History
Rays interest in music started when he was twelve years old.
His cousin and best friend Tim started guitar lessons then and
shared what he learned with Ray. At age fourteen Ray and Tim
had a band called "The Mod Squad" (before the tv show). Ray was
playing drums then. Ray and Tim recorded their first original
song around this time called "You Just Don't Care". The band and
relationships parted ways as they went to different schools and
started anew.
Through High School and soon after Ray played acoustic music with friends
Matt Preston and Reid Schaffer. He also was interested in art and
painted quite a few original psychedelic paintings. The cover to "McKay
Into You Take Two" is one of these paintings. Back then Neil Young, Bread,
Chicago, Gordon Lightfoot and of course the Beatles were their
favorites. With the party scene in the early 70s the music
changed. Now they listened to Steely Dan, Jimi Hendrix, Wishbone Ash, Yes,
The Allman Brothers And the Beatles of course. Once while visiting
Matt for a guitar session, they heard his brother Norm playing
keys in the next room. They knew he started playing a few months
earlier but now they were hearing him play Yes's Roundabout and playing
it good. Soon Norm got a guitar and it seemed liked instantly he was
playing Duane Allman, Jeff Baxter and Terry Kaff. He was gifted.
In 1974 Ray got his first reel to reel and started recording his
own music. The music to the song "Freedom Ride" on "The Outsider" CD
in it's beginnings was the first of these recordings. Around this
time Rays brother Glen started showing interest and talent in playing
drums. Matt and Reid now off to college left a void for Ray musically
and he missed his pals too. Ray, Glen and Norm started jamming
together about this time. Some of these jams are on the "Take Two" LP.
Soon Ken Pierle and Lynn Steffen joined what became the "Loos Band".
Rays songwriting progressed while playing covers in the band. Eventually
the originals worked their way into the song list and accumulated into
enough to think about a release. In 1976 Ray rented studio time at
Blue Mountain with Bud Osborne at the controls. After recording all the
tunes they had in mind and not being completely satisfied with what they
had done, Norm was off to college. Then while sessions were ongoing at
Blue Mountain, Glen was hospitalized with appendicitis. Complications
from this left Glen in the hospital for seven weeks. Ray completed the
Blue Mountain recordings at this time recording "Eleanor", "Roll on Life"
and "On He Goes" on his own.
While Glen recuperated Ray purchased a Teac 4CH reel to reel to
re-record some of the tunes that didn't turn out so well on the first
attempt. Norm visited Indy to resume recording a few times. Glen
was on the mend and Ray had new material to work on. It was at this
time the instrumental section to "Know That I'm Not Alone" and "Lookin-
For A Way Out" were recorded. With Norm and Ray swapping instruments
(Ray on guitar and Norm on Bass on both live tracks). Lead guitars were
added later. Norm also wrote the last chord arrangement in the
instumental section of "Know That I'm Not Alone", and made a chord
change or two in "Looking For A Way Out".
Norm relocated to Arizona before the McKay LP was completed. Ray
and Glen recorded and added "At My Home", and finally "Old Hill" to help
energize McKays sleepy beginnings. Lynn Steffen sang harmonies on
"This Road" and "The Wind". Steve Whaley played bass on "Lullaby Into You".
By the time "McKay Into You" was completed in 1978 Steve Whitesell joined
as lead guitarist, Ken left to form The Snyper Band and the band's name "Loos"
was changed to "McKay".
The band originally called Loos. From left Norm Preston, Lynn Steffen, Glen Pierle, Ray Pierle and Ken Pierle.
Thanks to interest
among record collectors, twenty
years later, we've re-released
"McKay, Into You" once on LP and again on CD.
:: discography
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