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The Rainjunkies are an original four piece band based in Lexington, Kentucky whose music mixes acoustic and electric textures into a unique sound that ranges from organic backwoods whispers to full-throated indie rock. The manager of one well known club compared them to The Pretenders with a hint of twang. If the roots of the band's sound are firmly planted in rock and all manner of Americana, the trunk is the songs themselves, powerfully literate and evocative.

Some of The Rainjunkies' recent area performances include The Dame, Al's Bar, The Shrieking Shack, Thoroughbred Park, and various events and venues in Lexington; The Rudyard Kipling, The Hideaway Saloon, and Twice Told Coffeehouse in Louisville; a showcase at The Midwest Entertainment Industry Conference, Mommapalooza, The Jeannie Lane Foundation barn party, a WRFL benefit celebration, and other venues in Monterrey, La Grange, Danville, and Richmond. They have shared the stage with many local and touring bands as well as Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart, renowned pop singer-songwriter Paul Williams, and late bluegrass legend Homer Ledford and the Cabin Creek Band.

The Rainjunkies' debut album, Reach for the Water, was released in 2004 and featured cellist Ben Sollee, now with the Sparrow Quartet, and Steve Cherry of Club Dub. The band is returning to the studio in summer 2008 with both a second album and an EP planned for the coming year.

Abby Lane is the lead singer and songwriter of the band, and her dynamic and achingly expressive voice is at the center of the band's distinctive sound. She plays rhythm guitar and also adds harmonica to a few songs, and plays dulcimer, piano and organ on Reach for the Water. She has published poetry in various literary journals. Her earliest years were spent in a little cabin built by her parents in the woods of central Kentucky, near the Waddy-Peytona exit, where her father crafted the occasional hand carved dulcimer, her mother sang folk songs at the occasional coffeehouse, and friends pounded away on the upright piano. They were powered at times by solar panels, an on-site wooden wind turbine, and for a time by nothing but a tractor battery, a woodstove, and a transistor radio. Then they went electric.

Bryan Klausing plays lead guitar with a songwriter's ear, a talent for rock, and a taste for swampy, sometimes spacey atmospherics. He also occasionally plays lap steel, mandolin, dobro, and even violin, depending on the mood and need of the song. He is originally from Louisville, where he got his musical start in high school in a grunge rock band called Ordinary People. Bryan has handled booking, artist relations, stage management, and associate production for the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour since 1999 and was Steve Earle's guitar tech on July 22, 2008. He and singer-songwriter Abby Lane have been married since Earth Day 2006.

Smith Donaldson was born to play bass and continued growing in height until the age of 26. He has played with such nationally known acts as Alejandro Escovedo and Ellis Hooks and also plays with Lexington blues rock boogie band The Tallboys. He has a strong background in touring, social work, football, and landscaping. He doesn't plan on dying anytime soon.

Brian Connors Manke is the drummer and percussionist for the Rainjunkies. His prior drumming experience was in the Cleveland punk scene. At a young age, he listened to dad's outlaw country and mom's sweet soul records, and as this happened to be in Cleveland, there were also a lot of punk, rock, rap and polka influences flowing. Brian is the host of an eclectic music radio show on WRFL called “Flying Kites at Night” and has written articles for publications including No Depression, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, and MLB.com. He recently successfully fought a Lexington noise ordinance ticket for listening to a CD on the factory stereo in his Ford Focus. He usually prefers riding his bike while singing loudly.

Together, they are the Rainjunkies.

"Just when The Rainjunkies reel you in with their refreshingly sparse arrangements, you're treated to a diverse batch of layered string work, including mandolin hooks and delightfully gritty guitar solos. Think Julie Miller or Rickie Lee Jones- meets- Neil Young during those glorious Crazy Horse years." Anne Deck, Producer/Host, “Girls' Night Out,” WUKY-FM, 91.3 Lexington, KY

"From the first listen, the songwriting appears refined and full of literary references, but above all, it is rich in images well-married with the music. The first track, Architecture of Your Face, shows us immediately how the band from Kentucky has clear ideas about the melody. Reach for the Water reveals a band of the highest potential to move in the spaces from folk to rock and into pop music." Salvatore Esposito, JAM Magazine, Italy

“Up first is the homegrown indie folk/pop of The Rainjunkies. Sparse but spacious melodies with a modest country strut and the similarly light vocal fabric of singer Abby Lane make up the band’s attractive, atmospheric Americana mix.” -Walter Tunis, The Musical Box and The Lexington Herald-Leader

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