Raymond Gregory: News

"Missing You." I wrote the lyrics through the experience of loosing my brother Michael to HIV, conversations with my wife about her Mom's early departure to heaven, and messages from my Pastor (Greg Laurie), who's son Christopher is also with the Lord. This song, though, is not meant for the memorial of ones gone before us, but rather a personal lament of the moments in life that remind us of the hole that's left in our lives without them. It's a song for the moments our hearts ache 2, 5, and 10 years later every time their birthday rolls around, or we hear their favorite song on the radio. Sometimes you might feel like you are the only one in the world that feels this way. "Missing You" is a song for those moments. It's to let you know you are not the only one to feel this way, and most importantly, that there will one day be an end to these moments when we are reunited in Heaven.

Is this you? Do you have person that has this effect on your life? If so, I want to honor them in the my video, and give you a place to go to remember them in the moments mentioned above. We are are recording a music video for the song next Friday (8/27/11), and I want to include photos of your loved one to use throughout the video. It will be a great way to honor them, and be reminded that we are not alone in this. So here's is all I need-

1. Send a photo and Name to MissingYou@RaymondGregory.com
2. Please do so by this Wed (8/25/11)
3. If you want to include a story about the person, please do so! I'd love to read them and post them here on the website.

"There are some things that time cannot mend. My broken heart still feels new. I know I'll see you again, but until then... I'm Missing You."

I'm super excited to be making progress on my new record, "Life so far."

I thought it might be cool to give you a little taste of what you'll be hearing on the new record. If you made it out to one of the KSGN Concerts, then you heard it live, but below is an early version of a new song called "Missing You." My buddy Tim Nienhuis co-wrote the music on this one, and I wrote the lyrics through the experience of loosing my brother Michael to HIV, conversations with my wife about her Mom's early departure to heaven, and messages from my Pastor (Greg Laurie), who's son Christopher is also with the Lord.

"There are some things that time cannot mend. My broken heart still feels new. I know I'll see you again, but until then... I'm Missing You."


Please be in prayer about the recording process!  also, if you'd like to partner with us, and help us to fund the record, you can download the CD on iTunes, or pick up some "Happily Married" T-Shirts from the "T-Shirts" page! Thanks for listening!

 

Join  89.7 KSGN on Saturday, May 14th, and May 21st at 6:00pm for the “Making a Difference” tour with Jadon Lavik, Raymond Gregory, and special guest Hunter Mariano.  KSGN will have cool giveaways before the concert and will be hosting this exciting event! This concert is FREE so come early for a good seat!  There are 2 chances to be a part of this! - 

May 14th at Harvest Christian Fellowship

May 21st at Calvary Chapel Chino Valley

This Monday (02/21/11), we'll be going into Signature Sound in San Diego to start laying the groundwork for the new record, "Life, so far..."

We'll be posting videos, photos, and audio previews to get you all involved with the process as much as possible.  We'll occasionally have polls, and even live webcasts right from the studio!  Be sure to check back daily, or "follow" this blog via Google/Twitter/Facebook.  It's gonna be a fun ride!


If you'd like to parter with us, and even potentially get YOUR NAME on the album in the producer section, check out our "Kickstarter" widget below...  It allows you to contribute to the project financially, and get some really cool prizes for doing so.  Check it out!

Here's a quick recap of all the cool stuff God has done through our music ministry in 2010!

Radio

2010 was a year of many "firsts." This year, we started our first radio campaign ever, with the song "Happily Married." The first station to add the single was our SoCal Christian station KSGN. The response from people hearing the song on the radio was so strong, that we decided to take the song national, with great success. "Happily Married" made it the #2 most added song on Mainstream Adult Contemporary Radio in the US! With this came many radio interviews, including the nationally syndicated "Don Moen Show." Also, I was given many opportunities to share about God's design for marriage to a widely "secular" market. We've also received many emails telling us how that song has encouraged people in their marriage, inspired them to work harder on their marriage, or even get back together after being separated. The Lord has definitely blessed our efforts!

Media

My music was featured in many print magazines and online review sites and blogs. Inland Empire Magazine featured me in the January 2010 issue, and Worship Leader magazine featured my song "The Risen King" in the November issue of "Song Discovery", which is a music ministry trade magazine that is distributed to thousands of churches throughout the world! The christmas compilation "A Christmas Together," in which included my version on "The Christmas Song," was also reviewed in the same issue of the magazine.

