Only kids have heard of Ray Bull. Maybe.
The duo– Tucker Elkins and Aaron Graham — are artists who live in Bushwick, Brooklyn. They’ve made a full length digital record and an EP, both of which are on Spotify.
In order, this is what happened to bring them here: Victoria Shaffer, the daughter of Paul Shaffer, heard their song “the New Thing Dies” online and mentioned it to her mother, Cathy Vasapoli, who was a famous talent booker in New York TV in the 70s and 80s. She fell in love with the song, too. (She knows a hit when she hears one.)
Cathy tried to find Ray Bull, but came up with nothing. So she asked me to find them, if I liked them, too. It took a while, it was frustrating, but I found Tucker Elkins at last.
He was a bit surprised when I reached out. He and Graham are former artists. He explained the name Ray Bull was a fake one Graham used to get his work into art exhibitions. They are not signed to a label but they do have a manager and a lawyer. They’ve been courted a little by labels, but they’re in the courtship stage.
Of course, they have a YouTube channel.
Here’s the video for “The New Thing Dies,” which sounds like a lot of things no one can put their finger on. It’s just incredibly catchy. The song has echoes of the 80s, and 2000s. When I told Tucker I heard a little Orchestral Manouevers in the Dark, he didn’t know who there were. Oh well. There are also bits of other things we like, including Tears for Fears and Talking Heads. Press mix on the Cuisinart.
Ray Bull has April dates in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington. Manhattan may yet be in their future.
