Exploring Eclectic Fusion With T-Ray The Violinist
David Adams: All right guys, thanks for joining the El podcast today. We are with T-Ray The Violinist. How you doing, buddy?
T-Ray The Violinist: I'm doing good. Appreciate you having me today.
David Adams: Absolutely, good to see you. Yeah, I know you've been a violinist for a long time, you've been in music for a long time, but let's get back on the origin story. Where did it all start? You're from Baton Rouge, correct?
T-Ray The Violinist: Yeah, so I'm originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I've been in New Orleans since 2006, so I moved here right after Katrina to go to the University of New Orleans. That's when I started planting my seeds here in New Orleans. But yeah, everything started in Baton Rouge for me.
David Adams: I got you. Where did music start for you? Where did you get the bug?
T-Ray The Violinist: So, the first time I played violin was through this program in my elementary school called the pull-out program. It's an arts enrichment program where they have music instruments, arts and crafts, visual arts. They had a teacher who came to the school three times a week. The first time they came, they were doing this presentation, like, "Hey, if you sign up for this class, you'll come to the auditorium three times a week to learn how to play the violin." The particular class they came to present this in was my math class, and I disliked math class. I was not very fond of the teacher, not many people were, so I thought, "Oh, I could sign up for this and get out of class three times a week." I was like, "Sign me up."
David Adams: So that was the initial thing, it wasn't that you had an interest in playing the violin, it was just a scapegoat.
T-Ray The Violinist: Yeah, it was just a scapegoat.
David Adams: Well, the funny thing is, music is a lot of math, so it's kind of funny how that rotated in. And shout out to good teachers too, because good teachers can change lives. There are definitely ones that you remember and some you don't.
T-Ray The Violinist: Yeah, definitely.
David Adams: Did you play anything else growing up?
T-Ray The Violinist: I played violin in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, then I decided to quit because the new teacher I had in middle school wasn't able to connect the dots. She wasn't someone who saw us as humans; it was always like a teacher-peer type thing, like, "I'm the teacher, you have to do what I say," as opposed to connecting with us. That drove me away, but also, growing up, I started getting picked on for playing the violin. Being a young black male at the time, in the mid-90s, it wasn't cool. It didn't have the flare it has now, so that really drove me away from it. Then I started to concentrate on sports. I played trumpet for a couple of years, then inevitably came back to the violin in high school. That's when my journey really began.
David Adams: Did you play in a school band in high school?
T-Ray The Violinist: Yeah, I played in the high school orchestra. I had to learn how to read music all over again. I played trumpet in seventh and eighth grade. In ninth grade, I said, "Alright, I'm going all in on sports," started playing football, and then in tenth grade, I started back playing the violin.
David Adams: That makes sense. I quit playing guitar because I wanted to play football too. I couldn't do both, it was just not going to happen.
T-Ray The Violinist: The crazy thing is, at the time, I was still able to do both, but by senior year, I had to start thinking realistically about what to commit to. I left sports behind but was able to juggle both throughout high school.
David Adams: That's hard to do, man. Once you get the applause for the sports thing, and you're in the room by yourself trying to learn a guitar, you're just going to go play sports. What type of music did you pick up that you like to play? I know you like to play jazz; was that the first genre you stepped into?
T-Ray The Violinist: When I started playing again, I was doing the typical orchestra thing, learning all these orchestral pieces and doing high school competitions. But my high school orchestra director, Mr. Christopher Fraser, is a jazz bassist by trade. He studied with Mr. Alvin Batiste at Southern University. He started to introduce me to jazz, and that was my first real introduction to jazz as a genre. But also, in the context of trying to figure out how it would sound with the violin. Upright bass is known and established, but the violin was like, "Okay, it's not quite jazz."
David Adams: Right.
T-Ray The Violinist: Trying to figure that out, but that's why I love jazz because it's so open. There are no boundaries in it, whether the tempo changes, the key changes, or the rhythm changes. You can do anything with jazz.
David Adams: Right.
T-Ray The Violinist: I had a much easier time embracing and learning jazz and how to improvise than I did learning how to read music. My improv and ear have always been way stronger than my reading skills. It was a natural progression. It wasn't like I was trying to go against the grain of what classical music is or being in an orchestra.
David Adams: It's hard; you're doing two things at once, reading and playing. Somehow, you have to play before you read.
T-Ray The Violinist: Right.
David Adams: It's all about muscle memory at some points, over and over and over again.
T-Ray The Violinist: Definitely.
David Adams: Who are some of your favorite jazz musicians?
T-Ray The Violinist: That's like asking someone their favorite food. But early influences include Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. People who were really pioneers of the genre. What really made me embrace jazz and other genres on my instrument were people like Christian Scott or Chief Adjuah, Robert Glasper, who took the traditional upbringing within jazz and improv and made it their own.
David Adams: Right.
T-Ray The Violinist: People like that who have taken the idea of it and made it their own thing are who really inspired me. Their music is inspiring, but the way and the purpose of how they've done it is what really brought me closer to them.
David Adams: Is that something you've taught your students? Because I know you're a teacher as well, right?
T-Ray The Violinist: Yes, I used to be a full-time teacher. I make 10 years on May 24th in the classroom.
David Adams: Awesome.
T-Ray The Violinist: It's crazy; those 10 years went by in a blink of an eye. But yeah, that's something I talk to students about when I was in the classroom full-time and when I do workshops and perform for students. I tell them, "It doesn't matter what instrument you play. You could play the clarinet and want to do rock music. Just because you play the violin doesn't mean you have to sit in the orchestra or play a certain genre. You can play whatever you want."
David Adams: Well, and that's what I mean by combining music and math. There are multiple ways to get to the same answer in math, and it's the same in music.
