Ra (band)

Ra is an American alternative metal band originally from New York City, taking their name from the Egyptian sun god, Ra. The band was formed in 1996, and took off around 2002, when their song "Do You Call My Name" from their album From One was released. Their music was described as "exotic yet familiar, heavy yet funky, direct yet sophisticated, sensual yet soulful, unrelenting yet cathartic."

The band is known for their hit songs "Do You Call My Name", "Fallen Angels", "Don't Turn Away", and "Broken Hearted Soul". To date, Ra has sold 400,000+ albums in North America alone.

History

Origin of band name

Frontman Sahaj Ticotin has commented on the origin of the name Ra in multiple interviews. "...There's an underlying theme where 80 to 90 percent of the songs have the word sun in it. So I have a little sun fetish and I thought that Ra was appropriate." He has also stated that he likes the idea of the name because it's short -- "If your name is Ra you've got two giant letters taking up the same amount of space so it looks like your name is bigger"—melodramatic, and "sort of an odd thing and really unique."

Early years: 1996–1998

Marcus Ticotin, Sahaj's older brother and Abandon Entertainment president, financed Sahaj's first record while Sahaj was living in Greenwich, CT with mentor and friend Rob Jones. They held open auditions in New York City to fill in the lineup with a drummer, guitarist, and bassist. Skoota Warner was chosen as a drummer who fit in well with the blend of funk and hard rock in Sahaj's writing style. R&B bassist Kirk Lyons and guitarist Ben Mauro, the latter of whom would later play with Lionel Richie and Britney Spears, completed the initial configuration of the band.