Ray Phillips is one of the few DJs who was born and raised here in the Coachella Valley. Spending much of his youth in Palm Desert, Ray eventually graduated from Indio High School. At the age of 16, Ray got his first job in the drapery and upholstery business which he still works at today.
Ray decided to settle down when he met his wife Addison and it wasn’t too long until he found himself looking to make some extra income to support his new wife and soon to be daughter. Ray had a long-time friend and DJ, Norm Thompson, (A.K.A. DJ Norm-i-licious,) who was his first influence into the DJ world. Soon Ray was working on gigs with Norm and quickly became hooked. From there Ray continued to train with a well know local DJ company called California DJ, (owner Michael Cap of California DJ has been previously featured in my column.)
By the time he reached his late 20’s Ray and his friend Norm decided to form their own mobile DJ company. Eventually Norm went in another direction and Ray would continue with his company he owns and operates today called: Real Sound Production. With fierce competition, Ray knew he needed to set himself apart and began to increase his knowledge and use of state-of-the art equipment. Taking pride in his craft, Ray continually strives to improve, “I’m constantly keeping up with the latest music and I am constantly DJing with other DJ’s and learning from them,” Ray emphasizes.
Being a life-long desert rat, Ray knows or has worked with many of the local promoters including the king of them all, B B Ingle, who is famous for his extravagant parties dating back to B B O’Brian’s Sports bar in the early 90’s. Ray’s talents have been tapped into for many of B B’s parties which get bigger every year with the last one leaving an impression on the veteran DJ, “the New Year’s Eve Party of this past year was the most memorable, the crowd was electric and the energy on my dance floor was the best I have ever seen at a BB party,” Ray recalls with excitement. Ray goes on to comment about performing at the upcoming Halloween party with B B this weekend, “I am expecting this Halloween party on the 27th to top any of the other parties because this party will be taken to a new level. There will be more genres of music than ever before. As a matter of fact, there will be a Hip Hop room for the first time in the history of these parties.” Ray is in charge of sound and lighting for B B’s party this weekend and with 27 DJs in eight rooms, that’s no small task.
Aside from DJing, Ray promotes and produces some shows of his own, such as the El Dorado Rock Concert and the Rock for Isaiah Benefit concert, to name a few. Ray has also had the pleasure of working with artists such as The Hives, Fishbone, Dr. Dog, and Kyuss Lives, (now known as Vista Chino.)
If you would like to see Ray perform at B B’s Halloween Bash this Saturday at the Palm Springs Convention Center, you can get your tickets at: www.partywithbb.com or you can buy them at the door for $20. If you would like to contact Ray to play at your event you can reach him at Real Sound Productions: (760) 497-8900.
Written By: Craig Michaels
Musical Affair Entertainment
(760) 619-3276
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