The RainDoggs are Larisa Montanaro, Rob Huntley, Rob Porta, Brent Cagle, Marcos Sustaita, Stewart Cundy and Josh Paselk.

The band’s webpage has photos, upcoming dates and bio information on the band members. You can find their websites at: raindoggs.com and facebook.com/TheRainDoggsBand For Further Information Contact: Rob Porta Carmela Studios 512-666-0072 info@raindoggs.com ###

The Falls is a multi-venue night club that has a lot to offer no matter favorite drink or style of music. From Happy Hour to our live rock concerts, or if you want to dance the night away to the sounds of our video jockey, The Falls is an upscale elegant establishment for all your entertainment needs

Feb: 16th 2012 @ 11:00pm
226 W. Bitters
San Antonio, TX 78216

Every Friday @ Lucky Lounge, Austin TX – Staring January 20th The RainDoggs (feat. Larisa Montanaro) will be grooving Friday Happy Hour at Lucky Lounge!

The RainDoggs will be bringing their unique R&B style to Lucky Lounge every Friday from 6-8pm. The RainDoggs have been described as Tom Waits and Snoop Dogg driving in a 68 Camaro from New Orleans to LA, while being filmed by David Lynch.

“The RainDoggs bring some real soul and likeability to an exciting fusion of popular music genres.” ~ independentmusicpromotions.com

“The RainDoggs deliver a cocktail of soul, motown, funk and jazz, with even some influences from country and folk.” ~ chemical-magazine.com

Be sure to stop into Lucky Lounge and check out the RainDoggs Happy at Lucky Lounge starting January 20th.

For Further Information Contact:
Rob Porta
Carmela Studios
512-666-0072

info@raindoggs.com

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Mitten Mouth Music

According to their website The RainDoggs describe themselves as follows,“The RainDoggs are a collaboration of musicians from Austin TX. Their sound is a mix of R&B/Soul & Blues with a David Lynch movie.” I don’t disagree with their description at all. However, they are so much more too. This Austin, Texas collective of superbly talented musicians refuse to be static or limited on where they can take or interpret a song. Rest assured, when they get together there is no telling where they are going to take you. But, it is exactly that kind of suspense, daring and intrigue which makes the music they conjure up so damn irresistible. Their latest is a ballsy take on Snoop Dogg’s “My Medicine,” and it encases your spinal column in voodoo smoke and arrests your ears in utter surprise. It’s also a case of contradictions, of taking something that by all accounts shouldn’t work, but lo and behold it works just fine. Like a heroin addict becoming a nun or a hardcore gangsta becoming an environmentalist. Yes, strange and wonderful music is made when The RainDoggs come raining down on you. Peace.

The RainDoggs are Larisa Montanaro, Brent Cagle, Michael Prohaska, Stewart Cundy, Rob Huntley, Rob Porta

The band’s webpage has photos, upcoming dates and bio information on the band members. You can find their websites at: raindoggs.com and facebook.com/TheRainDoggsBand

For Further Information Contact:
Rob Porta
Carmela Studios
512-666-0072

info@raindoggs.com

###

DESCRIBE YOUR GENRE: Part Tom Waits, Part Snoop Dogg.
CATEGORY ENTERED: Album Category/ EP Category
SONGS SUBMITTED: Full Album Red to Black
ALBUM SUBMITTED: Ali Holder & The RainDoggs “Red to Black”
LABEL Name OR Self-Released: Self-Released under “Carmella Studios” named after my grandmother.

PLEASE LIST THE ARTISTS FEATURED ON THIS RELEASE.
Vocals: Ali Holder
Guitar: Rob Huntley
Guitar: Stewart Cundy
Bass: Rob Porta
Lead Trumpet: Michael Prohaska
Sax: Brent Cagle
Drums: Chris Hausler
Guest Playa’s: Guitar: Mike Lawrence-Yannicelli, Guitar: Stephen Selvey, Keys: Bob Fulton

WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND YOUR BAND NAME? WHERE THERE ANY CONTENDERS? This band started off as a simple songwriting challenge. Rob Porta, our manager/bass player/producer spent his career in NYC as an Art Director. Rob has worked with the Village Voice as a video editor, art director along with producing short films and plays. He’s creative life started with music, back in 1988 he played with NYC hard core band “Beyond” for 8 months. Although a successful Art Director the one thing he never did was write and record a full album. “Red to Black” was just a songwriting challenge, so there was no band. Rob would ask friends to play on songs that he thought would fit their style. He met sax player Brent Cagle and guitarist Rob Huntley in a Tom Waits tribute band. Since the band had no singer yet they felt like a pack of lost dogs looking for their pack leader. Since “Red to Black” also has a R&B feel, adding the double GG’s in honor of Snoop Dogg made sense.

DESCRIBE YOUR LATEST RELEASE. Picture Tom Waits and Snoop Dogg in a 68 Camaro driving from New Orleans to LA, and it’s all being filmed by David Lynch.

DID YOU USE ANY UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS OR EFFECTS? We couldn’t afford to record the drums in a studio, so they were purchased. They are recordings of a real drummer, but you have 1000′s of loops, styles and beats to choose from. We also went a little old school and used backward messages.

WERE THERE ANY ‘HAPPY ACCIDENTS’ IN THE STUDIO OR DID YOU RECORD IT AS PLANNED? The whole thing was a happy accident. We played our first show as a unit last month, it was the first time they all met each other.

DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? We used KickStarted to raise money for the physical CD’s. Other than that we recorded everything on Logic.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO SUBMIT TO THE 11TH IMAS? Once we finished the final mix we all thought it came out really well. We entered “Stuck in RED” in the “Rock your style” songwriting contest and come in 4th. We then started submitting the album for reviews and they are coming back positive. We’ll just keep riding the momentum.

WHO IS SITTING IN YOUR AUDIENCE?/WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? There’s a wide age range in the RainDoggs. We appeal to a nice group of people. Our arrangements are standard POP, but it’s layered with interesting rhythms and horn arrangements. We have a nice balance of “Normal” and “Strange” and our audience shows that.

HAVE YOU EVER HUNG OUT WITH ONE OF YOUR MUSICAL HEROES? WHAT’S THE STORY? While working at the Village Voice (rob porta) Ozzy Osbourne was signing autographs at Tower Records. Since they were a client of ours they let me bring my 6 year song in to meet him because our rep knew he liked his music. So I have a photo of Ozzy holding my 6 year old son. Not really hanging out, but the man is the GodFather of Heavy Metal.

WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? So far this album is the most well received creative project we ever worked on. So the jury is still out.

WHAT’S YOUR BEST/CRAZIEST TOUR STORY? There’s a lot of veterans in this band who all have stories, but this unit has yet to tour.

ARE THERE ANY SONGS YOU WISH YOU WROTE? Miss You by the Rolling Stones.

WHAT ARTISTS ARE YOU LISTENING TO THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? Gogol Bordello, John Zorn, JJohn Mellencamp, Brice Springsteen

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM SHOW LINEUP? We would love to open for The Heavy, Black Keys or any artist on Daptone Records.

FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS… Not what it used to be, it’s time to borrow Apple’s “Think Different” approach.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN THE WORKS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR? Because the music industry is changing, our plan is to collaborate with various singers with songwriting, touring and recording.

HOW CAN FANS FOLLOW YOU? WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? Online is the new Record Store. iTunes, Amazon and so on. You can also listen and follow us on http://raindoggs.com

The RainDoggs (feat. Ali Holder) – Red to black

The RainDoggs hailing from Austin (USA) is the brainchild of a group of talented and experienced local musicians led by Rob Porta (former member of NY hardcore band Beyond).

In “Red to Black” , the band is backing the bluesy, warm and bright vocals of singer Ali Holder, delivering a cocktail of soul, motown, funk and jazz, with even some influences from country and folk.

Opening with brass instrument, tremolo guitars and funky accents, Stuck in RED offers a chill-out, somehow retro vibe that will remain here during the whole album.

