Ray Tabano
| Ray Tabano | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 23, 1946 The Bronx, New York, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Associated acts | Aerosmith |
Ray Tabano (aka Crazy Raymond) (born December 23, 1946 in The Bronx, New York, US) is a musician and founding member of Aerosmith. Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford in 1971.
In addition to his original work with the band, he helped maintain the band's office, hangout, and recording studio, "The Wherehouse", throughout the 1970s. He started the band's fan club and line of merchandise, designing and selling merchandise himself and writing the band's fan club newsletters. He was fired in 1979, by Aerosmith's managers Steve Leber and David Krebs.[1]
Friendship with Steven Tyler
Tabano was a childhood friend of Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler in their hometown of Yonkers, New York. They would eventually form into Steven's first band, The Strangeurs.[1]
The Strangeurs
Originally called the Strangers, the Strangeurs added a "u" to their name to avoid confusion with another band called the Strangers. The band consisted of Ray Tabano on bass guitar, Steven Tyler on drums, Green Mountain Boys member Don Soloman on keyboards and vocals, as well as a few childhood friends on guitars.[2] The Strangeurs played in the local area as a cover band. The band focused on Top 40 hits and earned a steady wage as a party band around the New England area.
After Aerosmith
As of September 2009, Tabano was running a catering company in Yonkers, New York.
In 2014, Ray was featured on an episode of Pawn Stars where he sold two prototype Aerosmith tour T-shirts to Rick Harrison. One was signed by the band; the other had both Tyler's & Tabano's names on the sizing tag. Ray originally asked $3000 for both shirts, but after having them appraised for about $2500, Rick bought them for $1100.
References
- 1 2 Davis, Stephen; Aerosmith (1997). Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-380-97594-5.
- ↑ Bienstock, Richard (2011). Aerosmith: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Boston Bad Boys. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-1-6105-9769-2.
