Lady Viola (vocals, percussion), Kris Daniel (guitar, etc.), Gooby Herms (bass guitar)
Current/Past Co-Conspirators: Meredith Yayanos, Aaron Kierbel, Rick Appleton, Dana Shepard, Ralph Carney, Sol Crawford, Andrew Goldfarb, Linda Robertson, PJ Medina, Rebecca Roudman, (more to come)
Influences
Long-gone swampabilly blues, one man bands, alligator heads, pencil mustaches, Valaida Snow, traveling medicine shows, The Cramps, carnivals, soiled doves, New Orleans, sideshows, The Mummies, Bessie Smith, Busby Berkeley, spindly fingers, crooked teeth, gold/silver/missing teeth, Henry Mancini, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Eastern European dirges, Link Wray, alligator heads, Liza Minelli, sailor tattoos, fortune tellers, Tom Waits, carnival strong men, Sidney Bichet, Jonathan Richmond, legless ladies, Coney Island, tattered clothes, Chuck E Weiss, painted lips, Gene Vincent, Twilight Zone, possum belly queens, Minnie White and her gals, Sparkle Moore, 5-string banjo, Black Rider, nutria, Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake, tattooed ladies, the alligator boy, Laffin' Sal, Roy Acuff & His Smokey Mountain Boys, steamboats, Danzig, sea chanties, Billy Childish, Marianne Faithfull, ice cream trucks, Leonard Cohen, The Pogues, Memphis, ? and the Mysterians, crocodile tears, Elvis, Elvis Costello, Quintron, hooped underthings, Hank Williams Sr., bearded ladies, Patsy Cline, Essex Terraplane 8, tent shows, Mae West, Rod Serling, pawn shops, opium dens, Marianne Faithfull, voodoo, hoodoo, mojo, Marie Laveau, cheap/medium/expensive cigars, blind tigers, the Depression, 1906 Earthquake, Mabel Stark, silk stockings, Marlene Dietrich, CONEY ISLAND....Steeple Chases, Dark Houses, boardwalks...
"Like an escapee from a secret shadow lab where 1930s sideshow girls, ’40s film-noir nightclub dames, and the criminal flip-side of ’50s rockabilly queens were genetically blended, Lady Viola seems to be from another time and place. Viola fronts Ragwater Revue, an evolving ensemble that plays spookabilly and country blues for an accursed roadhouse eternally shrouded in fog. (This is where Large Marge, the ghost trucker from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, probably gets her whiskey kicks.) The band’s song titles speak volumes: “Cemetery Sal,” “Alligator Baby,” “Glass Eye & a Leisure Suit,” and on and on down the doomy line that runs between the graveyard and the swamp on Highway Zero. There’s a schtick at work here, of course. But Viola & Co. keep the hijinks to a thankful minimum, preferring to perform the songs as straight as such stylized inventions can get. That doesn’t mean you can’t play along, though. I’m sure they’d be stoked if you dressed as Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy for the night." — J. Graham
SF Weekly
"...Ragwater Revue revs up right away like a shiny car, an early model heavy with chrome and designed for a showy, gutsy ride. Lady Viola slinks up in a feline way, swaying back and forth in an indolent gait set by gritty guitars and bass resurrected from the earliest, most humid days of rock's rebellion. Low-down saxophone and percussion add to the late-night mood, evocative of joyrides after midnight, seamed stockings and steamy dives... There's also something seedily satisfying and authentic about its lo-fi quality, echoing down slick, dark alleys." (Carolee, Gothic Beauty Magazine 9/08)
"With songs that tell wild tales of alligator babies, glass eyes, and cemeteries, Ragwater Revue envelopes its listeners in a prohibition-era haze. The dirty blues band, who incorporate hints of rockabilly and jazz, is brand-spankin'-new to San Francisco, having just moved from Kansas City, Mo., last January. Songstress Lady Viola's gramophonelike vocal stylings fit perfectly with Kris Daniel's sleepy guitar work." (Fiore, SF Bay Guardian 4/06)
"Imagine an old seedy bar in the 1930s where women adorned in puffy mink shawls smoke using long Cruella DeVille-like cigarette extenders and dark-haired men in suits slowly tap their feet to some jazzy blues. Ragwater Revue would be the band on the stage." (Artsweek California Aggie)
(Poorly, yet very amusingly, translated from Belgium's 'Roots Time Magazine'...this has to be one our favorite reviews. Thank you!)
