Ray Garrison is a writer, producer, and EDM DJ based in Los Angeles, CA. The multi-dimensional artist blends the genres of Pop, Heavy Metal, and Nu Metal. In 2022, the Garrison teamed up with David Rhemann, the drummer for Grandson, to create the Silos band. 

The band includes members Philip “Proto” Nielsen (bass), Nick Dromin (guitar), and Ramon Blanco. They are currently signed to Judge & Jury Records and released their first single, “Flowers” – a new take on Miley Cyrus‘ acclaimed hit – on March 17, 2023. 

Sound of U Live caught up with Silos frontman Ray Garrison to talk about his musical journey, upcoming projects, and more. 

When did your music journey begin?

I wanted to be able to record myself playing guitar and uh like I was listening to Blink-182, and I wanted to like the guitar melodies that made me feel like I was high or something so I was like I wanted to be able to do that myself and make it home. Iit really just started with me wanting to be able to listen to myself and then later I was like, ‘oh it would be cool if other people listen too.’

Who are your top three inspirations?

Blink 182, Eminem and Bring Me The Horizon.

When did you begin taking it really seriously?

When I was 16. I would drive home from private school and there was this pro audio shop that was on the way home in downtown Atlanta. I knew that like all the big Atlanta producers got their gear from there, like Jermaine Dupree, Bush Walker, all these big time guys. I would just stop in there and look at stuff and then I would eventually show the guy at the front of my demos and he was like, ‘oh this is cool.’ That was where it started and then I learned a lot from them.

Were you self-taught from there?

Yeah, you know, I was a combination of self taught and then every time I went into the studio to record I like was a mutant fly on the wall. I was extra attentive and asked a lot of questions. Just like information. 

When did you join Silos? 

Silos was born in November of 2022. I was a solo artist, and then my friend David just parted ways with Grandson, and he wanted to be in a project that was more oriented around a band. And at the time, I needed a good drummer, and I really liked David.

I’d known him for years, and I always wanted to work with him. So we kind of had a meeting, a lunch, and then decided to start working on a new project. And almost instantly, I knew I was going to no longer do a solo artist thing.

And I was going to just mix. Just like natural chemistry.

Do you guys have any music coming out for the rest of the year?

We got a song coming out in June with DJ, with someone coming out in July with Escape the Fate. Nice. The title of the next one is ‘Hold Me Close.’ Right now, we’re putting out all singles from the album. So, I think that album is going to drop in the fall. It’s going to be on vinyl and CD.

Are there any dream collaborations that you have?

I’d love to do a song with Oli Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon. I’d say it’s a closer goal, within two years. 

Is there anything that you think people should know about you?

Yeah, we have an awesome fan base emerging. We have a Discord where we’re in touch with our fans and kind of have a continuous conversation. So I’m going to plug that. “Silos Fandom.” There’s a link for it on our Instagram stories highlights.

Leonte here! Tell us a little bit about the different things that you do. 

Yeah, so I mean, first and  foremost, I’m a person. And I like to be that way. I come with a lot of emotions and a lot of  ideas and feelings that I bring into my art and my work. I’m a model. I love to create very vivid images and stuff with posing and stuff like that. I’m also a creative director for a magazine called Lex Style Mag. It’s about creating a vibe between fashion and music, and really creating a home for that to collaborate and become real is something important for us.

But I also make music. I’m a singer. I make like alternative R&B, pop and rock vibes. I’m really just taking all of those and really just adding my own spice into it, adding a little bit of me and really my goal with that music is to create an environment and create an  environment where people can feel emotions that they may not you know be privy to or may not  have understanding of but you know they can empathize with the pain, empathize  with  the  joy,  empathize with the yearning, love, right? I want to create an environment that you  can experience those things safely amazing so how long have you been doing modeling yeah  so I’ve been modeling for 10 years I’ve been singing all my life I started off in my church choir  shout  out  yeah  so  for  like  most  people  that  started  off  in  the  church  like  singing  was  a big part of my life it was a big  part of my life I expressed myself. I started making my own  music physically about a year and a half, two years ago, is when I actually started that.

How has your journey in fashion really impacted your journey into music? 

Honestly, I think the fashion in the music industry is so interwoven that it was like a seamless  transition. I went from, you know, trying to figure out how to… create very vivid pictures and, you know,  how to do really crazy poses to, like, saying, “Well, how do I create a vivid sound with my voice?

