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Raymond Alan Kaczynski
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My name is Ray Kaczynski and I play the drums. I was born in East Detroit, Michigan in 1960. I started playing drums by sneaking wooden spoons out of the Kitchen and coaxing sound and rhythm out of Maxwell House coffee cans with the plastic tops, old telephone books and pillows. Pots and Pans were too loud in the Housing Projects. CKLW played the best selection of Rock, R & B, and '50's music. I played along with the Radio while my Mom danced around doing the Jerk, Boogaloo, Mash Potatoes and just basically enjoying herself by dancing. She was my first drum teacher in that she qualified everything I played with "Oh, that felt good!" or "Hmm, the Beat didn't feel just right." In that way she was teaching me that music was something you had to feel in your body. My parents didn't have a music background but they knew if the music made them feel something, feel emotional, feel like moving, feel like they were free, feel like they could pay the rent and put a little gas in the car, feel they would make it out of the Housing
Projects.
We all need to feel like we are going to make it.
I feel like I have been very fortunate to have known what I wanted to do since I about 5 years old. If you grow up with that it's hard to understand and be sympathetic with people who don't love something bigger than themselves. I always figured if I could stay true to music then I would find my way through this Labyrinth we call life.
I ' m a b i g b o y n o w .
Here is a link to a Wikipedia Article about me in german:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kaczynski
b i o l o g y
I studied drums and percussion with James S. Brandt(MHS), Clifford Chapmann(MHS), Robert Hohner(CMU), Tony Wagner(Private), Steven Cornelius(UW-Madison), Keith Copeland(NEA Study Grant NYC), Ramnad V. Raghavan(Wesleyan University).
I studied composition with Brent Dutton and Robert Hays(CMU), Stephen Dembski and Joan Wildman(UW-Madison).
In the past I have performed with Dwike Mitchell, Willie Ruff, Tim Moran, Jeff Fuller, Allen Lowe, Bobby and Eddie Buster, Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, Don Byron, Kelly Connors, Wayne Boyd, Chris Sullivan("...proving not all Irishmen are Green"), Doc Cheatham, David Murray, Sirone Jones, Billy Bang, Dave Santoro, Randy Brecker, Carlos Becha, Gephard Ullmann, Milt Hinton, Jörg Schippa, Julius Hemphill, Horst Nonnenmacher, Rudi Mahal and many others.
I have been(or am!) involved with Zeitkratzer Ensemble(1996 - 2002), Ensemble Megaphon (2011 -2014), The Silent Jazz Ensemble, Die Elephanten, Alexander Wienand Quintet, FOLIO(Andreas Düker-guitar, Martin Speicher-multi reeds), BunkerThree(Nikolas Neusser-Trumpet, Jörg Schippa-guitar), The Christof Busse Quartet, The SHIN, and the Zaza Miminoschwilli project.
To date I teach at the Clay Oberschule - Rudow(Berlin), The Music School Paul Hindemith - Neukölln(Berlin), and privately at my recording studio in Frohnau-Berlin.
C D R e l e a s e s
2020: BunkerThree: Nikolaus Neusser-trumpet, Jörg Schippa - e. guitar, Ray Kaczynski - Drums and Production. Coming Soon!! CD
2020: Ich decke mich zu mit der Zeit. Esther Dischereit: text and performance, Ray Kaczynski: Music, Percussion, Production(on Bandcamp)Coming Soon!!
2020: Auguste Bolte from Kurt Schwitters. Angelika Meyer: Performance, Ray Kaczynski: Music, Percussion, Production(on Bandcamp)Coming Soon!!
2020: SOLOX: THE IT and THE WHAT. A suite of pieces played on my Sound Sculptures, with and without electronic sound manipulations. ITstrument performance and production: Ray Kaczynski.(on Bandcamp)Coming Soon!!
2020: Tuesday's Two Song Production: They Killed The Man They Can't Kill His Dream, Office Politician. Rocco Fiore: text and Rap vocals, Ray Kaczynski: Mr. "No Loops" Producer.(on Bandcamp)Coming Soon!!
(CD productions/ releases from the last 20 years are not listed)
In the Fall of 2018 the work on my recording studio was completed. I have a small but fine space situated in the most Northwestern corner of Berlin. The Kunstlerhof Frohnau has been a Godsend. We are located in the middle of a Wild Wood which was surrounded on three sides by the Berlin Wall.
I use, without sponsorship, these production tools:
The ToolMod System by ADT-Audio(Gerd Jüngling): TM208, TM210, TM206, TM130m, TM204, TM215b, TM260. Aurora Audio by Geof Tanner: GTP8 mic pre.s, GTC2 rev 10 compressor, GT4-2 Stereo EQ. BAE: 1073 Stereo DMP with the Bootsy Collins mod on DI 1. iZotope Software: RX7, Ozone, Neutron, Nectar. MOTU: DigitalPerformer DAW and midi hardware, Universal Audio: Interfaces and UAD2 Plugins. WAVES plugins, SPL hardware and software, LittleLabs hardware and software, WARM audio hardware, Microphones from: Microtech-Gefell, Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Shure, Audix, Mikrofonbau-Haun, LINE Audio Design, Hairer Software: Amadeus Audio Editor, HOFA CD Mastering Software and plugins, Sommer cable.
Percussion instruments from: LP Congas, Gretsch Drums, Asian Sound - Cologne Gongs, Istanbul AGOP 30th Anniversary Series Cymbals, B-Line Drum Sticks
If you are interested in hiring a Drummer/Percussionist, taking lessons, or Recording your music please contact me at: drum@xray-k.com +49 (0) 176 316 73 648
Happy Music Making to You!
E. Constantin KP Wittemann
E. Constantin