MusicRadar

Brian Ray on stage with Paul McCartney at the 2009 Grammy Awards. (Check out Dave Grohl on drums!) Photo courtesy of Brian Ray.

"Playing bass for Paul McCartney, it's almost unthinkable," says Brian Ray. "He practically invented rock bass. I might be in his band, but I still consider myself a fan, a follower, a devotee."

Even so, the Glendale, California native, who has switched between bass and guitar in Macca's touring outfit since 2002, chalks up his enviable gig to "never having said no, and always being ready. You never know when opportunity will knock."

Ray, a journeyman musician, who has played with everyone from Bobby 'Boris' Pickett (he did The Monster Mash) to Rita Coolidge to Peter Frampton to Smokey Robinson, and who served as Etta James' musical director for 14 years, fully admits that Sir Paul "could play his full show on bass himself if he wanted to. But I think he really likes playing the guitar, and he's great at it. Luckily, I'm pretty good at both instruments, so that made me his go-to guy."

So how did Ray land the sweetest of sweetheart gigs, becoming the 'go-to' guy for one of the Fab Four? And what kind of advice does he have for other musicians looking to nab their big break?

MusicRadar asked him just that.

So let's get right to it: How in the world does somebody get to play with one of The Beatles?

[laughs] "That's the big question, isn't it? In short, my answer would be to never say no to anything. No gig is ever too small. When I was coming up, if there was a show happening at a community center, I was there. If there was a gig happening at a street fair, I was there. You never know when that chance might come along and somebody who can do something for you might see you. So even if you're being paid 10 bucks, come on, you might as well play. Nobody's going to discover you if you're just sitting in your bedroom."

But we do have the Internet these days - so people actually can discover you if you're sitting in your bedroom.

[laughs] "True, true. But at the end of the day, if you want to be a real musician and a player in a band, you've got to jam with people and learn how to interact with them. You have to know how to gel with a band and make yourself valuable. Gigging is the only way to do that."

Explain to me what it's actually like to play with Paul. Like millions of people, you first saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show - and now you're on stage with one of those four men who changed the world.

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