If I do this type of movement while I’m singing, will the sound come out differently from this?”  Right? So everything just kind of translated differently, right? Saying like, “Okay, well, when I  do this performance, I want to wear this type of outfit  so  that  it  conveys  this  message while I’m performing this  song.”  Right?  Really  aligning  the  fashion  with  the  music  and  the  tone  with  the  environment  to  create  a  full  image  and  a  full  picture  is  kind  of  where  that  fashion  piece  really  really  locked  me  in.

As you said, you are now involved in the magazine. What has it been like going from  being the model to being the subject and actually having that creative control?

Honestly, becoming  the  creative  director  of  Lex  Style  magazine  is  one  of  my  biggest  accomplishments  today.  I  think  being  in  charge  of  the  visual  outlook  of  a  project  such  as  Lex Style  Mag has  put  a  huge  weight  on  my  shoulders  that  I’d  love  to  take  on. It’s really  giving  me  the  opportunity  to  take  my  wildest  dreams  and  put  it  out  into  a  visual  medium  and  share  it  with  the  world  is  something  that I  don’t  take  lightly.  I  think  it’s  something  that  takes  a  lot  of  time  and  effort,  it  takes  a  lot  of  attention  and  I  think  because  of  that  I’ve  been  able  to  take  all  of  my  years  of  modeling  and  understanding  what  poses  look  good  and  what  poses  don’t.

Kind  of  the  energy  behind  the  photo  and  what  clothes  will  look  good  and  what  poses.  I’ve  been  really  able  to  create  really  detailed  outlines  of  like  this  that  I  want  to  create  and  I  think  that’s  something  that  you  know  I’m  looking  to  bring  out  the  best  in  myself  for  this  magazine  and  for  others. I  also  do  freelance creative direction  for  other  brands, so  it’s  like  always  fun  to  be  able  to  express  myself  in  this  place. 

All  of  the  work  that  you  do  is  truly  so  inspirational  and  incredible. What  do  you  think  is  the  hardest  part  about  continuing  that?

Thank  you  so  much  for  joining  me.  Being  a  artist  and  how  you  feel.  I  think  the  hardest  part  about  consistently  releasing  creative  pieces  is  understanding  your  value  but  also  understanding  the  value  of  the  people  around  you.

I  think  as,  when  you’re  the  model,  everything’s  centered  around  you  and  how  you’re  feeling  and  what  you’re  getting  paid,  like  you’re,  you  know, the  experience.  you’re  getting,  but  when  you’re  really  the  creative  director,  when  you’re  really  at  the  top  of  that  situation,  it’s  more  about,  okay,  how  do  I  make  sure  these  people  that  are  helping  me  create  this  vision  that  I  have  feel  valued  and  feel, you  know,  I  see  the  best  of  our  abilities  and  feel  comforted  in  these  aspects.  I  think  that’s  one  of  the  hardest  things  because,  you  know,  obviously  in  this  world,  you  live  in  and  you  want  to  cut  down  on  costs  as  much  as  possible, but  also  it’s  like,  you  want  to  pay.  people  what  they’re  worth,  so  they  pay  for  what  they’re  worth.  I  like  saw  that,  it’s  like  trying  to  get  people  with  disabilities. 

What  has  been  like  your  biggest  inspiration,  both  in  fashion  and  music? 

I  played  football  in  college.  And  so  a  big  inspiration  in  my  fashion  sense  was  Odell Beckham  Jr.  Like,  he  was  getting  big  and  popular  in  football. His  outfits  on  and  off  the  field  were  always  the  same.  The  field  outfits  were  always  icy  and  dripped  out  with  the  signed  sneakers,  the custom likeness, you know,  how  he  used  to  do  it.

But  then  off  the  field,  it  was  also  him  showing  up  to  events drippy,  showing  his  style  off.  I  think  things  like  that  really  pushed  me  to  actually  work  towards  being  more  creative  with  my  outfits  on  and  off  the  field. In  terms  of  music,  I  think  somebody  that  really  inspired me was  Juice  Wrld,  I  think  I  will  say  “Lucid  Dreams”  came  at  a  time  that  I  needed  it.