"The duo from San Francisco Ragwater Revue distils songs from the brackish water marsh where good people like The Cramps and Dead Bolt impacts to fish. Innovative from the corner in this genre are the furthest distance is not a priority, which is well known. Revue Ragwater cross but head and shoulders above comparable today in the margins of the rock-'n-roll mud using garage orkestjes. Smiths song and multi-instrumentalist Kris Daniel know how simple it means writing a catchy song and the group with the voice of Lady Viola, a soulful Negress trapped in the body of a corpse pale vampirella, the ingredient to keep their music to a higher plan to lift. Gruizige, Cramps-like tugs as "Poor John Button 'and' China Trapman 'alternate with the mouthy dustbins blues of' The Creep 'or the very Waitsiaans titled" A Glass Eye & Leisure Suit. " But it can also be subtle. In the blue neon glow of the smoky "San Francisco Song" is the half past five in the morning. While the chairs onto the table and the waiter whether the brush is listening to the final, stubborn stamgasten how Lady Viola, with a lazy blues guitar and drums as the only noise disturbing group, the mild loss of her beloved bezingt. Very nice. The uptempo 'Cemetery Sal' shine again clearly rockabilly influences by one notch, while the baritone embellished 'Interlude' evokes images of previously secretly creeping pink panthers. In combination with the strong songs and vocals makes this doorleefde diversity of the disc without more bacon for the mouth of types that might be lit on Monday nights with unhealthy interest in cemeteries struinen. Really something for you. "
(BENN)
BIO:
Conjuring the long-gone sounds of early blues, the dinge of the swamp, and the raw sound of '60s garage, Ragwater Revue applies an inimitable twist to these genres creating a lethal concoction of sultry booze fueled ballads, reverb-drenched slinky guitar and cacophonic junkyard blues.
Channeling the freewheeling spirits of Mae West, Bessie Smith and Wanda Jackson, tattooed siren Lady Viola (vox) draws inspiration from her extensive wanderings into the deep South of the U.S. and the homicidal femme fatale beauties of classic film noir. To Ragwater Revue Lady V brings her own style of eccentric class and invites the audience to join her in the tawdry noir daydream she has created for herself.
Kris Daniel (ex-Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Dimestore Dance Band, Ssion, Kung-Fu Monkeys, 245 Trioxin, etc..) is a self taught hack-of-all-trades. At the tender age of 13 Kris left the decaying glitz of Gibtown, Florida and made his way across the States playing pump organ for small change outside of truck stops, train stations, and county fairs, thus adding to his impressive array of musical skills. Kris supplies Ragwater Revue with his inimitable slinky, off-kilter guitar work while at the same time providing the rhythm section by way of a bass drum, kick snare, hi-hat and tambourine.
Having recently settled back in the San Francisco Bay Area after a brief and very humid stint in the Midwest, Ragwater Revue are now bringing their boisterous live show to new and eager audiences across the country and beyond.
Ragwater Revue has shared the bill with such fine acts as: Ralph Carney, Miss Derringer, Knees & Elbows, The Slow Poisoner, Uni and Her Ukelele, The Holy Kiss, RyKarda Parasol, Nora Keyes, The Mighty Lynch-Pins, Mr. Uncertain, Craig Ventresco & Meredith Axelrod, Hobo Jazz, Goonmat & The Mumblers, The Touch-Me-Nots, Matty Rue Morgue, King City, Kira Lynn Kane, Yard Sale, Tippy Canoe and The Paddlemen, Wiyos, Blue Bone Express, Prince Poppycock, The Kitchen Syncopators, El Radio Fantastique, among many others.
Ragwater live on 2/14/09 in NYC @ Don Hill's for 'Dances of Vice' Valentine Voodoo Rhythms (www.dancesofvice.com). Thanks to the amazing Leilaof3moons for the video!! and of course to Shien for having us!!
Brand new Ragwater video clip featuring the new lineup! 11/21/08, Dive Rock Death Bar @ The Stork Club.
Thanks to the fabulous Miss Nana for sharing!
Video clip from Ragwater cd release show 7/7/07 @ The Starry Plough.
Thanks to the lovely Rani for this juicy tidbit!
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WINTER 2009
Ragwater Revue will be traveling to the East Coast to play at Don Hill's in NYC for the fabulous 'Dances of Vice' club night on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14th 2009!!! This is a not to be missed show!!! It will be the first time that Ragwater has played NYC!!! It's also a homecoming of sorts for Kris and a much anticipated visit for Viola, Gooby, and Dana!!! This will indeed be a grand night, so come on with that special someone and welcome Ragwater Revue to the Big Apple...
FAll 2008
After a few ill-fated months, Ragwater Revue has risen from the grave!!! While digging our way up, we grabbed ourselves a bass player named Gooby and a drummer named Dana!! We assure you some very raucous, swamp-a-licious, tawdry times are about to come slinking your way!!! We’re also in the process of putting together a new EP! We promise to keep you updated on the progress so you’ll be the first to know when it’s wrapped and ready to go…
.."http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmZyZWVjb2Rlc291cmNlLmNvbQ==PUT AN IMAGE AT THE TOP OF YOUR PAGE
Wondrous, naughtycal Nekro Fest show, thanks again! Was hoping you'd be vending again. Everyone was asking me about the amazing hat shipwrecked on my head!
Peculiar Pretzelmadness descends on San Francisco Tuesday night at Hemlock Tavern. Stomping and hollering with old and true comrades in arms, Deathat and Corpus Collasum! $7!
greetings from the dirty south. my name is dave aka burma shave. i stumbled onto your profile and have fallen in love with ragwater revue. maybe i'll get to see a live show one day. i love your music!!!
FREE Krafty Kitten goody bags to the first 40 girls that stop by my booth at this car show!!! don't miss out on this rare opportunity next saturday may 16th!! just come up to my booth with a print out of this comment or let me know that you saw it and that you are my myspace friend to get your free goody bag!! hope to see ya there :) xoxo, Kim
