Interview with Ray Solinski

by Ed Yashinsky

On a recent Wednesday at J.T. Croc’n Berrys, singer-songwriter Ray Solinski faced what might be considered the norm for the weeknight live music scene in Harrisburg—a relatively small, uninterested crowd that takes occasional breaks from private conversations or mind-numbing video trivia contests to offer polite applause for their favorite songs. But for Solinski, who stands alone with an acoustic guitar on a small stage dwarfed by two mammoth projection-screen televisions showing a professional hockey game, it’s also an opportunity to play guitar for a group of noisy frat boys trying to make their buddy throw up for his twenty-first birthday, and a bleary-eyed workaholic who arrives well past 10 p.m. for dinner and doesn’t even realize that Solinski is supplying the music until some scattered applause fills the room. Welcome to Ray Solinski’s world.

But before you feel too sorry for Ray, consider that this always-optimistic, part-time golfer is pretty unique among Harrisburg-area musicians (who tend to work "real jobs" to support their musical addictions), because he’s making enough money to pay the rent, and he’s having a great time along the way. "You can’t beat this," says Solinski about being a musician. "Even if I am having a horrible night, I am getting paid to sing and play guitar, which is something I love to do."

Love might be an understatement. Even though the crowd seems disinterested, Solinski gives a lively performance of original compositions and cover songs. (His repertoire includes approximately 500 songs.)—some well-known and some personal favorites. And Solinski takes it upon himself to get the audience involved; he talks to the crowd between most songs, and tries to answer all requests (and comments) that people yell at him. Between sets he even talks with the disruptive frat brothers and agrees to open his second set with "Tangled Up in Blue," the birthday boy’s favorite song.

Solinski’s positive attitude, his love for storytelling, and his genuine demeanor come across in both his live shows and the recently-released CD, Pieces of the American Dream, a collection of eight songs that not only offers a glimpse into Solinski’s life ("Less Like a Thief" is an apology he wrote to his girlfriend, while "Our House" introduces his college friends), but also a birds-eye view of America ("Tale of the American Railroad" tells the story of Solinski’s grandfather’s livelihood, while "Good Luck Point" unveils an area south of Tom’s River, New Jersey, where Solinski spent a summer working in a fish market). And lest you think that he only offers up quiet, introspective pieces, Solinski closes the CD with a self-described "Jimmy Buffet rip-off" ("Rainy Day in Paradise") that explains a two-week, alcohol-soaked rained-out gig at a Hilton Head, South Carolina, beach club.

The CD release is the culmination of a five-year recording process filled with a variety of delays, a fair number of recording studios, producers, and recording engineers, and the basic need for money and time to bring the project to life. Although the songs were recorded over a long time period, there is a continuity and flow that threads all the pieces together, and gives Pieces of the American Dream a feel similar to Empty Sky-era Elton John, which is ironic, considering that Solinski’s instrument of choice is the acoustic guitar. "Noel (keyboardist Noel Gevers) and I are good friends and we work very well together," says Solinski, speaking about the keyboards used on the CD. "He had a lot of really good ideas that helped shape some of the songs, and he was instrumental in completing the project."

The completion of the CD offered Solinski the luxury of local airplay (WRVV, The River, played and promoted Pieces of the American Dream), and it planted the seeds for Solinski’s sophomore release. "When you are recording, it’s easy to get swept up in the process and not stay focused on the actual music. I think that happened a little bit with this CD," says Solinski. "My favorite songs are the guitar-based pieces with minimal backing. And that’s what I want to build on for the next CD when I start recording it. I want to put the acoustic guitar out in front with some percussion, keyboards, and bass adding to the sound, and I want to have a little more control over the entire process."

Solinski’s path to his current never-ending tour could be described as typical by many musicians. A Central Dauphin graduate, Solinski, 30, started playing guitar at 12 at the advice of his father, and played in a punk band, The Tactics, through high school. At the same time, however, he had a great fondness for singer-songwriters like James Taylor, and he regularly saw the country band, Alabama, since his cousin, John Maddock, is the band’s keyboardist. "I enjoyed playing The Clash and all the other stuff The Tactics did," says Solinski, "but I always listened to Harry Chapin, Van Morrison and others like them."

When Solinski went to college at East Stroudsburg University, he stopped playing guitar altogether. He would occasionally play his acoustic guitar at the end of parties and his friends would sing along to whatever he was playing. At his friends’ urging, Solinski played an open mike night at an East Stroudsburg bar; it turned into a weekly job, and pretty soon Solinski was making good money playing one or two nights a week. "It was pretty cool. My friends would book the gigs and set up all my gear and I would just show up and play," says Solinski. "They would take care of everything else as long as I bought the beer for our parties. I think it worked out well for everyone involved."

When he returned to Harrisburg in 1990, Solinski told his parents that he was going to try and make music his full-time job. At the time, very few bars and clubs featured live music, but Solinski knew that if he could get just a few regular jobs, he would be able to support himself. He first performed on an open mike night at Croc n’ Berry’s—there was no one else performing that night so Solinski played for three hours. After that, he got a weekly gig at Malley’s Restaurant. "It was pretty rocky in the beginning, when I was trying to make enough money for my minimal expenses," says Solinski. "My father used to come often to my shows in the beginning. It was always great to see him sitting there."

But slowly, more area bars saw the potential draw of live music and many started operating small stages for performers. Now, seven years later, Solinski still plays at Croc n’ Berry’s and Malley’s, and many other Harrisburg area bars including Scott’s Bar and Grill, Nick’s 1014 Cafe, and Zee’s. He regularly plays in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and numerous towns up and down the eastern seaboard. One of his favorite gigs is the first Saturday of every month in Bellefonte, just outside of State College. "It’s really gratifying to go into a small town where it seems like the entire town comes out to see me play, and they look forward to me coming back every month," says Solinski.

As for the future, Solinski plans on beginning work on his second release in between stops on the never-ending tour. He and Gevers are in the process of building a recording studio in Gevers’ home that will be used for at least part of the new CD. Solinski occasionally thinks about possibly being signed to a recording contract, but he is very realistic about his spot in the musical galaxy. "It would be great to be signed to a national label, but then it really does become a business. There are a lot of bands out there who get signed and end up owing record labels hundreds of thousands of dollars because their records don’t sell," says Solinski. "I am willing to put out records by myself as long as I can afford it. Or it could be nice to get involved with an independent label that would allow me to better distribute my music, while still giving me control over the product."

Ray Solinski can be found regularly entertaining the masses around the Harrisburg area. For show information refer to the AGENDA Entertainment Calendar in this issue of MODE.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: If you’re in an established group performing regularly in the Greater Harrisburg area, we’d like to hear from you. Send press/media kits directly to MODE at the address listed on page 4, or e-mail Ed Yashinsky at: TheStaff@MODEweekly.com.