After acquiring a modest acoustic guitar at age 11, Renny "Ray" Schweiger took up a guitar playing passion, cutting his teeth on music by many artists of the day including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Neal Young and Johnny Cash. Absorbing everything that came out of his parent's record player from Harry Belafonte to Strauss, Renny not only played in the requisite garage bands, but performed in the high school concert and jazz bands (on trumpet and guitar).

After graduating from the University of Waterloo (Electrical Engineering) in 1984, Renny discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan. Watching a City-TV rebroadcast of Stevie’s performance at The El Mocombo was an awakening. As Stevie Ray rose to stardom during the ‘80’s, Renny turned his attention to the challenge of playing Stevie’s music. Trading his Nikon for a Fender Stratocaster, he immersed himself in the music of SRV and the blues.
    

In 1990, Renny met Chuck Jackson at the Blues and Cues club in Mississauga. After many Sunday nights of sitting in, Chuck asked him to join his All Stars. Four years of playing with Chuck and other Toronto music industry luminaries such as Michael Fonfara and Pat Carey honed Renny’s abilities as a gigging musician and as an artist of blues and R'n'B. Highlights during this period were a studio recording at Metalworks and later, the live Significant Sunday Series CD, both with Chuck and the All Stars. As an All Star, Renny shared the stage with numerous Canadian artists including Jack DeKeyzer, Carlos Del Junco, Rod Phillips, Michael Picket, Chris Whitely and Tyler Yarema.

During the October 2001 International Stevie Ray Vaughan Fan Club Tour through Texas, Renny played "unplugged" on Sixth Street in Austin. An enthusiastic response from SRV devotees was the final catalyst for Renny to initiate Rave On.
    

Recent performances with Rave On include many performances in the GTA, as well as appearances at The Ride For Sight, The Streetsville Bread and Honey Festival, The du Maurier Jazz Festival, as well as yearly appearances at the Port Credit Southside Shuffle. In addition, Rave On has performed at Healey's as part of the Q107 Discography Series. 

Renny can be reached at
(647) 284- 4153 and via email.

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photo credit: Dayle Schweiger