By Jillian Locke

Sometimes perseverance really is all it takes. Take Ra, for instance. They blew up WAAF and the charts with their 2003 single “Do You Call My Name,” and then just disappeared. I remember that song well, and exactly where I was when that song was huge. Funny how you relate songs to certain time periods in your life. That just shows the poignancy and staying power of music, and Ra seems to have channeled that power to bring themselves out of a heavy situation and back on the circuit. In its first week, their 2008 Sahaja Music Records release, Black Sun, hit #1 on Heatseekers New England and #2 on Heatseekers National on Billboard. So again, those who keep at it really do come out on top.

Southbridge native Ben Carroll has been playing guitar in Ra since the “DYCMY” days, and along with the rest of the band has worked tirelessly to bring Ra back. After a harrowing back-and-forth situation with a prospective label over the course of a few years, the guys decided to take the future of their band into their own hands, and asked Universal Records for some help with getting their own label off the ground. “We were with Universal for the first two albums, 2002’s From One, and 2005’s Duality, Carroll explains. “They always liked the band, and we pretty much worked the second album ourselves, so they knew we were capable. We just sought out some private investors, and Universal agreed to let us create Sahaja Music Records.”

Through Sahaja Music Records, Black Sun was released on September 21st, 2008, and with the release of their singles “Broken Hearted Soul,” and “Don’t Turn Away,” Ra has received positive feedback and a renewed sense of being, as Black Sun clearly suggests. The album as a whole has a complete, solid sense of composition. It’s more melodic and polished than their previous albums, and the vocals are cleaner and more diverse, as are the lyrics. On the whole, the fluidity of the album speaks volumes about Ra’s personal and musical growth.

Carroll shares that sentiment: “I feel like Black Sun is a mix of our first two albums. From One was heavier, and Duality had more of a melodic sensibility.” There was also their 2006 live album, Raw. Looking back, it’s not so much that Ra disappeared or had disbanded, but their absence was more due to a series of unfortunate industry events that left them in rock limbo. But they chose to grab the bull by the horns, per se, and take their destiny into their own hands. Through trials and tribulations, Ra is back on their feet and on the charts.

And for all of you local guitar enthusiasts, Carroll gives guitar lessons at locations in MA, NH, and ME. In addition to personal lessons, he’s working on a program for online lessons, where apt pupils will participate via web with not only Carroll, but with Matthew Bachand and Jonathan Donais from Shadows Fall and Ra’s own drummer, Andy Ryan.

Get all the information your music hungry heart desires at www.myspace.com/bencarroll,www.myspace.com/ramusic, www.bencarrollmusic.com, www.ra-band.net, www.rafans.net, www.youtube.com/RaPromotionsTV, and pick-up Ra’s second coming, Black Sun.