Indianapolis native Ray Pierle’s first release was the McKay LP in 1978, featuring his brother Glen and two other musicians.  The band played live frequently in Indianapolis during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the band was originally called Loos.  Pierle would later release two albums under his name, Time and Money in 1980 and Rhythm of the Highway in 1981.  There was no label for any of these releases and each was pressed in small quantities and recorded mostly in Ray’s home studio. 

Pierle and some of the McKay bandmates continued on as the Pearly Brothers Band, which released a cassette album in the 1980’s. The McKay LP was discovered by private press rock collectors years after its release and is now an expensive collector’s item, appreciated for West Coast sounding guitar and Neil Young-inspired late night wistfulness.  The band was so named because one of Ray’s relatives tended to greet him with “Hey hey, it’s Ray McKay”.

Ray Pierle has remained active as a musician and producer, and has carefully curated his vast archives.  OR Records reissued the McKay LP in 1993 on vinyl and 1996 on CD; a recent vinyl reissue was issued by Lion Productions.  OR also issued McKay Take Two, consisting of unreleased material from the McKay sessions in 1995 and Tomorrow’s Tomorrow, in 1996.  German label Guerssen issued a McKay compilation in 2013. 

Ray Pierle’s Facebook page is a treasure trove of unreleased music, videos and information.  Norm Preston later played in The Ignitors which released two CD’s in the 1990’s.  Ray’s brother Don Pierle played in the Michigan band Bike, which released a well regarded LP.