT YOUR SOUL!!!” she bellowed in a sub-bass moan, a THX worthy howl smothered in hot boar musk and sex-crime perspiration. Just then, as I could feel the good within me drying to sand, John leapt out from the shadows and struck her across the face with the backside of his hand, emblazoned with a tattooed black crucifix. She screamed and collapsed to the ground, her head buried in her hands. Writhing in agony, the pitiful Oohla cried out one final feral scream before her body burst into a cloud of black dust. I had known from the first show with the Oohlas that something was not quite right, their music was impossibly good and their demeanor far too fetching. They had sold their souls for rock and roll.

- beck.

Lola Ray Catch A Case Of The Oohlas!!! Tour Update #1.....I have a fucking pimple in my nose and it IS KILLING ME!!!

2007-03-05T00:36:00.000-08:00

So up until two weeks ago I had a favorite band.....Frozen Embryos. They are super indie, they are so indie that they only wrote one song EVER and only rehearsed a couple of times. They had a chronic nail-biting songwriting genius named Jordan Catalano (played by Jared Leto) who penned an anthem named "Big Red" that cut right to the impressionable young heart of a beautifully flanneled young tart named Angela (Claire Danes). The band only appeared on one episode of My So Called Life, but ever since their incendiary performance on episode #14 of the short lived show I have championed them as possible the greatest musical project of all time.

That all ended for me about two weeks ago on the first night of our tour with The Oohlas. We had already watched and loved the bands video and songs and were really excited to hear them live, but secretly hoped that they would not be TOO good, making it difficult for us to bring the noise every night in the way that we were accustomed. So you can imagine my seething anger when The Oohlas first took to the stage and proceeded to dominate the stage with not only a incredible live energy but also the best songs I have heard in fucking forever. It sucked...it quickly became apparent that we were going to have to get up on that stage every night for two weeks and play after our absolute new favorite band!!

And as if it wasn't enough that these bastards had great songs, a great live presence and the balls to tour in a Mini Van, we quickly learned the harsh reality that...ugghh..they are awesome people as well. Goddamit!! They have everything, but we are not jealous..no...instead we have spent the last two weeks revelling in the pure delight of being on tour with, honestly, our favorite band and some of our favorite new friends. All bullshit aside I am thankfull for nothing more in my life than the fact that our band has gotten to a point where we get the absolute pleasure and treat to share the stage with bands that we love and respect. So Yay For The Oohlas!!! Yay for Lola Ray!! And Yay to All our friends who came out to these shows!! And Yay to Jordan Catalano!!

So if you live anywhere with an airport you should totally fly out to our last show with The Oohlas at Chain Reaction on March 6th. If you miss it you are lame and will be sad....OUCH!! But have no fear if you can't make the last minute flight plans to see the two greatest bands on the planet right now. The Oohlas will be everywhere soon and they will be blowing up in about ten minutes flat so you will definitely be seeing more of them real soon.

And as for Lola Ray...we have just posted the first dates of our Southern, East Coast, Midwest and West Tour!! That's right we will be out for the whole month of March and April and we can't wait to see all our favorite friends slowly emerge from the snow and chill into the spring sun as we travel to some of our favorite cities to play our tunes for you fine friends. Dates are literally coming in on a daily basis so please check www.myspace.com/lolaray constantly cause I will be updating it constantly.

If you look at this picture really hard you can see that look of utter agony that is reflected in my eyes thanks to the total pain of a horrendous pimple in my right nostril!! This shit is ridiculous, is it dangerous to put proactive up your nose? I want my nostrils to be smooth like the angel faces of Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore... I bet they don't struggle like this. Fuck Them......I'm out
-brian

This man shut down the Lola Ray blog with sure wit and intelligence

2007-02-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been a good week since we last updated our blog but it is for good reason. This man pictured above, with a heart of gold and goggles for anal diving, shut the whole thing down with one brilliant blog post last week. So mighty were his words and his diction that we all stopped and paused for a week long gasp in recognition of his mighty skills. But, alas, we are back in business now and I can promise more great posts from Lola Ray's newest literary shining star Mr. Beck

