DAVE BRAY USA: ARISING A BETTER MAN
BY CHRISTINE WALKER
On occasion, you can hear a song that reaches to the very core of your being. For Veterans, one of those songs is ‘Warrior Inside’ by Dave Bray USA.
At first glance, Dave looks like your typical ‘Rock Star,’ with his long hair and signature sunglasses. But make no mistake, Dave Bray is anything but typical.
The one thing that stands out about Dave, there is no doubt that he is as genuine and ‘real’ as they come. For Dave, his motivation isn’t for the notoriety and photo ops; instead it is a passion that runs so deep that it drives the very heart of his life’s mission. And this passion for God, family and Country are evident in every single song he writes.
He is in fact, a hero in his own right. Although, he would humbly disagree.
MILITARY
DAVE @ ‘CAMP SWAMPY’
Dave ‘Doc’ Bray served as an FMF Corpsman for 2/2 STA Platoon, Camp Lejeune. The STA platoon is the “sharp edge of the sword” for the Marine Rifle Battalion.
It took Dave a few weeks to prove himself to these dirty, bearded, and unexpectedly ‘cantankerous’ Devil Dogs. “My Marines took a young, dixie cup wearin, Rock ‘n’ Roll lovin, fresh out of the can squid and taught me how to improvise, overcome, and adapt my way out of just about any situation that came along. I very soon realized that most situations could be fixed with 550 cord, some kind of tape, water, or just plain destroying everything within a square kilometer,” Dave recalled.
But once he earned their trust, those Marines had his back and Dave had theirs …no matter what came along. That trust and loyalty would serve Dave well during his deployments, from guns pointing downrage atop an American Embassy to every other mission they were assigned.
“Although I don’t consider myself a true warrior by definition, I do find that I have a tendency to gravitate towards those who are,” Dave said.
MUSIC
Dave’s musical style can be described as a fusion between Country, Folk, and a whole lot of Rock thrown in for good measure. With his guitar in hand and a profound proclivity as a patriotic storyteller, Dave’s lyrics and music have the ability to pull you into a ballad and touch your heart in a way that very few songwriters can achieve.
After his discharge from the Navy, Dave used music as an outlet to fill in the void that was left after his service. Dave recalls, “Writing and performing my music on stage was a huge part of my transition back into civilian life.”
It was also at that time that Dave met his wife, Becky. He recounts, “Becky and I would spend the next 10 years of our lives grinding it out in the clubs and bars with numerous musical projects, both while working full-time jobs. Becky turned out to be the best little battle buddy a guy could ask for!”
The Brays found quite a bit of success early on in Dave’s career, but the chiggers and snakes he encountered during his training at ‘Camp Swampy,’ were nothing compared to the swamp creatures he encountered in the music industry. “It left us chewed up and spit out by our record label and the projects into which we had poured our blood, sweat and tears. We were broken,” he said.
His dream of honoring American heroes through music was very close to meeting its end. Dave remembers, “somewhere within my emptiness and resentment, there resided a small flame still burning inside: my faith.”
FAMILY & FAITH
Starting over. That’s the new mission Dave and Becky found themselves on, but this time, they were going to do it, not with the help of the compromised, sadistic music industry, but with God himself. They went back to their core belief system of Honor, Courage, and Commitment. “We knew that if we were going to get back into the fight, we would have to ‘Stay the course, finish that fight, and never surrender’,” he said.
“With two young boys to raise, we knew we were taking a huge gamble,” Dave recalls.
“With little time to prepare and practically zero financial resources to draw from, we were knee deep in the brass, so to speak, and running low on ammo. We needed Faith. Not just a ‘we’re going to church now’ type of faith, but a deep down ancient kind of a faith, the fearless kind,” he said.
THE BRAY FAMILY
With nothing but a literal song and a prayer, they took that leap of faith and started their own entertainment company and record label. Dave Bray USA was born!
While Dave is the front man and “face” of Dave Bray USA, Becky is lovingly referred to a “Mission Control.” In 2018 they produced and released Music On A Mission. This full length album features 9 songs narrated by Bray for a truly unique - first of it’s kind - Story Teller Album. Music On A Mission features “Warrior Inside”, “Last Call”, and “Into the Fire” Dave’s second album, slated to release this year, will include already released singles “Survivor” and “One Day of Hell” a tribute to the September 11, 2001 attacks on our Nation.
SONG WITH A PURPOSE
In 2020, Dave was on yet another mission to highlight Veteran homelessness. “What is our country doing for the homeless Veterans, for all those people that served this nation, that went and fought in battles and wars, who bled for us, and they are on the streets starving and dying?” he said.
According to the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans, it is estimated that over 40,056 veterans are homeless on any given night and the number of young homeless Veterans is steadily increasing. In context, that’s almost enough to fill a football stadium.
To fight this epidemic, it takes more than just logistics. It’s tackling the heart issues, the pride issues, and the perceptions that Veterans are trained not to be weak. It is drilled into us that we can never allow ourselves to be the ‘weakest’ link in the chain. And because of this, some Veterans who actually need help often don’t reach out until it’s too late, if they reach out at all.
ARISING A BETTER MAN
The latest project for Dave Bray USA is a video collaboration called ‘A Better Man.’ Working with director and video producer, Curtis Boggs, and Navy SEAL Veteran, Ray Cash Care, they created an honest look at Veteran homelessness.
“It’s a little dark and emotional, but we wanted to shine a very real light on Veteran homelessness, and hopefully witness another option, and that option for me was faith,” Dave said.
Ray Cash Care plays the homeless Veteran on the streets and the utter rejection and invisibility that comes along with it.
Two verses in the song stand out, that almost any Veteran can relate to:
“You promised me you’d always be there, through the worst of times and the suffering.”
“But darkness wins when I let it in, The shadows overtake me and I’m blinded once again.”
As the video portrays the absolute brokenness of our Veteran, a stranger walks by and puts a gold cross into the hat that is being held out for change. He picks up the chain and holds it up, and then the emphasis begins to change until the only thing in focus is the cross.
For Dave, the source that brought him out of his own darkness and despair was a far ‘better man’ than he. His faith in a Risen Savior and the ongoing relationship he has with Him. It’s this relationship that gives him the courage and resilience to fight another day and to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.
As a good soldier, Dave knows that he must be tactical in the battles he chooses to fight, and no longer concerns himself with the swamp creatures. Instead, he and Becky choose to walk humbly with God, run their entertainment business with the utmost integrity, honor, and fortitude, and stay on the Mission to be a voice for Patriotism, our Veterans, and First Responders, arising a better man.