top of page
NEW YORK
SINGER-
SONGWRITER
OVERSHARING
IN SONG
SINCE 2008
DSC_2879_Original_edited
1/3
BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY HERE ABOUT MY MUSIC.
GIGGING ACROSS NEW YORK HAS BEEN MY FULL TIME JOB & SOLE (AS WELL AS SOUL) SOURCE OF INCOME FOR SEVEN YEARS NOW, BUT I HAVE BEEN WRITING/ PERFORMING/ OVERSHARING ON THE INTERNET SINCE I WAS 15.
EVEN BEFORE THEN, I GOT MY START IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AS A CHILD ACTRESS, WITH CREDITS INCLUDING iCARLY, 30 ROCK, LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, AND NUMEROUS STAGE PERFORMANCES INCLUDING KING LEAR ALONGSIDE OSCAR WINNER KEVIN KLINE, TWO TIME TONY WINNER MICHAEL CERVERIS & DIRECTED BY THREE TIME TONY WINNER JAMES LAPINE.
MY NAME IS PARIS RAY!
I AM A LONG ISLAND NATIVE, VIRGO, DOG MOM, EMPATH, WIFE, SCRABBLE CHAMPION…
MY TIME ON THE STAGE & SCREEN AS A CHILD MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT I WAS MEANT TO BE PERFORMING & SHARING MY BIG FEELINGS THROUGH ART. I TAUGHT MYSELF GUITAR FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL & STARTED POSTING MY SONGS ON YOUTUBE AS A WAY TO DOCUMENT MY GROWTH AS A WRITER, SINGER & GUITAR PLAYER. I NEVER EXPECTED OR NEEDED ANYONE TO LISTEN, BUT SOME VIDEOS TOOK OFF! EVERY COMMENT I RECEIVED FROM A STRANGER TELLING ME THAT WHAT I WROTE RESONATED WITH THEM VALIDATED THAT I WANTED TO DO THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
I GOT ACCEPTED INTO SUNY PURCHASE'S CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC, WITH A CONCENTRATION IN STUDIO COMPOSITION & WORKED TOWARDS MY BFA. AFTER COLLEGE, I HAD ALL OF THIS KNOWLEDGE & LOVE FOR MUSIC… WITH NO IDEA HOW TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF IT.
I TOOK A FULL TIME NANNYING POSITION IN THE HAMPTONS & GIGGED MAYBE ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH, JUST SO I WOULDN'T LOSE MY GUITAR CALLOUSES. A FEW YEARS INTO THIS CHAPTER OF MY LIFE, ONE OF MY PROFESSORS REACHED OUT ABOUT SUBMITTING A TRACK FOR A COMMERCIAL. OUR SUBMISSION ENDED UP GETTING SELECTED OUT OF THOUSANDS, & I BECAME THE VOICE OF DAWN DISH SOAP.
IT WAS THE COOLEST, MOST SURREAL THING TO HEAR MYSELF ON TV, & THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM THAT CAME FROM THE COMMERCIAL ALLOWED ME TO SEE IF I COULD MAKE A LIVING OFF OF MUSIC. IT WAS TERRIFYING, BUT I LEFT MY NANNYING FAMILY, ROLLED UP MY SLEEVES, & EMAILED EVERY COOL BAR/RESTAURANT/VINEYARD IN A FIFTY MILE RADIUS.
FAST FORWARD SEVEN YEARS & I AM LIVING THE LIFE OF MY DREAMS. I PERFORM AT THE MOST STUNNING VENUES FROM MONTAUK TO THE HAMPTONS TO FIRE ISLAND SIX DAYS A WEEK. I AM IN A CONSTANT STATE OF DISBELIEF THAT I PAY MY RENT WITH MY MUSIC. I HAVE OPENED FOR JON HERRINGTON OF STEELY DAN, KATRINA OF KATRINA & THE WAVES, HEADLINED THE MONTAUK MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR OVER A DECADE & AM A FOUR TIME RECIPIENT OF BETHPAGE'S BEST OF LONG ISLAND & DAN'S PAPER'S BEST OF THE BEST.
SO HERE WE ARE.