We are all gearing up for our big West Coast Headlining Tour which starts next week. We have packed and re packed our luggage, washed and un washed the van, stocked up on snacks and consumed them already. It has been a while since we hit the road and we are just gearing up for the tour-a-thon that 2007 is going to be. Our new bass player is incredible and we have been putting him through touring boot camp the last couple of days. We set up an obstacle course that included challenges in van maintenance, obsessive trailer packing and high octane soda consumption. He passed with flying colors and also found time to learn about 11 songs from the Lola Ray back catalogue as well. The full list of dates is posted below for you to mull over and plan for.

On a side note, the response we have gotten for this tour has been unbelievable and we just want to thank everyone in advance for their kind words of encouragement and enthusiasm. It is no surprise, hopefully, that Lola Ray is a band that relies 100% on support from our fans. We are not a band that will be forced down your throat with high powered myspace marketing teams armed with colorful graphics and nonsense promotions. We are a band that simply asks that if you love our band like we do, please tell all your friends about us and encourage them to come out to shows with you. That is how we like to do it in Lola Ray. in this day and age you have so much nonsense jammed down your throat and we simply want to be like a small dainty altoid, curiously strong and hard to forget. That altoid analogy was weak...I know...I am still operating under the shadow of Becks previous blog post and it will take me a couple entries to get out of it. Whatever, I can still whoop his ass at cribbage....FACE!!!!
-brian

Feb 19 2007
6:30P
El Corazon (All Ages) w/ The Oohlas
Seattle, Washington

Feb 20 2007
6:00P
The Venue (All Ages) w/ The Oohlas
Boise, Idaho

Feb 21 2007
7:00P
Kilby Court (ALL AGES) w/ The Oohlas
Salt Lake City, Utah

Feb 22 2007
7:00P
Muse (ALL AGES) w/ The Oohlas
Provo, Utah

Feb 25 2007
7:00P
The Clubhouse (ALL AGES) w/ Under The Influence of Giants
Tempe, Arizona

Feb 28 2007
7:30P
The Knitting Factory (ALL AGES) Alterknit Lounge w/ The Oohlas
Los Angeles, California

Mar 1 2007
7:00P
The Underground (ALL AGES) w/ The Oohlas
Roseville, California

Mar 2 2007
8:30P
Beauty Bar (21+) w/ The Oohlas
San Diego, California

Mar 3 2007
8:30P
Beauty Bar (21+) w/ The Oohlas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Mar 6 2007
7:30P
Chain Reaction (ALL AGES) w/ The Oohlas
Anaheim, California

Beautiful Boys: An insiders perspective on the Lola Ray experience.

2007-01-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

In an age of Bluetooth, WiFi, double blended green tea lattes and hybrid Ford Explorers, it was only fitting that my union with dearest John and Brian came simply from the click of a mouse. After months of sifting through the rotten tripe polluting craigslist, I happened upon a simple post which read ‘touring band seeks drummer’. I replied, auditioned, and soon found myself locked behind the graffiti riddled doors of a black van…cigarette smoke pouring forth through the cracked passenger window. The singer looked to be of some unknown and terrifying ethnicity and I would sooner than later learn of his barbarian appetite for barbequed meat. The guitarist came off as a quiet man, a troubled man perhaps, but nonetheless an educated man. He spoke in foreign tongues for the first week of the tour and would not allow me to urinate unless I asked. Much of the time I was too afraid. I knew within the first few hundred miles that lessons would be learned, friends would be made, and enemies would indefinitely be butchered under the fall of darkness, their bodies lost in the muck of Floridian mangrove.
One fateful night, I can recall tossing and turning on the vinyl bench seat of the van, staring out the window at the millions of tiny lights giving sight to the grim edge of desert before us and wondering, “how much better does it get?” I hadn’t had to ask to use the restroom in at least 3 or 4 days, John had offered me a succulent rib bone left in the wake of a post-show kill, and finally they had begun to call me by my real name (until then, I was referred to as ‘the lorax’). My heart felt heavy with the prospect of eventually gaining the unconditional love of these beautiful boys, so no task was too large, too foul or too erotic. If something needed to be shaved, I would shave it. If the pangs of road lonliness proved too much to handle, a backrub or hug was on the way. Life took on a strange simplicity while barreling down the endless highways, a fraternal bliss where not even the lilac stink of woman seemed to matter more than a fart in the wind. We were as gay as slightly gay straight men with mustaches, long hair and flower tattoos could be without actually being gay.
When the tour ended and the van pulled back into my suburban new jersey home, a salted jewel danced its way off the tip of my nose and fell to the black macadam. Home was no longer home and I was filled with the sadness of a love lost and a pet death all at once. The boys were moving back to California due to an utter lack of decent trash Mexican cantinas and my heart was broken thrice. I remember the last thing they said to me as they pulled away, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re dumb…Beck, you are a God in our eyes, in every way, shape and form. Your penis should be cast and marbleized for generations upon generations to appreciate. We hate ourselves because you rule so much. Goodbye, greatest friend ever.” And then I moved to California. The end. - beck