Tour

With our radio success, we decided to "hit the road" throughout Southern California playing many concerts from intimate acoustic sets with a few hundred of our friends, to large packed out auditoriums. From May-June, We joined forces with KSGN radio to bring listeners the "Making a Difference Tour," which featured myself, Jadon Lavik and Richard Andrew. We offered listeners free concerts throughout Southern California, and over the 5 dates, we saw more than 6500 listeners come out to join us!

I was also blessed to visit many Churches throughout California, and play at many events. With the release of my Christmas Record, and the "A Christmas Together" compilation, we played over 16 concerts in the Christmas season, many of which were backed by our friends at KSGN, and KFSH radio. Over the 16 dates, we saw over 11,000 people come out!

The best part of all of the Concerts, is that we saw over 200 people make professions of faith in Christ!

Harvest/Harvest Crusade

As many of you know, I'm blessed to work as a Worship Leader at an amazing church. Harvest, under the direction of Pastor Greg Laurie, puts on the annual SoCal Harvest at Anaheim Stadium. This year, Pastor Greg asked "The Harvest Worship Band" (Myself, Hanz Ives, Steve Wiggins, and Bill Batstone) to preform our song "Jesus Weeps" for the packed out "Evening of Hope" with MercyMe, Steven Curtis Chapman, which drew over 48,000 in attendance, and over 120,000 online viewers! Again, the best part is that over 11,000 people made decisions to follow Christ.

In addition to being extended that great honor, we recorded and released "The Harvest Worship Band: Enter In." With over 9,000 copies sold to date! The record consists of songs written by Myself, Hanz Ives, Steve Wiggins, and Bill Bastone, collectively. I'm blessed to be a part of such a great ministry!

Christmas Record/OCC

On November 1st 2010 I released "Magnify: A Christmas Album." With it came many concert opportunities, but the coolest part is the impact we were able to make through it. We held a benefit concert to release the record, in which all the proceeds from the Christmas CD were used to send "Operation Christmas Child" shoeboxes to children around the world. Through our efforts, we were able to complete 250 boxes!

What's ahead in 2011?

If you thought 2010 looked busy, then you'll love what 2011 has in store. Let's just say you can look forward to a NEW RECORD, some Television opportunities, much more radio, and even bigger concert events! So... Stay tuned!

I could not do any of this without the support of great, loyal friends like you. Thank you for allowing me to make music, and for listening. I hope you'll stick around for what's next, and that you'll tell more people about my music. Talk to you soon!

LISTEN TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT HERE!



"Magnify : A Christmas Worship Event"


Music from Raymond Gregory, Travis Ryan
Special Christmas message from Pastor Greg Laurie.


Sunday Dec. 5th, 5pm at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside. Brought to you by KSGN and Harvest Ministries

The song "My Soul Magnifies the Lord" from my new Christmas CD "Magnify" has been added to radio stations all over the world! Check out the list so far!

KSGN - Southern California
KPDQ - Portland, Oregon
MMRE - Georgia
ZGBC - Carribean
WFST - Maine
KIHL - Hilo HI
WAJP - Kentucky
WACW - Wilmore, KY
Word Outreach Radio - England
WTBF- Troy, AL
WGWG - North Carolina
WAJB 92.5FM - Jackson, OH
KNWJ - American Somoa
WFUR - Grand rapids, MI
WOLC - Ocean City, MD
WSWV - Pentington, VA
Live FM - Garbutt, Queensland
GNFM 96.3 - Syndicated
Pelican Radio - Miami
CJOA - Canada
WMHR - Syracuse, NY

As many of you already know, I've been very busy working on a Christmas Album these past few months, and I'm happy to announce that it's now available for download on Amazon and iTunes!  Also, the song "My Soul Manifies the Lord" will be hitting radio accross the US, UK, and Canada very soon.  A portion of all the sales from this album will be used to send Christmas boxes to children all over the world, via Operation Christmas Child!  You can download the record below, or join us for our benefit concert!

Raymond Gregory | Magnify: A Christmas Album

1. My Soul Magnifies The Lord
2. O Holy Night Medley
3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
4. Evelyn (A Christmas Story)
5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting...)

|  Download on iTunes   |   Download on Amazon  |

 

How Does it work?

It costs $7 to send the boxes out after they are filled. Thanks to places like "A Foundation for Kids," and our yearly "toy hoarding" we are getting hooked up with a lot of great toys and essentials. Now we are left with the costs to send the boxes to where they need to go. That's where the CD comes in. 100% of the proceeds of the CD will be set aside until Until we raise enough money to cover the $7 per box.

What is Operation Christmas Child?

