Erika DeShay

Vocals | Percussion

Erika DeShay came into the world singing. She grew up in St. Louis, MO, with singing parents who greeted her each day with harmonies. A proud choir nerd in high school, Erika took singing to a different level when she joined an a cappella group at Northwestern University. Purple Haze taught her to love and listen to all the intricacies of music. She had her first real taste of the limelight with Purple Haze and loved it. When she moved to Denver in 2000, she met Scott at her first teaching job. After he boldly asked her to sing the theme song to "The Jeffersons" the first time they met, Erika knew she and Scott would form a musical friendship that could not be broken. Her first band, Formerly Known As, took off and she loved singing with Scott and her best friend Brianna. After Formerly Known As dissolved, Scott asked Erika to accompany him on an audition, which she knew would lead to trouble. Now,here she is, enjoying every moment of being in Waitin' On Ray!

Ray Foss

Piano | Keyboard | Vocals

Ray is classically trained, with a natural, unfiltered taste for the '70s era of rock 'n roll. Influences include The Police, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Chic Corea, Bruce Hornsby, Jordan Rudess; and the list goes on and on… Ray began playing on his father's Kimball organ with a Lesli speaker at the age of seven. He fell in love with the piano after visiting his brothers in the summer of ’79. His mother purchased a piano on a payment plan and encouraged Ray's pursuit of performing and creating music. Originally from Venice, Florida, Ray started a band at the age of 13 called Stardust, where he had to teach the guitar solos to the guitar player.  He has since played or been a part of many versatile and challenging projects. He was the keyboard player for the Denver based band, Oakhurst, from ’02-’05. For the last decade, Ray has been enjoying life as a musician, father, husband and entrepreneur in Denver Colorado. Ray is the owner of XRay Construction, LLC, a remodeling company based in Lakewood, Colorado. While striving for the perfect gig, he is thankful for the opportunity to play with Denver’s finest and most dynamic musicians.

Eric Jansen

Drums

Eric Jansen has been playing drums and percussion since age eight. His first inspiration was watching his local high school marching band practice in his neighborhood, and from there he was hooked. In 1994 Eric finished a B.A. in percussion from the University of Northern Colorado. While in college, he toured 3 summers with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, traveling thousands of miles across the country and performing from small town high schools to NFL stadiums. He was lucky enough to be in the first year that the corps made the elite "Top 12", an honor that they have only missed once ever since. In addition to marching groups, he has played with several symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, and percussion ensembles. Currently in addition to Waitin' On Ray, he is the principal drummer in the Mile Hi Fife and Drum Corps (http://www.milehighfifeanddrum.com), a group that wears Civil and Colonial War era outfits and participates in parades around the state. Eric knows and has played with Jorge for years and he ended up being the catalyst to add Eric to the band.

Jorge Lopez

Bass Guitar

Born and Raised in Venezuela, Jorge started to play the bass a bit too late! When he was 20 years old, however, thanks to the influences of his peers and different styles of music he learned, Jorge improved greatly as an instrumentalist, and became the bass player of choice for an endless list of bands in his native Venezuela, and for several artists, Such as Carlos Jarger, Delia, Trina Medina Luiser and other well-known Venezuelan artists. Due to the political situation In Venezuela and because he is an American citizen, Jorge decided to come to the United States to work on different music projects and with artists in Denver. He has worked with Beto Hale, Fearcide, Michael DiGrazzio and some cover bands. Thanks to the influence of both New York salsa and jazz-rock, he joined forces with his fellow countryman Rodolfo Betancourt (guitar) and african percussionist Fara Tolno, to create an eclectic exposition of sounds and rhythm that they modestly named "The Betancourt Trio." Jorge's motto in music is. "if you don't have 'flavour,' it doesn't matter how much music you know!"