And  I  think,  you  know,  just  that  being  his  day…  debut,  like,  hit  that  popped  off  for  him  and  that  was  the  one  that  caught  me  and  then  ever  since,  like,  I  listened  to  every  single  song  that  he  put  out  like,  that  was  someone  that  really  inspired  me  to  be  more  of  a  leader,  but  he  also  inspired  me  to  just  be  creative, I  don’t  think you  could  ever  say,  “Oh,  Juice  Wrld’s  gonna  rap  like  this  on  this  flow.”  It  was  always  something  completely  different  than  his  last  song,  something  completely,  you  know, new  but  it  had  the  same  feel,  the  same  environment  around  him,  right?  And,  you  know,  he  had  a  way  of  talking  about  like  really  hard  subjects  with  a  light  tone  that  made  him  want  to  party  while  you’re  listening  to  it, right?  Which  is  something  that  I  want  to  create,  but  also  different.  So  for  mine,  like,  I  definitely  don’t  take  as  much  of  the  drug  abuse  and  alcoholism  into  my  music. It’s complex  idealist,  you  know, abandonment. Heartfelt  pain.  The  concept  of, like,  where  you’re  supposed  to  be  and,   you  know,  like  flirting. I  want  to  do,  like,  really,  like,  take  those  archetypes  and  really  create  stories  in  my  music.  I  think  that’s  really  what  I’m  focusing  on  right  now.

I  think  that’s  really  the  beauty  of  music.  You’re  able  to  take  inspiration, and  take  ideas, while  also  interacting  with  your  own  personality,  your  own  blood, which is so  incredible  and  great  to  see  from  you. 

And  what  are  we? 

So  what  I’ll  say  right  now  is  there’s  going  to  be  an  influx  of  art, an  influx  of  modeling  and  an  influx  of  music.  Right  now  my  goal  is  in  this  2023.  year  are  to  get  three  good  releases  and  build  up  a  catalog  behind  them  so  that  I  have  a  lot  to  push  out  for  everybody, as  well  as  create  four  really  good  covers  and  magazines  to  release  out  to  the  public  and  to  collaborate  with  as  many  talented  artists  as  I  can.  Like  my  goal  is  not  to  get  up  there  by  myself, my  goal  is  to  bring  everybody  out  here  at  50  and  I  think  that  when  we  create  a  community  of  people  that  support  each  other  and  uplift  each  other  in  this  fashion  and  music  space,  that’s  when  we  really  drive, right?  Because  you’re  only  as  good  as  your  network,  and  it’s  only  as  good  as  how  many  people  you  have  with  you  in  your  team,  right?  And,  you  know,  what  they  like  to  say  is  network  federally,  don’t  network  forward.

Because  you  never  know  who  in  your  circle  is  going  to  be  the  next  one  up,  and  you’re  all  riding  together.  So  that’s  going  to  be  good.  there.  So,  it  just  supports  people  around  you,  it  supports  the  day  one,  it’s  going  to  come  the  day  zero, it’s  going  to  rock.  Well,  I  am  so  very  excited  to  see  what’s  next  for  Beyonce.  Everybody  should  be  on  the  watch  for  what’s  coming  next.  He’s  going  to  be  hitting  us  with  new  music,  have  sure  new  books, new  shoots.  So  please  be  on  the  lookout  for  him!

Miss Girl. How are you doing today, love?
I’m doing wonderful. It’s a gorgeous day for being the peak of winter.

So where does your inspiration for fashion come from? Because, you know, as an artist, I feel like fashion is a really great medium to express yourself.
That’s true. You know, I, in the fifth grade, on Halloween, I spent like a month making a milk carton costume from scratch out of a water heater box. I painted the whole thing by hand. So I’ve been designing my own things, just kind of making things up since I was very little. And then my hairstyles, I kind of just get created with it the same way I do with like music, painting, and I just make stuff up. And along the way, I’ve learned what I like and what I don’t like. It really helped me formulate my style. And I do get inspiration from like, inspirations that inspire me in music, also inspire my style. I like a girl that can do both, so I’m either dressed like this, or like big t -shirt baggy jeans. Yeah, I just kind of go with whatever I’m feeling in the mirror. I just make it up. I love that. No, I think, you know, it’s good to be able to do both, to do everything, you know?

