Sean Michael Ray

When you hear the name Sean Michael Ray, you immediately think… an INCREDIBLE musician who makes a bass guitar produce pure, melodic, soul-stirring sounds that resonate throughout your body!

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Sean was born with music running through his veins! His mother is a holiness church organist and his father was a renowned bass guitarist. Believe it or not, Sean has had no formal musical training. His first instrument was the trombone, but as he watched Soul Train, he came to the conclusion that the trombonist only played on portions of the song and not the entire song. He noticed that the bass guitarist played all the time so Sean asked his mother for a bass. Hesitant to get another instrument, his mother said, “alright I got you that trombone and now you want a bass. I hope you don’t put that down”!

Inspired by Earth, Wind and Fire’s bass player Verdine White, Sean, at the age of 15, got his first bass and now three decades later he’s still playing! Sean has traveled the world performing with such artists as Maxwell, John Waite, Gerald Albright, Alex Bugnon, Dionne Farris, Norman Brown, Joey Sommerville, Bob Baldwin, Sheila E., and Birmingham’s own, Eric Essix.

He has performed in various movies and soundtracks including… First Wives Club, Ghost of Mississippi, B5 (Hanna Montana Soundtrack – “Shining Star”), Dionne Farris – “Truth About Cats and Dogs”, Jonathan Butler and Juanita Bynum – “Gospel Goes Classical”, John Waite – The Hard Way – “Downtown Journey of a Heart”. Selected discography includes… Eric Essix (Recordings 1988 – Present), “Columbia Radio Hour – Volume 2”, Hart Ramsey – “Charge It To My Heart”.

“Finally, I can reproduce my bass tone live exactly the way I hear it in my head! My DNA rig is a game changer”!!

Gear:
DNA-800
DNS210
facebook.com/seanmichaelray
instagram.com/seanmichaelray/
twitter.com/seanmichaelray
seanmichaelray.bandcamp.com