Magnify Benefit Concert
Also, for those in Southern California, join us at Riverside's Coffee Depot for a CD Release Concert with a Purpose! Enjoy my new CD "Magnify" preformed live, as well as a special performance by musical guest Richard Andrew.  100% of the proceeds from the evening will be used to send hundreds of Christmas gifts to children around the world through Operation Christmas Child.  There will be a Silent Auction, Raffle and even a couple surprise items that you can't get anywhere else!  Come check out our holiday store featuring items from Leapfrog, Avon and more, all at great prices provided by A Foundation For Kids.  The new Christmas CD will also be available for purchase.  We truly hope you can join us for this evening of great music for a great cause!

Wednesday November 17th 7-10pm
Coffee Depot - Downtown Riverside
3204 Mission Inn Ave
Riverside CA, 92506 [CLICK FOR MAP]

 

It's August, so I figured; why not work on a Christmas Record? I'm currently recording for a November release of what I'm calling "Magnify: A Christmas Album." The best part, though, is that a portion of the sales from the record will be used to support an organization call "Samaritan's Purse," to aide the "Operation Christmas Child" shoebox campaign. Every year, with the help from thousands of churches, they are able to send Christmas gifts to millions of children in poverty stricken areas of the world.

Stay tuned for the release date, but here is the track listing, and a preview of one of the songs!


TRACK LIST:
1. My Soul Magnifies the Lord
2. Go tell it on the mountain
3. O Holy Night Medely
4. God rest ye merry gentlemen
5. Evelyn (Christmas Story)
6. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)

One of my Facebook pals, Tina Murphy, sent this video to me that she made to celebrate her Daughter's 1st wedding anniversary! She used the song "Happily Married." Great job Tina! The video is below...

Do you have something cool that you used my music for? I would love to see it! It's such a blessing to know that it's being received so well! Just email me or message me on Facebook...

 

Hey Everyone,

You guys voted on which song you wanted to hear on the radio next, and the winner is "The Risen King!" I posted a preview of it below... it will be available on iTunes in a week or so, and you'll (prayerfully) be hearing it on the the radio soon! Hope it blesses you!

"The Risen King"" by Raymond Gregory

Hey Everyone, 

I am so blessed that "Happily Married" has done so well on radio so far.  While it's still out there impacting people over the airwaves, We are looking ahead at the next song that we are going to release to radio!  This is a very exciting thing, but we want to make sure we're putting out the song that YOU want to hear on the radio!  Just vote for the song you want below, and the one with the most votes will be the next radio single!

 

A lot of people have asked which stations across the US are playing "Happily Married." While there are a whole bunch, here are some of the stations that I've heard really great reports from! I'll try to post the entire list a little later... If you know of a station that you'd like to hear it on, just shoot me an email with the call letters, and we'll try to make it happen!  (this list includes some satellite stations)

 

RADIO STATIONS:

KSGN
KFSH
KOST
WBGL
TIME
KDMS
KLBQ
KEAO
WQXQ
*JER
EASY
N986
KGY
WJDF
KLMJ
KQCR
WOCO
KTRN
WKYA
WBTC
*OCO
KLQQ
KWYO
WORG

"Happily Married" is currently the #2 most added song to Mainstream AC radio (FMQB), and entered the National Top 100 Chart and is climbing!  With this success will come radio interviews, and a whole bunch of shows across the nation.

We are currently booking west coast dates, and planning to tour the AZ area at the end of June.  After that, we'll move into hitting the Northwestern states, so be sure to check back for dates in your area.  If you have a good suggestion for a concert in your area, be sure to let me know!  I want to come to you...

Thank you so much for being a huge part of my mission through music!  Prayers are coveted... 

I've received many emails telling me how the song "Happily Married" has impacted people's live, and I am very honored to have the opportunity to read them, and to think that my song could impact people! I posted a few of my favorites below, and I'd love to hear from you If you have a story. God Bless!

____________________________________________________________

Things r really rocky right now in my marriage and God used your music tonight to minister to me and hold on for a little longer. I bought your CD and played it in the car on my way home and could not hold back the tears. I know that Gods grace used you for my marriage tonight. May God bless you and your ministry and your beautifull family. I just wanted you to know that tonight...as the concert said...You made a difference in my life. ____________________________________________________________

I heard you on Valentine's day on KSGN and I fell in love with your song. My husband and I have only been married for 10 months now and we have been through the fire! People say that the first two years of marriage are your "honeymoon" years..... well I think we skipped the honeymoon stage went straight to the "can I really be with this person" and the "i can't believe a person I love so much can hurt me so bad" stage. When I heard your song on the radio it really encouraged me that night. I thought to myself that I can have that. I can have what the words say in that song. I know God brought us together and as long as we keep running to him we can make it through this. Your song is my goal for our marriage. The goal is this: one day we will dance to Happily Married and know that that is how both of us feel about each other.