You mentioned you get a lot of inspiration from your fashion and from music. So who are your top inspirations for music right now?
Totally. I want to say for right now, because it’s always evolving. changing. My main inspiration, the girl that’s like speaking to me right now, is Melanie Martinez. Just to see how far she’s got, she’s come from the get -go. She started performing on like Hollywood Boulevard and now she’s just evolved into this whole character. Her visuals go crazy. So definitely Melanie Martinez, Billie Eilish totally. I used to get told that I sounded like her when I did more of my airy, whispery vocals. So I started listening to her music and I found that she’s definitely, she speaks to me too. It goes all the way back to the 90s. I grew up listening to like Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine. So I have like a little grungy side to me too. Mazzy Star. She was like one of the first artists that I learned how to play her music on piano. So I have like, I pull from all genres. I love music and it just, in general, like I said, it’s always, it’s always changing. But if I could pick one person that’s inspiring to the most right now would be Melanie Martinez.
I can definitely see that. I also grew up listening to Melanie Martinez and just like seeing her music videos. She was very like expressive about herself the way she dressed and like I can very much that and what you give up too so and I love that.

I love you! So you mentioned, you know, learning how to play the piano and so I know back in November you had your first performance where you did piano live. How was that experience for you? I’m sure there was some nerves. Like how did you deal with that? What was that like? Tell us about it.
Thank you so much for like… recognizing that. It was amazing because I remember like one of my first memories back I wasn’t even walking it. I don’t know how old I was. My dad got me like a one-octave toy piano. I just remember the feeling I had when I touched it and and then I got keyboards but I’ve always played in my bedroom so there’s definitely a lot of nerves involved playing live through a live session on logic on stage with my interface plugged in. It was all new to me but it felt invigorating. My hands were shaking but it was really cool. I could feel the energy gravitating towards me that people were really like kind of stunned that wow like the sounds that we’re hearing she actually plays these on the keys in her room and like really does produce this music. It was it was exhilarating and I’m excited to do it more. I have a lot more songs that I’m gonna be playing live on keyboard. I have a guitarist so I’m coming back to like the live instrumentation. I think it’s really important to keep that alive. Yeah it felt amazing. I just I remember just like my hands shaking and I had like these nails on the other day and I realized like I can’t even have my nails done because otherwise it gets in way of the keys yeah but I’m excited to be able to do that and sing at the same time. It’s a great experience.

How do you unwind after your performances? I’m sure you know they can give an adrenaline rush.
I will say I started a sober journey not long ago I’m not counting the days because it’s too much pressure but that performance you spoke of where I played the keys live was actually my first show that I’ve ever performed 100% sober and although it was nerve-wracking I didn’t feel hungover the next day so my new my new sort of ritual before the show lots of tea I enjoy throat coat room temperature water no dairy I just really take care of my vocal cords about a week before and after I am so like how do I describe this I’m answering the phone the day after I know the fucking thank you okay we get it you have a car I’m I’m a big little bear the day after my show I don’t like answering the phone even though there’s like videos being sent to me I do enjoy hibernating a lot I isolate just to like recharge my social and energetic battery I listen to more sound frequencies than like actual music of lyrics I mean I really take care of my soul after I give it on stage the night before and it used to take me like four days to do that hibernation ritual but now that I’m not drinking or doing anything before my shows that’s gonna damage me it only takes like a day and a half for me to hibernate but I definitely like to keep to myself and hide a little bit after I perform now

That’s cool and you mentioned something about me listening to frequencies and stuff so I kind of like what is that about I know music I mean frequencies can be healing you know certain decibels and things like that so what is that for you how did you get into that?
A while back, I went to this music festival in 2015 called Lightning in a Bottle and there was a portion of the festival that provided you with sound healing and you would lay down and you would close your eyes and people would have sound bowls, all different types of musical instruments that gave you vibration, no lyrics, no sort of arrangement or production, just sounds from things and it was so healing that I looked into it and there’s frequencies in everything. Music is a vibration so a sound frequency is essentially just like a vibration in a certain tone. There’s brown noise, white noise. I like the 5-8 frequency. It supposedly, I don’t know a whole lot about it, but supposedly it does bring you peace and I, it might be placebo but I know that it’s worked for me personally. Just sound frequencies help you to stay calm, collect yourself. It also works for my dogs. When I leave the house, I’ll turn on sound frequencies and they will behave. So I know there’s something in that. I really enjoy listening to it. There’s some for abundance, negative energy, leaving the room. So it’s essentially like sound vibration like the way that Sage does to a room is the same way but with sound.

