NEW YEAR, NEW FACES Frank Ray

Stoney Creek

My wife and I were having dinner, but she was using my phone to finish our application for a healthcare plan. [Adrian Michaels] was calling and calling, but we’d have to start the application over if the session timed out. When she finished I had five missed calls. When we finally connected, they had a big conference call to tell me about New Faces

Being welcomed into such a great community, there’s some validation to the hard work that my team and I have put in. As an independent artist or aspiring songwriter, you hope to get this badge of honor – being a part of CRS in general, but also on New Faces. Having that support from peers in the industry says a lot about the relationships we’ve built, the friendships we have, and the confidence people have in the music we’re putting out. As a Hispanic artist in the country music genre, it means opportunity for not just me and my team, but for the culture and other aspiring Latino artists. CRS New Faces seems like such a small phrase, but the weight it carries is big.

I’ve got to learn how to keep my cool, because I’m a fan before anything else. There were so many incredible artists at CRS, and I have a tendency to walk up to people who I’ve admired or looked up to and ask for a picture. And they’d be like, “Hey, Frank, you’re on this side of the fan booth, remember that.”

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in Texas –Laredo and San Antonio – where my mom is from. Country radio, especially KCYY/San Antonio, was always on. I was always trying to emulate Tim McGraw … people I listened to growing up. I was obviously a huge ’90s country baby.

Even now, I’m just stuck to Country radio. People will say, “Check out this new song,” and I go to try to stream it, and I have to pay the membership, because I’ve just been listening to Country radio the whole time. I have to get all these apps and stuff, –I’m so far behind the curve.

The first time I heard myself on the radio was in El Paso. We were doing a little acoustic performance at KHEY, and Patti Diaz said, “Hey, I wanted to be the first to let you know that we are going to add your song, and you’ll hear it for the first time at the top of the hour.” We were in the bus going to the next stop when it came on. To say I was an emotional wreck is an understatement. There’s video. I was celebrating, then it hit me a ton of bricks and I was sobbing uncontrollably because it was such a full circle moment. I left that town and region to pursue this dream, and then the first time back we had a major song on Country radio. Incredible.

Towards the end of the song, the emergency broadcast system came over with a big ol’ thunderstorm warning. It was so crazy – funny, though. I couldn’t have scripted it any better.

Radio can expect the best body of work I’ve ever created to come out this year. And I mean that with every fiber of my being. This new music is the best representation of me – my personality, storytelling and songwriting in the party mode and energy you would see at a live show. I’m really proud and excited about it.