Ray Ryder

Ray Ryder is No Excuses’ founding member, the band’s keyboardist, bassist and now backing vocalist. Growing up in Vancouver, WA, Ray started playing piano at age 8. He started taking classical piano lessons from Margaret Frasier. The Frasier Family has a long history of musical and vocal talents. Ray played 3 recitals per year and played several talent shows, all in elementary school. He continued to take classical lessons until his senior year at Evergreen High School. Ray was one of only a couple of people at Evergreen HS in the senior stage band to get a music letter – in his freshman year there. He was in stage band for 3 years as the keyboard player.

Ray joined a band in his senior year of high school called Westwind and played at various local venues – Elks Lodge, Eagles Lodge, Moose Lodge, American Legion, Red Lion and private parties. After Westwind Ray joined a rock band called Fugitive, playing all around Portland and Vancouver. In 1984, Ray moved to Goble, OR, and started a moorage and RV park business with his parents. Two years later he formed his first version of No Excuses. Along with Jan Carlson, Gene Evans, Todd Boetteger and Tim Arnold, Ray formed his first classic rock and original music band. Ray’s idea was to form a band that had great equipment and songs so the band had “NO EXCUSES for not kicking ass”.

In 1988, Ray reorganized the lineup to include Todd, Tim, Ray, Darrel Veltkamp and Marc Johnson. This second version of No Excuses played around the Northwest serving up great classic rock and original songs to eager fans. In late 1989, Ray joined a side project with a band called The Company and played keys for this all original band. By 1990, No Excuses went through a third reformation, this time consisting of The Company members Mike Czarnecki and John Edous as well as guitarist Corey Zenger and Ray. This incarnation of the band had a great following of Northwest fans as they played all over the region. They played classic and current rock along with original songs.

No Excuses launched the “No Glove – No Love” tour and added bassist Scott Baylock to support Ray while he played keys. It was at the end of the tour, in 1993, that Ray bought a floating building (once a classroom) being sold at his moorage. He would convert this building into the foundation of his future career, Motion Studios, an awesome recording and performance studio. He called it “Motion Studios” because it tends to rock back and forth when large boats go by as it floats on the Columbia River. He made this the headquarters of No Excuses, reaffirming his notion to have “a band with great gear and sound that had NO EXCUSES for not kicking ass.”

Since Motion Studios’ creation, local artists and regional bands have recorded their projects and gone on to great things. Get more information about client lists and services at http://www.motionstudios.net/!

In 1993, Ray and drummer Mike Czarnecki started to write a list of original music. The band reduced to a trio between Ray, Mike and guitarist/bassist Matt Barret. Ray and Matt traded off bass positions in some songs as Ray played keyboard or Matt played guitar. While this version of No Excuses was short-lived (6 months), it was a great time in the band’s recording history. By 1995, the guitar spot was filled by guitarist Terry Thomas, forming the next version of the band which focused more on original music but played some classic rock songs as well. The band added former guitarist Tim Arnold for rhythm and Ray’s lifelong friend Bill Strite as backup bassist on Ray’s keyboard songs. This formation enjoyed great touring success, including opening for Loverboy and Blue Oyster Cult, both in Longview, WA. Another singer and guitarist, Andrew, was added to the mix around this time.

No Excuses had grown to a band that played mostly original songs, with some classic rock songs for color. The band took its most recent hiatus as Ray honed his recording studio and his own engineering skills. In 2000, Ray, along with his recording projects at Motion Studios, teamed up with promoter Randy Lilia of Viking Productions and started running sound and lights for summertime festivals and clubs, mainly working with local and national blues artists and bands who came to the Portland/Vancouver area on tour. For more about these clients Ray worked with for live shows, check out Motion Studios client page.

2009 introduced Ray to the current lineup in the No Excuses saga. Guitarist Lee Waddell, singer Cathi Mauser and drummer John Westfall claim the newest band positions in No Excuses. This one brings a mix of blues, ballad rock, hard rock and classic rock. They’re taking the world by storm and you’re invited! And, as always, they have NO EXCUSES not to kick ass!