T-Ray The Violinist: Exactly.
David Adams: Look at Beyoncé coming out with country music, even though I don't really say it's country. I mean, you listen to the rest of that album, it's a Beyoncé album, but it has some country references.
T-Ray The Violinist: Right.
David Adams: How do you feel about that? Because a lot of people are kind of iffy on her cross-genre work.
T-Ray The Violinist: I think doing that was definitely left field, but it shows a lot of the ideology and acceptance of people stepping into genres they don't typically do. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
David Adams: I feel like there are more black country singers now than ever, but they are really country singers. They wear the cowboy hats and have the accent.
T-Ray The Violinist: Exactly.
David Adams: But what I loved about it was when Linkin Park and Jay-Z combined. No one expected it or wanted it, but it changed a lot of dynamics in cross-genres.
T-Ray The Violinist: Right.
David Adams: I feel like anything like that is good because it breaks a barrier. Tell me about eclectic fusion. You created your own genre, right?
T-Ray The Violinist: Yes, eclectic fusion is a term I came up with a few years ago. In college, I went by T-Ray the Hip-Hop Violinist, but it started to compartmentalize me into just hip-hop. People were like, "Oh, you play hip-hop on the violin," and this was around the time Miri Ben-Ari was in Twista's video, worked with Jay-Z, and other people. So I thought, "I don't think I'm a hip-hop violinist because I still play jazz, classical music." I dropped that and just went by T-Ray The Violinist. My sound was specific to a certain texture, but I wanted to make sure what I labeled my sound as transcended all barriers. My genre includes jazz, hip-hop, R&B, house, pop music, and even some country.
David Adams: Awesome. If you were to pick a genre that's close to it, what would you say it sounds most like?
T-Ray The Violinist: I guess I would say jazz fusion because you have these different elements of everything in it.
David Adams: Is that what your new project is considered? Eclectic Fusion Visionary, right?
T-Ray The Violinist: Yes, Visionary is my EP that I released in 2021. I'm working on a new project called Identity right now, which fits in that genre. It has influences of different elements, some poetic pieces, and more.
David Adams: Awesome. What are some of your favorite festivals you've played on? You've performed on every major festival stage in New Orleans.
T-Ray The Violinist: It's been great, man. The biggest thing for me has been shifting the culture and the perception of what the violin can do. A lot of times, people reference the violinist in Dave Matthews Band, and that's cool as part of an ensemble, but I want the violin to lead, just like a trombone or guitar.
David Adams: Absolutely. It's a mini guitar.
T-Ray The Violinist: Right.
David Adams: People are using violin bows on guitars now.
T-Ray The Violinist: Yeah, it's funny how you can use things in different capacities. I've seen people use a bow on the backside of a saw to make a screechy, scary movie sound. It's super dope in the right context.
David Adams: That's awesome. Tell me about some of the people you've worked with over the years. You've done some big collabs.
T-Ray The Violinist: One of the biggest was performing with Big Freedia for Voodoo Fest in 2015. I've opened for and performed with Tank and The Bangas, worked with Teedra Moses, and got my start with DJ R Smooth and Dizzy. They really took me in and brought me into the music community.
David Adams: That's awesome. There's a moment for independent artists where you realize you're on the right path. When did that moment happen for you?
T-Ray The Violinist: Early on, it was a series of moments: when you get the call or text, focus on the moment for the show, and then reflect after. Now, I see every opportunity, big or small, as a chance to learn, expand, connect, and build relationships. I don't get starstruck; we're all people working in the same field, just at different levels.
David Adams: Tell me about your EPs, Visionary and your upcoming project, Identity.
T-Ray The Violinist: Visionary came out of feeling stuck in a certain space, only doing certain types of performances. I had a conversation with Lou Hill from Water Seed, and he told me I needed to record and release my own music. That shifted something in my brain, and I put together a five-song project with all original production and a couple of features. It was my statement to the world about my sound and direction. Identity is a compilation of tracks from the last four years, with more features and a well-rounded project.
David Adams: Writing camps can be great for musicians. How do you feel about them?
T-Ray The Violinist: I think they're necessary. Outside of performing, we have to embrace the music business side, writing camps, and production. They build incubator environments, cultivating local writers to work with bigger producers. It gives people a lift and helps them not feel like they have to leave the city to work.
David Adams: Writing camps teach you to narrow your scope. It's eye-opening to see how people use that process.
T-Ray The Violinist: Exactly. It's interesting to see how a simple melody or hook can be both commercial and beautiful. If you can't whistle it, it's not memorable. There's something to that algorithm; it works over and over again.
David Adams: I don't like the commercialism of being put in a box. That timing of 3:30 for songs was killing me.
T-Ray The Violinist: I use that same structure when I produce my songs. I'll have an intro, verse, chorus, bridge or solo section, and then chorus out. It's like 3:50, four and some change at most.
David Adams: It's definitely a theory that works. What brings Eli to your life?
T-Ray The Violinist: Eli is peak happiness. For me, it's connecting with people on and off stage, helping them see the light in themselves and go forth on their own path. Spoken like a true educator, even though I've been out of the classroom for a while.
David Adams: That's the ultimate give-back. It's a great answer. Music gives you that opportunity a lot. Tell us about your socials and where people can find you and your projects.
T-Ray The Violinist: You can find me online at traytheviolinist.com. My Instagram is @t_raytheviolinist. I'm also on YouTube and other social media outlets. Instagram and YouTube are pretty much the primes.
David Adams: Awesome. Well, thanks for coming today, T-Ray. I appreciate you being here and the time. Thank you guys for coming to the Elation podcast, where we find exhilarating euphoria through creation and collaboration.
