When Sugaray belts out a song, you not only hear it, you feel it. The excitement in the room is palpable when he takes the stage; he is a superb vocalist and entertainer. His dynamic voice is large just like the man. With his old school vocal style, echoes of Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass can be heard. At 6’5” he is a big man, but he moves with grace and energy. His fluid dance steps will remind you of the Legendary James Brown.
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When Sugaray belts out a song, you not only hear it, you feel it. The excitement in the room is palpable when he takes the stage; he is a superb vocalist and entertainer. His dynamic voice is large just like the man. With his old school vocal style, echoes of Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass can be heard. At 6’5” he is a big man, but he moves with grace and energy. His fluid dance steps will remind you of the Legendary James Brown. Texas born Caron “Sugaray” Rayford began his musical career at the age of 7 singing & playing drums in church, and his gospel influence can be heard and felt in his music. Rayford's phrasing is intimate and conversational and the soulful gravel in his voice hints at his firsthand experience with hardship. He grew up in Texas, his childhood marked by poverty and loss. He remembered a sad game he played with his brothers, a competition that determined who was skinniest by counting the number of belt holes left unused. His mother struggled to raise three boys alone while battling cancer. When she died, it was a kind of relief. "She suffered and we suffered," Rayford said. "Then, we moved in with my grandmother and our lives were a lot better. We ate every day and we were in church every day, which I loved. I grew up in gospel and soul.” His switch to contemporary music began about 12 years ago in the San Diego area, where he sang lead vocals with a R&B/Funk band called Urban Gypsys. With this band he had the privilege of sharing the stage with many notable artists such as The Average White Band, Dennis Quaid, Joe Luis Walker, Kal David, Super Diamond & Venice, to name a few. After dabbling in blues, Suga realized that the blues was where his heart and soul belonged. So after some soul searching he left the Urban Gypsys and became lead vocalist for Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz, a Temecula area blues band. Shortly after joining the band in 2004, they released their first CD “Trunk Full of Bluez”. This band was hungry and did over 200 gigs a year over the next few years and their popularity rose exponentially. Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz represented San Diego (Blues Lovers United San Diego) in Memphis Tennessee January 26th- 28th, 2006 at the International Blues Challenge (IBC), and brought home the 2nd place prize. The band began playing higher profile gigs and in 2007 released their 2nd CD “It’s Tight Like That”. In September 2008, the Boyz won the LAMN Jam Grand Slam Urban Artist of the Year title by a landslide; they beat out hundreds of competitors. The band was offered a distribution deal on the spot by RBC Records. Tabitha Berg wrote, “The band’s most valuable ingredient is that of the band’s dynamic front man Sugaray, he knows how to read and work a room. While most artists simply perform, exceptional artists are responsive to the mood of the crowd. The energy shifted when AKB took the stage, and they had the crowd on its feet within seconds.” After moving to Los Angeles 2 years ago, Sugaray was asked to host a blues jam at Cozy’s in Sherman Oaks. It is through this venue that Sugaray has met and played with innumerable world-class musicians. Suga’s desire to explore and expand his musical vision has been nourished by these musicians. His solo career has flourished in LA. As of May 2011, Sugaray is new lead vocalist for the Mannish Boys, who are under Delta Groove management. This international act performs 6-8 times a year and Suga joined them in Spain on July 9th at Hondarriba Blues Festival where 25,000 people were in attendance. He will be recording with The Mannish Boys in very soon and is working on his second solo CD for release 2012. He has done studio vocals on several projects, such as the theme for Judge Joe Brown, the movie trailer City Lights and back up vocals for the band The Heavy Pets. He partnered with Chuck Kavooras, a long time LA guitarist and owner of Slide Away Studios. Chuck became the musical director of the Monday night jams. He began booking the artists for the band around Suga’s vocals and Sugaray and the CK All Stars were born. The first set of every Monday is performed by this house band, which is made up of rotating members of which are all cream of the crop musicians. Band Guitar: Chuck Kavooras Bass: Ralph Carter (Eddie Money), Vince Tividad, Hank Van Sickle, Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge) Lou Castro, Drums: Gary Mallaber (Steve Miller, Van Morrison, Springsteen), Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason), Bryan Head (Journey), Keyboards: Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis ( Guns ‘n Roses, Carol King, Billy Bob Thorton), Phil Parlapiano (Lucinda Williams), JT, Kirk Covington, Horns: Allan Walker (Temptations), Gary Bivona, George Pandis (Roy Gaines) Suga’s jam became the place to be on a Monday night in L.A until the July 2010 closing of Cozys. Such notable artists as Al Kooper, Slash, Jim Carey, Jubu, Eddie Baytos, Alex Ligertwood (Santana), Ben Carey (Lifehouse), Mike Finnigan, Orianthi, Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Gerald Johnson (Steve Miller Band, Dave Mason) all sat in. Sugaray recently finished his first solo project entitled Blind Alley, which was released July 16th 2010. Suga states “the creation of this CD has been a journey of hard work and love and the resulting product is one I am very proud of. I am so grateful for the high caliber of talent that has played on this project. It has been a dream come true for me.” It was produced by Chuck Kavooras and recorded at Slide Away Studios. The artists on this project are as follows: Nuthin' I Wouldn’t Do (For a Woman Like You) written by Al Kooper Sugaray: Vocals/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Jimmy Z: Harmonica & Sax/ John “JT” Thomas: Keyboards/ Alvino Bennett: Drums/ Hank Van Sickle: Bass Dark was the Night, Cold Was the Ground written by Blind Willie Johnson Chuck Kavooras: Slide Guitar/ Sugaray: Vocals Death Letter written by Son House Sugaray: Vocals/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Tim Bogert: Bass/ Bryan Head: Drums Blind Alley written by Ralph Carter and Caron “Sugaray” Rayford Sugaray: Vocals/ Gary Mallaber: Drums/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Ralph Carter: Bass/ Phil Parlapiano: Keyboard/ Allan Walker: Sax/ Gary Bivona: Trumpet/ Alicia Morgan & Francesca Capasso: Back Up Vocals You Upset Me written by B.B. King Sugaray: Vocals/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Lou Castro: Bass/ Bryan Head: Drums Jeff Paris: Keyboard I Let love Slip Thru My Fingers written by Al Kooper Sugaray: Vocals/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Jimmy Z: Sax/ John “JT” Thomas: Keyboards/ Alvino Bennett: Drums/ Hank Van Sickle: Bass You Can’t Win For Losing written by Arthur Adams Sugaray: Vocals/ Chuck Kavooras: Rhyhm Guitar / Jim King: Lead Guitar / Lou Castro:Bass / Teddy Andreadis: Keyboards/ Lavell Jones: Drums/ Alicia Morgan & Francesca Capasso: Back Up Vocals I’ve Got to Move Sugaray: Vocals/ Teddy Andreadis: Organ/ Lisa D. Foreman Back Up Vocals I Sing the Blues written by Sugaray & Chuck Kavooras Sugaray: Vocals/ Gary Mallaber: Drums/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Ralph Carter: Bass/ Phil Parlapiano: Keyboard/ Allan Walker: Sax/ Gary Bivona: Trumpet Overnight Sensation written by Joe Gorfinkle Sugaray: Vocals/ Chuck Kavooras: Guitar/ Vince Tividad: Bass/ Drums: Patrick Caccia / Clarinet: Geoff Nudell Official Website: Sugaray Blues