The KSGN Making a difference tour started this last weekend, and the concerts were great! We saw over 1500 people over the 2 nights (Pictures below), and are excited to see everyone this next weekend in Riverside and Corona. We will also be announcing some really exciting news at the Corona concert, so you won't want to miss out on that.

Thank you to all my new friends that I met this last weekend! I look forward to see you all again, and making new friends at the next couple of concerts!

CC Solid Rock in Chino Hill (Friday):

The River's Edge Church in Rancho Cucamonga (Saturday):

FREE ADMISSION to all concerts!

Friday, April 30, 7:00pm
Calvary Chapel Solid Rock
15330 Fairfield Ranch Rd., Chino Hills, CA

Saturday, May 1, 7:00pm
River's Edge Church
9271 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Friday, May 7, 7:00pm
Living Word Christian Center
4291 11th St., Riverside, CA

Saturday, May 8, 7:00pm
Corona Friends Church
1220 W. Ontario Avenue, Corona, CA 92882

Wedding season is upon us!  And, no joke; in the last couple of weeks I've received over 30 emails requesting me to play at weddings.  Now, I am completely honored to be asked to be a part of such a huge day, but I usually have to decline, or people decide that the cost is too much (which I understand).  It still bums me out to have to say no, so I came up with this "contest." 

I will play (for free) at one couple's wedding, or anniversary.  All you have to do is complete the following steps, and if you are the "top referring couple,"  you are the winner.  It only take a few minutes to enter, and here is how:

1.  If you are on Facebook, invite all of your FB friends to join my music page using the "Suggest to friends" link - CLICK HERE TO DO IT  , and be sure to include me in the invite, so I see that you did it!

2.  I want your help promoting the song "Matrimony (Happily Married)."  Send me an email with your name and desired date to Wedding@RaymondGregory.com, and I will send you a special unique itunes link that you can use to share the song with your friends and family.  The couple that generates the most downloads from their link will win! (subject to availability)  Be sure to get as many people to download as possible!

 

That's it!  If you complete these steps, you are entered...  The contest starts today, and the winner will be announced May 3rd.  Happy Wedding Season!

Raymond Gregory .

Hey Everyone! Here is the song, "Getting Older," that I played at the packinghouse this morning... If you bought my CD "Matrimony" today, just email me at Packinghouse@raymondgregory.com , and I'll send you a link to a free acoustic download of the song! Thank you for blessing me, and making me feel so welcome... Blessings,

Raymond Gregory.

Getting Older

Lately I've had the "songwriting bug," so I've been coming up with ideas and melodies. One thing I love to do is to demo a new song in it's raw from and let everyone hear it. I feel that if the song shines through the low-production, then it's a good song. As I write and demo new songs I want to share them with those who are closest to me and my music. It's kinda a "thank you" for supporting me, a way to get feedback, and hopefully make your day a little more "musical." Below are the Lyrics.

The song "Like a Child" comes from Mark 10:15 - "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Sometimes we are so hung up on proving that what we believe is true, that we forget how important faith is. The truth never needs to be convinced, but rather it needs to be received. Sometimes we try to make a case for God and try to explain his existence, which has it's place in defense of what we believe, but should never be the premiss. God wants us to receive the truth like a child, and truth has a great way of always being proven through growing closer to God, and his word.

DISCLAIMER: This is a VERY rough/raw recording... please have mercy ; )

"Like a Child" by Raymond Gregory

[VERSE]
Thinking back to 1993
Playing tag and falling out of tree
I never let the Sandman get "the drop" on me
Time was far too important to waste on sleep
Why can't we be more like we were when we were young?


[CHORUS]
I want to fall in love with someone I've never seen
I want to have faith like I did the hour i first believed
I want to carry a cape in case I learn how to fly
Oh, i want to be more like a little child


[VERSE]
When did we loose our innocence?
Why were we so eager to give it all away?
We traded our youth for experience
And sometimes forget why we were made
Why can't we be more like we were when we were young?


[REPEAT CHORUS]


[BRIDGE]
We're all out to prove what we believe
But when I look at a little child
I start to think that we're the ones who are naive


I want to believe in you with all of my heart and mind
I want to be more like a little child

We finished out the new Harvest Worship CD, "Enter In," at Capitol Records in Hollywood CA yesterday. Here's a little inside look...