Vonray was an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from Orlando, Florida, United States. The group formed around singer/songwriter Vaughan Rhea, originally from Tennessee, who had come to Orlando playing as an acoustic coffee shop act with his brother and co-lyricist, Dave, on bass. Inspired by grunge music, the brothers Rhea put together a band and began playing somewhat harder sounding tunes, though still acoustic-based. Soon after, the band was opening locally for national acts as they toured through Orlando venues such as

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and

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. They released an independent debut album, ''Panes'', as VonRa in 1997.

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A second independent album release, ''VonRa'', followed in 1999, and a third, ''Fame'', came in 2001. As major-label attention increased, the band scored a high-profile slot opening for fellow Florida-based rockers, Creed, in summer of 2002. The band was signed to

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between th ...

in late 2002 and, under the moniker "Vonray," saw their first major label release on

in early 2003 (April 8). The band charted a single hit in the US in 2002 with the song "Inside Out," which was featured on the

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's television show ''

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,'' on which the band made an appearance, and its

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

; "Inside Out" subsequently peaked at No. 31 on

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's US Top 40 Mainstream chart and No. 32 on Billboard's US Hot Adult Top 40 chart. A second single, "I'll Show You," followed but received little promotion from the label and failed to chart. Due to

then merging with

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, promotion for the band all but ceased, and the band was dropped from the label soon after. A casualty of the merger, Rhea and the band went on hiatus in October 2003. Due to the success of an online petition, a fan-demanded reunion showVonray Reunion
MySpace.com happened September 2007 at Hard Rock Live Orlando. The performance was later featured on Orlando's

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'LiveWire' program, the video of which was awarded as a 2008 winner at the 29th Annual Telly Awards. An intended

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release of that historic performance was delayed indefinitely. Dave Rhea now works for the law firm of Phillips Murrah in Oklahoma City and is currently recording original music in his home studio, with his son Campbell on drums.

Members

Present

*Vaughan Rhea – Lead Vocal and Rhythm Guitar *Dave "Boo" Rhea – Bass Guitar and Backing Vocal *Garrett Coleman – Rhythm Guitar and Backing Vocal *Paul Smith – Lead Guitar and Backing Vocal (now with

megaphone A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced int ...

) *Jeff Irizarry – Drums *Todd Hackenburg – Lead Guitar

Former

*Dave Smith – Lead Guitar and Backing Vocal *Dave "Tinman" Tinny – Drums *David Rankin – Guitar *Gibb Droll – Lead Guitar *Kevin Kirkwood – Drums *Ben Tapia – Guitar

Discography

Albums

*''Panes'' 1997, independent release *''Von Ra'' 1999, independent release *''Fame'' 2001, independent release *'' Vonray'' 2003,

Extended plays

*''Live at Sapphire Supper Club (EP)'' 1998, Limited Edition independent release

Singles

Music videos

Other media appearances

*'' Smallville, Vol. 1: The Talon Mix (Soundtrack)'' 2001,

/ Wea
The Vonray track "Inside Out" was selected for inclusion on the soundtrack album.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Authority control Musical groups from Orlando, Florida Alternative rock groups from Florida American post-grunge musical groups Elektra Records artists 1996 establishments in Florida 2003 disestablishments in Florida Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2003