Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Raybeez Remembered 1961-1997

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Warzone, Photo: Ken Salerno

It's been eleven years since the passing of Raybeez and I gotta say, the more years that pass, the more people I meet that really loved this guy. Personally, I only met Ray once. He was working at The Wetlands club in NYC and worked there one of the nights that my old band Mouthpiece played. I remember seeing him standing around when we played. After our set, while I was helping the rest of the band load equipment back into our van, Raybeez came up to me and asked if we needed any help loading out. At that point we only had a few pieces of equipment left to load out, so I told Ray, "Thanks, we should be good", be he insisted. Said something along the lines of, "Trust me, I know what it's like, take the help". We loaded the last couple pieces and I said thanks, Ray said, "No problem, I've heard a lot about you guys (Mouthpiece), it was good to finally see you". At this point I'm thinking to myself, "Wow Raybeez has actually heard of my band and knows who we are!". It was one of those surreal moments where you're mind just gets totally blown for a moment. Actually, I shouldn't say a moment, because truthfully I still think back to him telling me that and it's still hard for me to comprehend. Sorta along the lines of when Roger Miret from AF called my house in the early 90's, looking for Mouthpiece to play a show. Total mind fuck, but that's another story for another time. But yeah, that very brief encounter with Raybeez was pretty cool and the guy really couldn't have been nicer. Although he's passed, there's no question that his memory and music will live on forever. - Tim DCXX

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Warzone, Photo: Ken Salerno

Raybeez was always really cool and friendly. He got me into shows at the Ritz when he worked there and always had a shirt for me and my girlfriend when we went to see Warzone play. One time I went to see them play at the Pyramid not too long after Jay joined the band and they had some new songs. After the show they were going nuts, dogpiling on each other, yelling and just reacting to how great they felt after playing. I was the only one there (downstairs) who wasn't in the band and after a few minutes they noticed me standing there and realized I was probably feeling a little uncomfortable. So they broke up the party and we talked for a minute and I said my goodbyes and then they just went right back to going crazy. They looked like a really close family, only a few other bands I've know have been like that with each other. - Jordan Cooper / Revelation Records

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Raybeez's boots on display

6 comments:

  1. I really don't think I could have made it through high school with out Warzone. And I don't know If I would be a skinhead or if I would be straight edge if it wasn't for Raybeez. Wish I could have seen them play at least once. My all time favorite hardcore band. DFTS DFTS, RIP.

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  2. I never got the chance to see Warzone play, or meeting Ray.....
    The closest thing was writing a letter after the the release of the Warzone-Selftitled CD. I was so disappointed in that CD that I had to ask why they choose a different direction with their music......I got a friendly letter back from Ray, of course he didn't agree with me, but it was great he wrote back nevertheless.....
    I'm glad I had a chance to pay tribute to the man who was a big inspiration for me when i just got into HC, I got to sing "Young Till I Die" with the Warzone guys on the Tribute at Maastricht a couple of years back....wherever you are Ray, thanks for all the inspiration!!!

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  3. I remember seeing Warzone perform in Den Bosch, The Netherlands.
    The band was all geared up on stage but there was no sight of Raybeez. Then they started to play and out of the back of the venue came this nice looking bald guy with construction gloves and his mike.
    One of the most impressive entrances I've ever seen.
    The show that followed was great. While there used to be a division between the edge and nonedge kids at most of the shows there, this time all got along and moved around AS ONE!

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  4. Me and some friends hung out with him after the show and drove him around Rome for the whole night - he loved it and at the end of the night gave me his sweatshirt off his back as a present... then we met a few times whenever I went to NYC... you sort of took it for granted, you know... he was always there, always nice - crazy but not insane...
    Then, as I was working on a film in Odessa, it was real hard work, back then it was an ordeal even making a phone call... I spoke with Moon one night and she told me Raybeez passed away... it was so surreal, being at the other end of the world, in such a different reality and hearing about the death of somebody I thought was going to live forever...

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  5. Tim,

    I was at that Wetlands Mouthpiece show, it was the only time i ever
    saw you guys live. I have a few distinct memories from that show :
    Ascension also played,
    Tim from BOLD came up on stage to sing 'Wise Up' with you guys.
    Raybeez was wearing a blue basket-
    ball jersey.
    I've seen Warzone play a couple times, but i never saw Raybeez alone, seemingly without
    any of his peers around he looked lonely that night. I remember thinking
    he looked a lot smaller then than
    the Raybeez i had pictured in my head.

    I still have the WARZONE 'crew'
    shirt from the first Raybeez
    memorial show in Europe, 10 years
    ago - if anyone wants it, you know
    where to find me.

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  6. erm, yeah, that would have been Matt from BOLD of course...

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