In 1997, Ceili had lost its original guitarist Tony Hooper, and gone through a couple interim steps in search of someone permanent. Friend Gary Vincent told of a fellow who plays and sings well and produced a phone number for a guy called Raymond Arias. I got Raymond on the phone and asked him what music he grew up on. When he said "The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix" I said "You're in!" He came round the house, we played and sang, it was a perfect fit.

August 2004 marks Raymond's 7th Anniversary of being in the group. We all would rather not think about how many miles that means he's had to travel to Ceili gigs. Raymond is a road warrior though, neither a whiner nor a complainer, a steady hand in a sea of unworkable PA system situations, a beacon of logic in a world seemingly bereft of reason. His son Cole has made it harder for Ray to make those Nashville departures, but has also made it all the sweeter to return!