Americana Artist Ray Remington on Finding Authenticity After Leaving Worship Music

“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.” - Thomas Szasz    
 
Thomas Szasz, a Hungarian-American psychiatrist, was best known for his libertarian approach to treating mental illness. He would only provide counseling to consenting patients, an action driven by his belief that people have a right over their bodies and minds. 

This is an empowering thought, and one that is embodied in the journey of Ray Remington, who manufactured a career making Americana music from a failed venture into writing worship songs. 

He’s a new friend of Finding Country, and a rising artist in the country genre. His debut EP is "Texas Rose," which you can find on any music streaming platform. 

When Ray walked through my cabin door last Sunday evening, he wore the look of a man who’d been seated behind a steering wheel for hours. His thick, black hair clung to the sides of his face as if it was shielding his ears from the raging buzz of mosquitos swirling around outside. 

Ray drove to Nashville, Tennessee from North Carolina where his family -- a wife and two sons -- were staying to be close to loved ones during the COVID-19 crisis. 

In the process of getting signed by New West Records, a label established "for artists who perform real music for real people,” Ray came to town for a preliminary recording session. 

This session was much different than his first in Nashville just three years earlier. 

In 2016, he recorded a worship EP under his middle name (but we won’t reveal it so you won’t find it!). Ray remembers pleading with the executives in the room. 

“I want the sound to be more stripped down.” 

All they heard was “I want more instruments, louder instruments.” 

Let’s just say, it’s not an album Ray is shoving in anyone’s faces. 

Although the recording session was a flop, something good did come from his trip. He experienced one of those fantasy meet-ups some people are more prone to have with their idols than others.

...My closest brush with fame was a hallway "hello" as Dierks Bentley walked out of the office next to mine in a building on Cannery Row...

Discouraged by the events of the day in Nashville, Ray stopped by RCA Records where he ran into Dave Cobb, who had just won his Grammy with Chris Stapleton on the Traveller record.  “I showed him what I was doing and what I wanted to do with Americana, and he encouraged me to play Americana,” Ray said. 

But, he thought, “if I don’t have an accent, what is it worth? It turns out you don’t need to have an accent to do any of it, you just have to be honest with yourself and have a good story.” 

After returning home from recording the worship EP, Ray pondered where his career was going. He had spent the last several years leading worship in churches across the country, but he discovered his heart was pointing him in a different direction. 

From 2016 on, Ray pursued Americana, writing “Honky Tonk Blues (Come to me baby)” inspired by the Hank Williams song of the same title and performing it around town at Puckett’s open mic nights and the Bluebird Cafe. 

The conscious decision to shift from praise music to a less refined and more authentic form of expression caused many in his church community to question him. 

“But, life is about balance,” Ray said. 
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So we clinked our glasses of wine and listened to him play a song about dancing with a girl at a honky tonk. 

Watch our full conversation where we talk about finding a place to settle down, eating the best $3 tacos (you won’t believe where they’re at), and annoying wives with a 1923 Remington typewriter. 

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