Be My Man follows right next,  blinking an eye to the late 60s – early 70s funk sounds, reminding the work of legendary James Brown very closely, still keeping the band’s signature vibe intact: an eclectic bunch, that showcases different directions almost on every track, especially on the peculiar country-jazz bash “Shake your bum”, the vintage atmosphere of “Ain’t The Madonna, Ain’t your whore” and the RnB twist, But you’re mine.

Once I through I had figured out the dynamics of this records, another couple of songs bring more to the table: a rock element, in the shape of the electric guitar riffs of “Does she do you right” and electronic in the melancholic ballad “Daddy may I”.

The last 5 songs of this album seem to sort of differ from the first – more eclectic -half of the recording, mostly focusing on the band’s more soul-funk side for numbers like “What have you done”,  (featuring trumpet riffs a la Morricone) , Was it necessary (featuring hints of fusion) and the beautiful dialogues of the piano and the tremolo guitar in “Black”, topped by an excellent sax work.

Despite “Red to Black” is shaped by so many different music influences, the tracklist flows smoothly and all the music is glued together by the very suiting vocals by Ali, which stamps a very well recognizable  watermark on every tune, that joined with the musicianship and experience of every single member of the band and with the nice, sober production work – with an eye looking back and another looking forward.

The RainDoggs. Very clever name. Tom Waits (who himself released a stellar album “Bad As Me“) once crooned “For I am a rain dog, too” on his 1985 classic album “Rain Dogs”. 26 years later, an independent band from Austin, Texas has taken inspiration from him as well as the iconic Snoop Dogg. Looking through their other influences you will find more of the greats – the GREATS, I mean. Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones and James Brown, as well as some wonderful modern picks such as The Black Keys, Adele, and Faces.

I have to say, I was very impressed on a first listen. So much so that I listened to the tracks multiple times each – not because I had to but because they simply made me FEEL good. I heard a lot of Black Keys and The Dead Weather in their sound, and that’s not at all a bad thing. Rock n’ roll does, after all, still soothe the soul. Now I’m noticing so much more on a second listen. “Stuck In Red” is a real standout, with absolutely brilliant Portishead-styled guitars washed in tremolo accompanied by brilliant trumpet playing. The band lays it down and keeps the groove strong throughout, and lead singer Ali Holder narrates like a blues veteran. In “Was It Necessary”, Holder reminded me of Martina Topley-Bird’s stellar performances on her work with Tricky. The beats are a mix of funk and hip hop, and every musician does a perfect job without overdoing it. There is space enough to bob your head, and the production is excellent. The RainDoggs bring some real soul and likeability to an exciting fusion of popular music genres.

I, for one, look forward to hearing much more from this excellent indie band. To check them out for yourself, click here

Earlier this year, Austin singer/songwriter Ali Holder released her album Red to Black in what would later be seen to be an unfinished version. Seeing as her usual horn player and side man Brent Cagel had embarked on a European tour and been perusing other projects, Holder decided to forge ahead herself, crafting Red to Black without the help of her brass virtuoso on board. But once Cagel returned from his European tour, Holder realized that his presence on the recordings were missed, and enlisted him to add brass arrangements to the album that was already thought to completed. Holder released the newly arranged record with her band The RainDoggs on October 17th, raising the question: did she make the right move in having Cagel add brass arrangements.

After just one listen to the album, the answer to this question is clear: a resounding yes. While the rest of Holder’s band provides a more than proficient backing for her sultry alto, the brass arrangements present throughout each of Red to Black’s nine tracks provides the album with a certain cohesion that would’ve been missed without them. These horns especially shine on opening track “Struck in RED,” where, after a few seconds of radio squall, Cagel blasts a simple, yet perfectly fitting introductory line. The brass also lends nice touches to “black,” the albums closing instrumental track.

Though the band’s arrangements certainly add to the listening experience of Red to Black, the star of the record is truly Holder’s voice. She brings sophistication and experience to her vocal performances, and the diversity that she displays throughout the album is impressive to say the least. She croons through laid-back tracks like “Does She Do You Right?” and “What Have You Done to Me,” while delivering more up-beat tracks like “Was it Necessary,” and “Daddy, May I,” with more bite.

If you’ve been looking for the next big think in blues, look no further: it’s Ali Holder & the RainDoggs.