dear diary,

2007-01-26T23:29:00.000-08:00

today beck and i went to the irvine spectrum. that place is tops. they have roller coasters and helecopters and shit.

so we were walking down the main prominade and these two kids walked by that looked like they were in a band. it was weird. one was an incredibly good looking asian guy with sweet tattoos and probably a huge wang. the other guy had a sweet beard and probaby had a pretty big wang too (but not as big as the asian guy).

well anyway beck totally was checking them out. i didn't say anything, but i wanted to. should i be worried?

a little worried,

john.

First Six Tour Dates for February 2007

2007-01-23T00:38:00.000-08:00

So it is finally time to announce the incredible tour package that we are taking out in February and March. It is us and our new friends The Oohlas!!!!!!!!

(www.myspace.com/theoohlas)

That's right, finally we have real news to announce!!! For the first time in a while there will be no more nonsense to write as we focus on the VERY serious task of making these tour dates the greatest shows we have ever played. Shows will be coming in for the next couple of weeks and we will continue to post them here until they are memorized by every man, woman and child in the United States and South America. This tour is great and will hit the West Coast like a thirty ton A-bomb of carbon monoxide (dangerous in the home)!!! Seriously if anyone misses these shows they will be sad in the future....it is true....i have seen the future and it is sad

Feb 19 2007 6:30P
El Corazon (All Ages) w/ The Oohlas
Seattle, Washington

Feb 20 2007 6:00P
The Venue (All Ages) w/ The Oohlas
Boise, Idaho

Feb 21 2007 7:00P
Kilby Court (ALL AGES) w/ The Oohlas
Salt Lake City, Utah

Feb 22 2007 7:00P
Muse (ALL AGES) w/ The Oohlas
Provo, Utah

Mar 2 2007 8:30P
Beauty Bar (21+) w/ The Oohlas
San Diego, California

Mar 3 2007 8:30P
Beauty Bar (21+) w/ The Oohlas
Las Vegas, Nevada

So make sure every human being you have ever met (including your other lover's mother) is at this shit!! I mean call up your friends little brother and be like "Are you going to see Lola Ray tonight...if not your a fucking DICK!!" That's how its done. Or just come and say "Hi" to us...that's cool to. We can't wait to get back on the road and see all our friends again. By the way here is another satisfied customer rocking one HELL of a Hoodie!!!

