The Bayonets are coming off two stellar years of singles with their debut album, Crash Boom Bang! The band has had great success with their first 5 singles, all reaching the Top 10 on the Classic Rock Mediabase radio chart and an unprecedented 5 Coolest Songs in the World on Little Steven s Underground Garage.
The Bayonets guitarist and lead vocalist Brian Ray is known worldwide for his musical contributions to the Paul McCartney Band, who continue on a massive arena & stadium tour this summer. I've been a very lucky man to work alongside Paul McCartney for 12 years now. Suffice it to say, this perch on which I find myself working with Paul - as well as his generosity of spirit - gives me the space, time, and wherewithal to indulge my wildest sonic dream life in my spare time, Brian reflected, pulling these musical ideas out of the clear blue sky with my friends, so that we can hopefully move people and rock out with them with reckless abandon. For me, rock and roll needs to stay dangerous and fun. I wanted that sense of adventure and camaraderie, and I found it with my good friend and songwriting partner, Oliver Leiber.
Drummer Oliver Leiber is well known for playing guitar and recording songs for some of the biggest artists in the business, including Rod Stewart, among many others. Speaking of the band, Oliver said, it grew organically out of a very simple desire on Brian's and my part to do a musical project that wasn't trying to be anything. We simply wanted to write songs without judging if they were hits or if they would fit into a certain musical radio format. We wanted to write songs that were reflective of who we are as men and artists at this point in our lives. Most of all, we really just wanted to have some fun and rock out! The Bayonets grew out of a desire to get back in touch with the days when I just played music for music's sake. Oh yeah, Oliver s father was songwriter legend Jerry Leiber.
Crash Boom Bang! was mixed by Joe Zook (Katy Perry, OneRepublic, Pink, Faith Hill, etc) and produced by Brian Ray and Oliver Leiber.