I'VE BUILT THIS INCREDIBLE LIFE IN THIS INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY. I AM WRITING & RELEASING MUSIC CONSTANTLY. I HAVE A BAND COMPRISED OF MY BEST FRIENDS & FAVORITE MUSICIANS. I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO ANYONE WHO HAS EVER COME OUT TO SEE ME, FOLLOWED MY ON SOCIALS, ADDED A PARIS RAY SONG TO A PLAYLIST, OR SENT ME A MESSAGE FULL OF LOVE. I AM & WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT.
YOU INSPIRE ME TO CREATE CREATE CREATE. THANK YOU.
THE SONGWRITING PROCESS IS SO VULNERABLE, & HONESTLY I WAS PERFECTLY CONTENT WITH THE CAREER I’D BUILT AS A SOLO ARTIST. BUT THE UNIVERSE WAS WORKING OVERTIME & DROPPED THREE INCREDIBLE MUSICIANS IN MY LAP SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT. WE CAME TOGETHER IN OCTOBER 2023, FOR WHAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE A ONE-OFF HALLOWEEN SHOW. IT WAS IMMEDIATELY CLEAR TO ALL FOUR OF US THAT THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING MAGICAL. THE ENERGY WAS ELECTRIC, THE COMMUNICATION WAS SEAMLESS, & THE JOY WE FELT PERFORMING TOGETHER ABSOLUTELY FILLED THE ROOM. JUST LIKE THAT, PARIS RAY & THE CRUSH WAS BORN.
SAMMY- GUITAR JOHN- BASS JAKE- DRUMS
PARIS RAY & THE CRUSH
THE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN INSPIRING TO SAY THE LEAST. ALL OF US HAVE BEEN A PART OF THE INDUSTRY IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES- WHETHER IT’S STUDIO PRODUCTION, SOUND ENGINEERING, BEING A SUB OR STANDING MEMBER OF LOCAL BANDS, WORKING FOR HIRE AS A STUDIO MUSICIAN- AND WE AGREE THAT IT’S ULTIMATELY LEAD US TO THIS PROJECT.
IN THE SHORT TWELVE MONTHS OF THE CRUSH’S EXISTENCE, WE HAVE WRITTEN, RECORDED & RELEASED TWO SINGLES, WITH ANOTHER SCHEDULED TO DROP THIS OCTOBER. WE HAVE PLAYED THE GREAT SOUTH BAY MUSIC FESTIVAL, MONTAUK MUSIC FESTIVAL, SAVE THE GREAT SOUTH BAY’S OYSTER BALL, AS WELL AS COUNTLESS PUBLIC GIGS FROM GREENPORT TO FIRE ISLAND. WE ARE WORKING ON OUR FIRST FULL LENGTH ALBUM & ARE BEYOND EXCITED TO ALREADY BE ESTABLISHING OURSELVES AS AN ORIGINAL BAND.
OUR FIRST TWO SINGLES, GREEN FLAG & LEMONADE, HAVE GARNERED OVER 30,000 STREAMS IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS- WHICH IS A DROP IN THE BUCKET IN THE SCHEME OF THE INTERNET, BUT ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING TO US. IT'S HARD TO PUT A LABEL ON THE GENRE OF MUSIC WE CREATE, BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING & GROWING, BUT WE HAVE BECOME KNOWN FOR OUR SMART LYRICS, FUNKY GROOVE, & MOST OF ALL- OUR STAGE PRESENCE. OUR MOST COMMON (& FAVORITE) FEEDBACK ON OUR PERFORMANCES IS HOW PALPABLE OUR FRIENDSHIP IS & HOW MUCH FUN WE HAVE ON STAGE TOGETHER.
WHILE OUR PASSION IS DEFINITELY WRITING & RELEASING OUR ORIGINAL MUSIC, WE LOVE PLAYING COVER GIGS & PRIVATE EVENTS AT THE COOLEST SPOTS ACROSS NEW YORK. FROM HIGH ENERGY PARTY SETS TO STRIPPED DOWN LOUNGE SETS, PARIS RAY & THE CRUSH IS EXTREMELY VERSATILE. IF YOU'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON HAVING US AT YOUR VENUE/EVENT, REACH OUT VIA OUR CONTACT FORM OR DM US ON INSTAGRAM!
EST. 2023
bottom of page