Take care and see you soon,

-brian

Lola Ray Top 5 Album Picks

2007-01-17T23:16:00.000-08:00

So it is a real slow day and I still don't have tour dates to post (they are being confirmed at this very moment) so I though I would post something that would showcase our musical tastes a little bit. Below are each of our Top 5 albums of all time. Our lists have changed countless times and they in no way represent the Best Albums of All Time....these are strictly personal favorite albums. Without further delay,

TOP 5 ALBUMS

John Balicanta
FAILURE-Fantastic Planet
PEDRO THE LION-Whole
MINERAL-Power OF Failing
HUM-You'd Prefer An Astronaut
CHRISTIE FRONT DRIVE-self titled "Stereo"

Brian Spina
INTERPOL-Antics
MODEST MOUSE-The Lonesome Crowded West
THE BEACH BOYS-Pet Sounds
FAILURE-Fantastic Planet
THE STREETS-Original Pirate Material

Frederick Beck
DEFTONES-Around the Fur
BAD RELIGION-Suffer
PINK FLOYD-Dark Side of The Moon
LED ZEPPLIN-II
PANTERA- Far Beyond Driven

So those are our lists. Take them or leave them....mine is definately the best, altough it is in no way a competition. I also wanted to throw in this picture I found on myspace of this dude looking SO GOOD in our new Hoodies.

NICE WORK and your reward is staying warm in the freezing over of California. The ICE AGE is coming back so get one of our low grade Hoodies today!
-Brian

Frederick Beck....A hard hitting expose on Lola Ray drummer

2007-01-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

(This picture is fucking creepy but whatever)

Drummers are a rare breed, and by a rare breed I mean that they are usually total ass pains. In Lola Ray, however, we are lucky to have an enthusiastic and delicious skins man in the form of Frederick Beck. Beck, as he is known to his friend, is a quiet and shy man. I have decided to serve him with this hard hitting interview in an attempt to uncover the enigma, wrapped inside the mystery, sprinkled with the ginger, that is Mr. Frederick Beck...............

What's your favorite Lola Ray song?
Beautiful Boy, that song sold me.

What's your favorite song to play live?
What it feels like.

What is your favorite smell in the van?
fear.

Why is being in Lola Ray the greatest thing you have ever done with your life?
Because prior to joining I was turning tricks.

Who is your idol?
Iggy Pop. Or maybe Brian Spina.

Who is better at Call of Duty 2...me, you or John?
John is on another level when it comes to video games...his fingers are alive with such a preciscion hatred that it gives me nightmares.

Has the Lola Ray passion for Mexican food taken a toll on your insides yet?
You tell me, lover.

If you were a cookie what kind of cookie would you be?
Nutter butter. What?

If I gave you a shirt that read "Spina is my co-pilot" would you wear it?
Co-pilot? You guide ME.

Were you jealous the John and I went to Universal Studios without you and can now ride the movies for a year free with our new year round passes?
It almost made me quit the band. I want to ride everything...especially movies.

So that is my interview with Beck. You can catch him on tour with Lola Ray in February (he will be the one playing drums). Make sure to keep this page bookmarked for more information from the world of Lola Ray and the up to date news on all tours. Take care,
-brian

James McIvor leaves Lola Ray

2007-01-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

It makes me sad to launch this new forum (http://www.lolarayband.blogspot.com/) by announcing the departure of James from the Lola Ray family. James actually left the band in October and we have taken a couple months off from touring to deal with his departure and to find a new bass player. The split was completely amicable and we are happy that we all have remained best of friends throughout his leaving. His decision to leave was not based on unhappiness with the band, but rather on his growing call to return to University and his incredible intellect. James is quite a smart man and we wish him the best in his future academic pursuits. The departure of James was a huge blow to John and I, as he was a great value to the band and is a great friend of ours. We have decided to continue with Lola Ray with a renewed passion and drive for our music and careers, but with a eye to make sure that the spirit that James brought to our band will not be forgotten.

On a brighter note, we have used our time off well and looks like we should be back on tour in February. We will have more details on future tours soon. We have launched this blog to better keep in touch with our fans and friends and to keep everyone better posted on all our news. We should be updating http://www.lolarayband.blogspot.com/ about twice a week so please check in often and leave comments.

We have also posted brand new merch on http://www.lolarayband.blogspot.com/ including hoodies which we have never had available before. So, in closing, we miss James greatly, but John and I have attacked the band with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication so look forward to much activity in 2007 and we can't wait to announce tour dates that will bring us back to your town soon. Take care and best wishes to everyone,
-brian