I think EDM is kind of the same way. There are not many lyrics, but the bass, you feel the vibrations and it really does something to you.
I’m getting goosebumps just like when you speak about it like that. Yes, absolutely.

It really sounds like you’ve been in performing for a really long time so how long have you been performing for?
I’m still a baby. It was towards the end of 2022 but it was really inconsistent. I was still trying to figure out my sound, my image, consistency. And then just last fall, I started getting booked left and right, still going on. I’ve had to turn down shows and I’m just like, it’s amazing to see how fast you can go from one way to another. I really haven’t been performing for that long but I know that it’s in me to continue to perform consistently for honestly the rest of my life, even if it’s in my own bedroom.

In just a few words, how would you describe your sound to someone who’s never listened to you before?
Emotionally driven frequency. I’m just thinking about if someone has never heard my music and it’s something that they were basing it off of those three words, they’re able to connect to emotion and they know about sound frequency. I feel that that really captivates my music a lot. I am like coming out with newer sounds and a lot of it is more instrument since my keyboards, ever since I got a new keyboard, it’s become more about the sound and the lyrics don’t need to be all throughout the sound. And emotionally driven being when you’re most inspired, like the strongest records I have out came from a very hurt place or a very happy place or I was inspired by somebody that I know and always the strongest records for me at least come from a very, very, very, heartfelt place. So emotionally driven is, I mean that’s how I moved too. I love to, I always tell this to people like who come to me like stressed out or come by to me like always move with love and that’s one of my mottoes and I feel like my music really captivates that too. Emotionally driven frequency. I’m just thinking about if someone has never heard my music and it’s something that they were basing it off of those three words, they’re able to connect to emotion and they know about sound frequency. I feel that that really captivates my music a lot. I am like coming out with newer sounds and a lot of it is more instrument since my keyboards, ever since I got a new keyboard, it’s become more about the sound and the lyrics don’t need to be all throughout the sound. And emotionally driven being when you’re most inspired, like the strongest records I have out came from a very hurt place or a very happy place or I was inspired by somebody that I know and always the strongest records for me at least come from a very, very heartfelt place. So emotionally driven is, I mean that’s how I moved too. I love to, I always tell this to people like who come to me like stressed out or come by to me like always move with love and that’s one of my mottoes and I feel like my music really captivates that too.

What does 2024 have in store for you?
That’s a loaded question, but like a really good one. I have a guitarist now. I have a sound engineer, a stage person that will like set up my aesthetic. I have a manager. So with that, there’s a lot of groundwork that I’ve been doing behind closed doors and there’s a lot of new sounds coming. I don’t want to say too much, but what’s in store is bigger than life. It’s bigger than me. And I just, my goal with everything that’s gonna happen for me and that’s gonna come out and be released into the world is, it’s not that I’m here, it’s how I made you feel. And all I want to do is just touch people with my music the same way that I was touched or the same way that I felt when I wrote it. I just want to make sure that, people, it’s how they feel when I’m in the room. I have a couple singles coming out and some pretty big shows coming up too. And I’m just gonna continue to create honestly all along the way.

Where is the next performance? Where should we go see you live?
It’s actually four days away. So I don’t know, like if that’s too soon or whatever it’s just to talk about it, but it’s adult only on sunset. The aesthetic is like 80s, 90s, soft core porn. It’s very sensual. Oh, like neon lighting. Yeah, it’s like really fun. And I’m on at 9 .30 PM. So it’s nice to have like a decent hour set time. Yeah, four days away, presale tickets available. And it’s also going to be my birthday performance. So it just happened to fall two days before my birthday. So I figured, well, I’m gonna play a show and then hibernate. This might as well be my birthday party too.

Where can we find you on social media platforms and to listen to your music?
Totally. So it’s Alivia Wraith is my name. Olivia with an A. It’s gonna be A -L -I -V -I -A and then W -R -A -I -T -H.

Amazing. Y ‘all better go check her out. Thank you so much for coming to speak with us today. I’m so excited to see what 2024 has in store for you.
Thank you. I’m honored to be in your presence. I’m honored to be here. Thank you guys for listening to me!