It was a “recording month” for Ray Holmberg, a third-year Sociology major and singer/ guitarist in the Isla Vista band Ray and Paul. Holmberg and the three other members of the band — younger brother Paul Holmberg, Mac Bihn and Aidan Reese — all headed down to Los Angeles for the last two weekends of April. There they worked with producing heavyweight Jarvis Taveniere in recording their upcoming surf rock album. Months like these have paid off for the band in the past: today they have nearly 14,000 monthly Spotify listeners and their top single "Mystery" boasts over 500,000 streams. 

Like any aspiring collegiate musician, Holmberg’s journey balancing school and music has been anything but easy. “I actually took a year off from school. I knew music was what I wanted to do and but didn’t quite see where school fit in. When deciding on coming back or not, it was my advisor, Joe O’Brien, reminding me that some of the world’s best lyricists have degrees, who pushed me to go back.” 

Holmberg is grateful he did return to school, saying that UCSB has pushed his lyrical skills to a new level. Recently, he’s noticed a more direct line of influence from class to his music. “Don’t tell my professor, but just last week, I was inspired by course material and snuck a minute in to write down a couple lines that will be used in an upcoming song.” 

Ray Holmburg (right) of Isla Vista band Ray and Paul

Songs like “Mystery,” released in 2019, have enabled the band to play shows internationally. The “European Tour,” as Holmberg calls it, sprouted from a single invitation by an enthusiastic fan in Liechtenstein to perform at his beer garden. After googling where Liechtenstein was on a map, he realized it was the perfect opportunity for the band to travel to Europe and play multiple shows. “We needed to justify going all the way out there and the best way to do it was to book a couple more venues,” he said. The band was eager to play as many shows as possible since a European tour marks a huge accomplishment for an American band. 

“We don’t have a manager, so I kind of took the role upon myself. Booking was all about sending out as many emails as possible and seeing which ones came back with replies,” Holmberg said. “Reaching out to venues and convincing them you’ll draw a crowd is a little daunting at first,” he said.

Still, it’s situations like these where he finds his work at UCSB helps him the most.  Academic instruction and interactions with professors “really taught me how to articulate myself professionally in the outside world,” Holmberg said. At the end of this journey, he was able to secure the band shows at The Sound House Dublin and Vondlepark in Amsterdam.

Ray Holmberg, third-year Sociology major, is a singer and guitarist in the Isla Vista band Ray and Paul. 

Stateside, the band stays just as busy. They played at San Luis Obispo’s Shabang Music Festival on May 3. A week later they played at San Diego’s WonderFront Festival, the biggest show yet for Ray and Paul. Its headliners included Grammy winners Kaytranada and Weezer. Still, it’s not all shows for the third-year sociology major.  In the week between shows, he had to take care of two papers and three midterms. When asked how he manages all this, Holmberg said he does “a lot of studying on the road!” 

As summer approaches, the show count naturally ramps up. But this go around, the band is trying something new. Instead of playing many smaller shows in local bars and backyards, the band is looking to higher profile venues. This means headlining events at famed institutions such as San Francisco’s The Independent, a venue that hosted the music industry’s biggest stars like Tame Impala and Lizzo. 

They’ll also play at the Moroccan Lounge in Los Angeles, and San Diego’s SOMA, abbreviated from South of Market. Both venues have been home to all sorts of acts, ranging from Blink 182 to Billie Eilish. Holmberg said he’s learned that this approach will lead the band to the next level. “Selling out a headlining show at a bigger venue gives us the most industry recognition possible,” he said.

Henry Mills is a third year Communication major pursuing the TMP Certificate and Professional Writing Minor. He wrote this for his Writing Program class Digital Journalism.