"SUGAR" RAY NORCIA

Ray Norcia never had any doubts what he wanted to do with his life. Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, Norcia became interested in music as a Connecticut teenager. Since the early seventies, "Sugar" as he is affectionately known throughout the music business, has been a full-time musician.

While best known as the frontman for the world-renowned Roomful of Blues during the early nineties. Norcia’s musical resume extends far beyond the reaches of horns and big band music. In 1979, he teamed up with guitarist Ronnie Earl to form Sugar Ray and the Bluetones. During this time, Norcia exercised his vocal talents by backing up legendary blues artists like Joe Turner, Otis Rush, and Big Walter Horton. In 1991, Sugar Ray joined forces with Roomful, touring and traveling extensively around the world. Nowadays, Norcia prefers a more subdued approach in an effort to balance family life and his music career. His most recent effort, "Sweet and Swingin’", demonstrates an even broader range of vocal ability from Norcia. Whether singing slow ballads or uptempo swing, Sugar Ray’s voice seems to always deliver the sincerity that pure rhythm and blues music requires. His soulful voice sounds as charismatic speaking, and it is singing. Ray Norcia is a real pleasure to talk music with. A few words into a conversation with Sugar Ray and it’s easy to understand why Norcia has recognized the success in the music industry that he has. Sugar Ray Norcia is out there getting it done in style.

SOUND WAVES: How did you get started in the music business?

RAY NORCIA: It all started with my friends. I hooked up with my Stonington High School music buddies in a couple of bands that played blues covers in the early seventies. I was in the choir and a few plays in high school and I enjoyed singing. My friends turned me on to a lot of blues music.

SW: Tell me about some of those early bands. Were you playing the same type of music back then that you are now?

RN: Oh, yeah, definitely. I was in a few bands with my friends back then. I had a band called Sugar Ray and the Bluestompers before the Bluetones. I was in a band called Arm and Hammer, like the baking soda. And another band I remember being in was called Linseed Sam and the Oilers. They would give me a copy of "Shake your Money Maker" by Elmore James to learn the vocal parts. That’s where I met musicians like Ronnie Earl and Anthony Geraci.

SW: What were some of your major influences?

RN: I really listened to a lot of blues records that my friends turned me on to. One record that stands out was Little Walter’s "Hate To See You Go". I was mainly influenced by whatever my friends were listening to back then. We all like the same kind of music.

SW: What lead to the transition from local bar band status to a professional music career?

RN: I met a lot more musicians that were doing a lot more things. Hooking up with people like Ronnie Earl lead to playing bigger venues, like the Speakeasy Cafe in Boston, for example. It helped us build a bigger following, and we just started playing more shows.

SW: Tell me more about Ronnie Earl. How did you two meet?

RN: Again, I met most of my fellow musicians through mutual friends in the business. With Ronnie, we both used to hang out at the Met Cafe in Providence. You know, it was that typical "This band needs a singer", and "Hey, I know this real good guitar player that’s look for a band" and things like that. I hooked up with Ronnie in Sugar Ray and the Bluetones and played with them for about twelve years. I have to admit that I really have had some great guitar players to work with over the years. Guys like Peter "Hi-Fi" Ward, who played with Muddy Waters, and Kid Bangham, until the Fabulous Thunderbirds stole him. I guess there was a common bond with us because we were all just a bunch of your typical starving musicians back then.

SW: After the Bluetones, how did your move to Roomful happen?

RN: It was in 1991 that I received a phone call from Greg Piccolo. He told me that his band had plans to record an album with Pat Benetar’s husband (Neil Geraldo) as the producer, and they were looking for a stronger singer. I was currently singing with Ronnie Earl at the time and decided to try something new. I ended up staying for about seven years.

SW: Looking back, are you glad that you had made that decision?

RN: I have no regrets. I used to go see Roomful all the time at the Knickerbocker Cafe in Westerly on Sunday nights. The place was always packed. They would always let me sit in as well, so it was an easy transition. Until then, I was always used to just playing in Chicago Blues-type bands; mainly 5 piece bands, and now there was the addition of a full-scale horn section.

SW: A while back, I heard a radio interview with you talking about your new album. You mentioned that there were a lot of songs in the past that you had always wanted to record, and you even mention that in the liner notes. What were the main reasons for you deciding to go the solo route?

RN: I guess there comes a time in your musical career that you just want to do you own thing. I made a lot of concessions with my past bands.

SW: Anything specific?

RN: Well, I couldn’t play the harp as much as I would have liked. It’s not that anyone wouldn’t let me or anything like that. It’s just that it didn’t fit for the type of music that we were playing then. The new album allowed me to stretch out a little more vocally, with a few ballads and more melodic songs, rather than singing 12 bar blues all the time.

SW: I really like the variety of songs on the disc. How did you choose the material for the new album?

RN: A lot of these songs were songs that I’ve been played for 20 years or more. I just never got around to recording them. Songs like "Jack She’s on the Ball" is something I’ve been playing since my early days starting out. I love singing that type of music and decided that I really wanted to record it someday.

SW: What do you enjoy most about the music business? Do you like touring and playing live?

RN: With Roomful of Blues, we were doing about 250 dates a year. That gets a little old after a while. And I got homesick. I think what they say is true. When you’re younger, being on the road is a lot more appealing. Now, I’m a little older and don’t care to be on the road as much as I used to be. I need to have balance. Right now, I’m working on a plan trying to be out there as a musician as much as I can and not be traveling as much as I used to. That’s hard to do.

SW: How much traveling are you currently doing?

RN: I still travel, but not as much as I used to. I’ve made a lot of good connections when I was with Roomful. I still use the same booking agency as I did back then too, so obviously they do a good job getting me out there. I still travel overseas for some festivals. I plan to go to Holland this May and Norway in August. Now, I would probably be there for about two weeks, where before it would usually be for five or six weeks at a time. The thought of being away for that long doesn’t appeal to me anymore.

SW: What are your future plans?

RN: I plan on recording some more originals. I’m currently writing some things and plan to be in the studio sometime around next month. I have a four record deal in total with Rounder. Plans are for the next album to be released around December this year or by January 2000. In the meantime, I’ll still be out there writing and playing music as much as I can. I still enjoy it.

By Don Sikorski