Ray Luzier knew the idea was far-fetched: A kid raised on a farm in West Newton moving to California to pursue a career in music.

But after Luzier graduated from Yough High School in 1988, he loaded his drums, amplifiers and other belongings into a retro-fitted 15-passenger van once used by a local church. With his parents and a friend in tow, they crossed the country to Los Angeles, where the two young men attended the Musicians Institute.

The friend didn't last long.

Luzier felt the pull of home, but resisted leaving L.A. Almost a quarter century later, he's an in-demand drummer and currently a member of Korn.

"I'm still a farm boy out here 23 year later in the big city," Luzier says. "I knew if I wanted to make a living playing the rest of my life, whether it was at bar mitzvahs or stadiums, I had to go where the work was. It was hard. I had to leave everyone behind. Everyone was in Pennsylvania."

There is still a hint of yearning in Luzier's voice as he talks about his roots, his love of Pittsburgh sports and a trip home to visit his parents last October with his girlfriend and infant son.

He is not alone. There are plenty of musicians who have left the region to pursue their dreams, taking a bit of Western Pennsylvania with them.

Opportunity knocks

Unless a musician lives in New York, Los Angeles or Nashville, opportunities to perform and network with peers are, naturally, limited. Korel Tunador, who earned a grant in 2001 from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as an emerging artist, could have spent the rest of his life in Pittsburgh and been satisfied artistically.

"Creatively, I couldn't have had a better place to be," says Tunador, a native of Thornburg. "The bands I played with (The Johnsons, Crisis Car, Opek 15, Phat Man Dee and the Crawlin' Low Band, Lovechild) are still some of the best, creatively. It was an amazing place. But I always had a deep-seated need to see the country."

Tunador, who plays keyboard, guitars, saxophone and other instruments, moved to Los Angeles in 2003. Even though he initially struggled to find work, he enjoyed the weather and the food. Tunador's first break was playing with Charlie Mars' band, and, since then, he's toured with Katy Perry, Wicked Wisdom (the metal band fronted by Jada Pinkett-Smith) and, currently, the Goo Goo Dolls.

"The pond is that much bigger (in Los Angeles), so maybe it's harder to get gigs," says Tunador in call from LA. "It's cool that the film business overlaps here, and all of the touring I've done is based out of here. The amount of friends that I have here who are working on really cool projects is exponentially greater. And I'm very much separating the creative aspect from the professional. You can't beat Pittsburgh creatively, at least when I lived there."

David Budway resisted leaving Pittsburgh until 15 years ago. The Point Breeze native and Schenley High School graduate was an in-demand and versatile pianist, equally at home with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra or hitting the jazz clubs with drummer Roger Humphries. On one memorable occasion, he was able to indulge his love of both genres on the same bill when he was tabbed to perform with flutist Hubert Laws at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild.

"I think it was the perfect place to grow up," says Budway, who now lives in New York. "I met a lot of people my age who were interested in improvising."

That started when he attended Schenley High School and his music teacher, Ken Cook, introduced him not only to jazz, but actual jazz performers, such as Cecil Brooks. In high school, he started frequenting jazz clubs including the Crescendo Jazz Lounge in Oakland and the Cork and Keg and The Zebra Room in Homestead. When he went to Duquesne University to study classical piano, he and classmates Dave Pellow (bass) and Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums) would spend their free time jamming and improvising. Later, he and his sister, singer Maureen Budway, would perform every week at the legendary Balcony in Shadyside.

Budway admits he hesitated to leave Pittsburgh because he'd grown comfortable. But he realized if he wanted to expand his opportunities, he needed to leave home.

"It took me a long time (to leave Pittsburgh) because I was very comfortable," says Budway, who has performed at notable New York venues such as The Blue Note, The Cotton Club, The Village Vanguard and Carnegie Hall. "But I did feel there was more that I could do, more that I could learn. Leaving Pittsburgh was hard, but I felt that I had done everything I could do there."

Brian Young was only 12 when his family moved from Bethel Park to Arizona in 1980. A little over 30 years later, the memories linger -- going to Pirates games at Three Rivers Stadium, his first concert (Foreigner at the Civic Arena in 1979), and shoveling snow-covered sidewalks before heading off to school.

"I still miss the community and the people and their character," says Young, the drummer for the nationally touring band Fountains of Wayne. "People in Pittsburgh really have a unique character. They have a thing about honesty, the no b.s. thing. ... It was an idyllic place to grow up, a good place for sports and doing a lot of outdoor stuff."

Young, who now lives in Los Angeles, has been a member of the power pop band The Posies and worked as a self-described "hired gun" with diverse artists including Burt Bacharach, Jim Carroll, Mandy Moore and Greg Dulli. What drives him most is his love of music, having the opportunity to get behind a drumkit. He's attained a level of proficiency and is willing to work in a pinch.

In December, Young was summoned by the band America, asking if he could fill in at the last minute for a Christmas-themed concert.

"They sent me a board tape of the show the previous night, put me on a red-eye," says Young, who previously played on one of the band's album. "I basically got off the plane and walked on stage. That's one of those challenges that's a huge adrenaline rush."

More than a feeling

Perhaps it is not noticeable in Western Pennsylvania because the natives are too close to it, live with it every day. But the region leaves an imprint on the people born and raised here, whether it's West Newton or Point Breeze, Thornburg or Bethel Park. There is an indelible, tangible aspect that reveals itself with distance.

"Not that there's not a lot of good people in L.A.," Luzier says, "because you have everyone from every spectrum of the Earth out here. But it's weird ... most of my friends, my good friends out here that I can trust, are from Jersey, Cleveland or Pittsburgh. It's an East Coast thing that they don't have out here, and I don't care what anybody says, they never will. I have good friends in Portland, I have good friends in Seattle and San Diego, but there's something about the East Coast, and I'm biased towards Pittsburgh because I spent 18 years there."

Budway has noticed something similar in his travels. At first, he calls it a grittiness, but then revises that thought.

"Pittsburgh is a strong town," Budway says. "I think it compares a lot to Detroit. ... There are a lot of caring people who really care about their families and making a living to take care of their children. And there's a love for music, for black American music, that I find there that's also true in Detroit."

Something else occurs when roots are pulled up: The teams of one's youth stay constant. Young moved to Arizona when the first Steelers dynasty was in its last days. But his allegiance remains to the black-and-gold clad teams of his youth.

"I still hate the Cowboys," Young says with a laugh. "That was instilled in me growing up. It's still in my genetic code."