I was born on the 10th of August, which I only recently discovered is also the birth date of Leo Fender, the inventor of the electric bass guitar. My mother says I started walking at 7 months old and that I could whistle a melody when I was 3. My dad was an ardent music lover who introduced me to his favorite: Dixieland Jazz. He really enjoyed seeing greats like Al Hirt and Pete Fountain on The Ed Sullivan Show. Unfortunately (for the rest of the family because it sometimes didn’t keep him from trying) he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. But Mom was a singer… in the church choir and also in a ladies’ choral group called the Carillons.
I got my first guitar as a Christmas gift when I was 12 years old, a black Silvertone electric. I tried formal lessons but soon reverted to just learning my favorite songs by ear or from friends. I remember that the first song I could play and sing was the Beatles’ version of “Chains”. The first albums I remember owning (and wearing out) were “Meet The Beatles”, Donavan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and Cream’s “Disraeli Gears”. At some point, I got an old Guild 12-string acoustic and began to learn songs by Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Neil Young and Crosby, Stills & Nash. My first paid performances were weddings, where I would play and/or sing - anything from love songs to “The Lord’s Prayer”.
Later, probably due to experimentation with certain illicit substances, my tastes turned toward harder, more electric music by groups like Led Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult and Grand Funk Railroad (“Grand Funk Live” is another album I played to death) then ultimately, to progressive rock pioneers ELP, Genesis, Pink Floyd and YES. But in order to play those kinds of music, I needed to be in a band; and the one that I’d struck up with already had a guitarist (funny, his name was Dave Mathews) but no bass player. This prompted me to acquire my first electric bass gear: a cheap Kay 4-string and a second-hand 30-watt Kalamazoo amp.
So, during high school I was singing in the chorus (we went to the finals in state competition), performing in the musical productions (as Buffalo Bill in “Annie Get Your Gun” and Curly in “Oklahoma”) and playing in talent shows and at parties- acoustic guitar by myself and electric bass with my rock band.

More to come as I think of it…



Ray Wolf, a native of Copley, Ohio, a small rural township outside of Akron, has been performing as a vocalist and musician since the age of twelve. As both a performer and an audio mixer, he was involved in the music scene in Northeast Ohio during the Post-Punk era when that region was a hotbed for burgeoning New Wave artists like DEVO, The Dead Boys, Pere Ubu, The Waitresses, Teacher's Pet, The Rubber City Rebels and others. A 4-piece, guitar & vocal-driven band called Hammer Damage was one of the most popular and talented (although unsigned) local acts and Ray was their sound tech and crew manager. When the bassist left the group, he filled that position until they eventually disbanded in 1983.
Ray joined the well-known Cleveland club band, Perfect Stranger in 1984 and the next year the group migrated to Southern California to pursue a recording contract and perform their original material in the Sunset Strip venues. During that time, they shared stages with artists such as BTO, Fiona and Steve Jones, formerly of the Sex Pistols. The band recorded demos at Orange County's Headway Group, the renowned Can Am Recorders and the legendary Cherokee Studios in Hollywood.
Since 1989, Ray has worked in the television industry as an Emmy-nominated video editor and an audio engineer while continuing to record and perform with local musical artists. For the last several years, he has also been providing the equipment and the expertise for sound reinforcement presentations of various types including concerts, club dates, video shoots and community events.

in memory...

w/ Jeff, an old friend whose troubled soul finally found peace, July 22, 2006





my brother, Bob w/ his wife, Kathy- she left this world suddenly and too soon, September 9, 2006






w/ my brother-in-law, Joe in Vegas in June of 2005- six months later, he was gone






w/ my Dad- unfortunately, he didn't live to see me become a man






my grandmother... the sweetest soul I've known

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