There is the music an artist makes, and then there is what he does with it. Plenty of performers lend their names to a cause when the cameras are on and the timing is right. Ray Ray Star has done something less showy and more lasting. He has built giving into the way his music is sold, so that it happens every day, whether anyone is watching or not.
The rock guitarist and producer is a recognized supporter of MusiCares, and the commitment is written into his business. A portion of every purchase from his store goes to the organization. So does a portion of the proceeds from “Ashes Next Door,” the single that carried him to the Josie Music Awards. A fan who buys a shirt or streams the song is not only supporting an independent artist. That fan is helping another musician somewhere get through a hard stretch.
MusiCares was founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 to be a safety net for the people who make music. It provides financial assistance and preventive services covering mental health, addiction recovery, basic living needs, health care and disaster relief. Its help is not reserved for stars. It is there for everyone who works in music, which means the side players, the engineers, the crews and the songwriters whose names never appear on a marquee.
That safety net matters because the music business has so few of its own. Most working musicians are freelancers. There is no employer to provide insurance, no paid leave when illness strikes, and no cushion when a tour falls through. One bad season can undo a career. Ray Ray has spent his life in that world, on international stages and in recording studios, and he knows how thin the margin can be for the people standing next to him.
His stake in the cause is also personal, and he has never hidden it. Ray Ray describes himself as a recovery advocate and counts seventeen years clean and sober. Addiction recovery is among the services MusiCares provides to music people who cannot afford help on their own. He is supporting an organization that reaches the musician he might once have been.
The songs and the giving come from the same place. “Ashes Next Door” grew out of a fire that began in a neighboring home and cost him nearly everything he owned. “Slow Motion Fall,” featuring Matt Pascale, is told by a father watching his son slip into addiction. “One Step Away” was released to coincide with the Canadian Convention of Narcotics Anonymous. In his music he names the problem as honestly as he can. Through MusiCares he puts money toward the answer. It is rare to find an artist whose art and whose generosity line up so exactly.
There is a quiet wisdom in how he has gone about it. A single large donation makes a headline and is soon forgotten. A share of every sale is a habit, and it turns an audience into participants. Everyone who supports Ray Ray Star’s music becomes part of the giving, usually without a word being said about it.
On September 20, “Ashes Next Door” brought him to the Grand Ole Opry House as a nominee for Song of the Year – Rock Artist at the 12th Annual Josie Music Awards. The recognition was for the song. The larger achievement may be what the song is doing out in the world, one purchase at a time, for people in music who need a hand. Ray Ray Star plays for the crowd in front of him. He gives for the ones who are not in the room.
The official website for Ray Ray Star may be found at https://www.rayraystar.com