Venture Rays: News

hey all, thx for stopping by. Lots of new changes on the way. New pix and demo's coming soon. Also, we'd like to welcome Tod Ellsworth on bass and Nate Brown on keys/vox. The band is working diligently, tightening up old songs and adding new ones. We have a busy Summer on deck - check out the CALENDAR pg to see where we'll be. Till then, happy sunning.

VR

Happy Holidays everyone. We wish you a pleasant end to 2009 and a bright 2010, filled with peace, love & music. We will be in hibernation for the next few months, but look for us sometime in late winter. We will be armed with a few extra pounds and several new tunes. Be good...

-VR

Wow VR cronies, time sure flies when you're having fun, and we've been having loads of fun since we last spoke. Thanks to all the VR faithful that have made our acoustic shows nothing less than special, but we have to say, the full on rock show is something you won't want to miss this summer. As our esteemed lead mullet, JB likes to remind us, we've learned a lot of "80's for the Ladies". That's right, so if you're "Hungry Like The Wolf" then "Don't Stop Believin'" because we have the musical cure for your disease.

If you're reading this before June 26th 2009, you won't want to miss us at Grandpa Eddies BBQ next Friday. In addition to our 80's tunes, we've also mastered a few new songs by Wilco, Ryan Adam, Gnarls Barkley and Death Cab for Cutie .. that's right, we're hipper than those other guys. If you're reading this after June 26th, well, you missed a wild night of ribs, wings and great music .. a near sell out I heard.

I guess that's enough senseless rambling for one post, so stay cool and hydrated and don't forget to support your lovable Venture Rays.

xo peeps,
Team VR

Hello ALL - Happy Spring, we hope good things are blooming or blossoming or just generally happening for you. They are for us, and here they are... New tunes (you should hear our version of 'Crazy' - it's killing! And of course a little more Wilco), new PIX (now up on the pix pg.), and, most importantly, new GIGs. We are busy as bees, pollinating your ears with the sweet sounds of melodious nectar... That's it for now - stay tuned (and hydrated)!

xo,
team VR

Our good friend and longtime bass player Scott Duncan has decided to leave the band. While we will miss both Scott's presence and his great playing, we are glad to welcome his replacement, Brian Pulley. After 3 months and about a dozen auditions, we feel lucky to have found such a worthy addition to the VR rhythm section. Brian's a great guy and a tasteful, grooving player. We're very much looking forward to working and playing with him...

Recent tunes added to the setlist include Ryan Adams' 'Magick' and 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz. And lastly, check out the new new demos ('The Gambler' and 'Wagon Wheel') on the music page. In an effort to preserve the rootsy vibe of 'Wagon Wheel,' we recorded it all together around just a couple room mics. We hope you dig it as much as we dug recording it. (And we really hope you don't notice the lack of banjo and fiddle).

Happy 2009...

-VR

We'd like to welcome our new singer, JB Jeter, to The Venture Rays. After several intense months of Venture Ray Idol and countless butchered versions of "Buddy Holly," JB finally emerged, glorious and victorious. We are psyched to have JB in the band, and are looking forward to playing music with him.

In other news, we are dangerously close to finishing the next round of demos. A little nipping and a little tucking and we'll have a new batch of songs ready for the world to hear...

And lastly, thanks to all who came out to the Capital Ale House a couple weeks ago. And a special thanks to Louisiana Territory for opening the show - they were awesome. We highly recommend you checking them out if you missed them.

That's all for now. We hope your summer is progressing nicely...

-The VR

We are teaming up with our good friends The Jangling Reinharts for the Ventureharts Halloween Extravaganza 2008. Each band will be doing an album of their choice, in its entirety. Makeup, essential; pyro, optional. If you have album suggestions, send them along! See SHOW pg for all details...

Also, VR3 (venture rays acoustic) will be playing at Grandpa Eddie's in Richmond's west end on AUG 30. We'll be playing 9-12, and there's no cover, which means more dough for hushpuppies.

VR

Hey guys... The band will be doing a couple private shows in the coming weeks. Our next public appearance will be at The Capital Ale house in downtown Richmond (Main St. location). Please keep an eye on the Calendar page for all the details, as well as additional shows. Also, we'll soon be posting 2 new demo songs in the Music page, so look for those too. Thanks! See you soon.

-the venture rays