MMD > Archives > June 2013 > 2013.06.07 > 03Prev  Next


Passing of Ray Siou, Music Roll Retailer
By Bill Finch

Ray was a consummate but very unusual gentleman.  I met him first
in 1988 at a mechanical music meeting in San Francisco.  He was
quite generous, yet, at the same time, with a strong pragmatic streak.

He took me with him to an auction of unopened crates of what turned
out to be gift packages for future passengers of a newly defunct
Chinese airline.  Each gift pack had a comb, personal size toothpaste
and shampoo, a mechanical puzzle, hard candy, and a 40-page comic book
written with Chinese characters.  Ray also won the bid on a case of
5,000 pairs of sock-like slippers intended for hospital patients.

I later bought from Ray six egg crates full of Wurlitzer Style 150 band
organ rolls.  Each box had about 35 music rolls plus two pairs of
hospital socks and a flyer's gift pack.  Ray threw in an odd assortment
of unique candy, rolls of foreign stamps, gift wrapping material, VHS
tapes of unidentified band organs, and a few strange kitchen utensils.

Ray was a unique, rare gem!

Bill Finch



(Message sent Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:20:02 -0500 , from time zone -0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Music, Passing, Ray, Retailer, Roll, Siou