Legendary pro skateboarder and musician Ray Barbee’s been doing his thing for a long time.
Most folks know him as one of the smoothest to ever step on a skateboard. His clips from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s still hold up today.
But if you’ve followed him past the grip tape, you’ll know he’s also deep into music and photography. And now, he’s back with a new EP called Little Postcards From Home that’s got a sound all its own.
This isn’t just another mellow Ray Barbee record. Sure, it’s still got that laid-back, thoughtful feel he’s known for, but this time he’s messing around with drum beats that sound like they came off an old-school TR-808.
If that name rings a bell, it’s because the 808 is behind some pretty big tracks - think Planet Rock, Sexual Healing, and Paul Revere.
Ray blends those kinds of crisp, retro drum sounds with post-punk-style guitar work, and somehow it just clicks. It feels fresh without trying too hard.
He’s dropping the EP through Too Good, the label run by his longtime friend (and fellow skate legend/musician) Tommy Guerrero.
The fact that these two are still out here creating cool stuff after all these years is just solid. No big label nonsense, no flashy rollouts - just good music from people who love making it.
Little Postcards From Home comes out May 23rd, both digitally and on vinyl. It’s one of those records you can throw on during a late-night cruise or while you’re just chilling at home.
It’s not trying to be loud or in-your-face.
It just feels honest, like something Ray would write in a letter to an old friend.
You can listen to the E.P. now here.
Barbee Posted:
"new E.P on @tommyguerrero label @toogoodmusic. it’s called “little postcards from home”. one night I watched a documentary about the classic roland tr808 drum machine. it had all the quintessential hit songs and artist that used it . planet rock, sexual healing, paul revere etc. after seeing it i thought it would be so fun to hear tr808 drum beats with post punk style guitars. i’ve always dug those early post punk bands like joy division, gang of four, siouxsie and the banshees, wire, p.i.l, magazine, and the durutti column. so many great guitar tones with all the various effects pedals that they would use. i got excited about the idea of hearing post punk style guitars with the tr808 drum machine .”little postcards from home” is the results of that enthusiasm . recorded from home on my 8 track cassette recorder and akai mpc drum machine sampler . honored to have my buddy ripping skater and amazing painter @javiermendizabal do the cover . also grateful for my son nolan’s super helpful suggestions and bass playing on a couple of the tunes."