The Wizard of Oz, Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carol, Alfred Hitchcock, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Stravinksy, Cage, Rogers and Hamerstein, Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Sinatra,Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Buddy Holly, Les Paul, Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, Gene Vincent, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Elvis, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Mersey Beat, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Early Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Syd Barett, Pink Floyd, Arthur Lee and LOVE, The Ventures, George Harrison, John Lennon, Brian Wilson, The Beachboys, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Beau Brummels, The Liverpools, Velvet Underground and NICO, The Kinks, The Who, The Buckinghams, The Doors, The Nazz, Jefferson Airplane, Mamas and Papas, Lulu, The Stoned Ponies, Big Star, Todd Rundgren, T.Rex, David Bowie, Queen, Sly Stone, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Iggy Pop, Jackson 5, The Partridge Family, The Pretenders, U2, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Kraftwerk, Television, Patti Smith, X, The Buzzcocks, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Jim Carrol, The New York Dolls, Alice Cooper, The Ramones, Blondie, Elvis Costello, The Clash, The Sex Pistols. The Last, Bauhaus, The Cure, The Soft Boys, Robyn Hitchcock, The Replacements, The Church, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Leonard Cohen, Phil Ochs, Simon and Garfunkel, Judy Garland, Magritte, Dada, Surrealists, Alexander Calder, Miro, Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Mondrian, Rietveld, Artaud, Beaudalaire, Godard, Don Quixote,Isaac Asimov, The Futurists, Man Ray, Warhol, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, The Constructivists.
TV snow, Looney Tunes, Gorbachev, Robert Kennedy, Barrack Obama, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Vin Scully, Kareem Abdul Jabaar, Magic Johnson, Apollo, Da Vinci, Felix the Cat, Love American Style, Yellow Submarine, Batman, Hot Wheels, Walter Cronkite, Tet, Ho Chi Minh, Peter Fonda, Richard Lester, Peter Sellers, Arthur C. Clark, Stanley Kubrick, 2001, A Space Odyssey, KHJ, KRLA, KROQ, KALX, KUSF, KFWB, KNX, Radio Mystery Theatre, Orson Welles, George O Petrie.
Neye Benziyor?
The place you always wanted to go...and she's with you.
Resident heroes of L.A.'s fabled Paisley Underground, Rain Parade were an aural delight of lush, psychedelic atmospheres and brilliant songwriting. Brothers David (Opal/Mazzy Star)
and Steven (Viva Saturn) Roback and Matt Piucci made Rickenbacker guitars creepy and beautiful, bleeding them of weeping, moody feedback and detuned, Middle Eastern melody. As if their phantom moans and slow, syrupy meters weren't brilliant enough on their own, Rain Parade's songs were impeccably written with kinetic, flowing, and tersely bittersweet melodies. Some of their finest moments are documented on the band's 1983 Restless debut Emergency Third Rail Power Trip and 1984 follow-up EP Explosions in the Glass Palace, which contains the beautiful, calmative yet upbeat gem "You Are My Friend," as well as the tearful, yearning "Broken Horse."
- Kelly Baum
The Rain Parade—Founded, 1981, Los Angeles, CA
In spring of 1981, former Carlton college roommates, David Roback and Matt Piucci establish an ambitious guitar/songwriting collaboration in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, Steven Roback accepts his brother's invitation to join the group, leaves his studies at U.C. Berkeley, and returns to L.A. Initially called The Sidewalks, the group is joined in late summer 1981 by classical violin prodigy William Cooper Glenn after finishing his studies at Yale University. The Rain Parade is founded.
Fall, 1981:
The Rain Parade's David Roback, Steven Roback, Matt Piucci, and Will Glenn begin constructing a new sound: informed by the darker times of the punk era, but adventerous: softer, modal, eastern-sounding, acoustic-electric guitar mixes, droning melodic bass lines, hypnotic organ patches, vocal harmonies, which were dark and sad but somehow uplifting. A timeless and increasingly influential sonic blend that musicians and rock journalists now call The Rain Parade sound.
Over the next year, Rain Parade remains in seclusion, reaches deeply into bag of tricks, sought and used-wisely vintage instruments while they were still affordale, hybridized melodic songwriting, electric instrumentation and late 20th century/dark personal themes into signature neo-psychedelic sound.
1982:
First gig at Cathay De Grande in Hollywood with Green on Red.... Friendships established on the spot. Inspirational creative-links formed between Rain Parade and Green on Red's brilliant creative core: Dan Stuart, Jack Waterson, and Chris Cacavas. Hot summer. Reagan challenges Soviet Union. Fear in air. Punk scene dying. New American Underground heats up. Rain Parade records their anthemic first single "What She's Done To Your Mind/Kaleidoscope" at Radio Tokyo with producer/engineer and former Blue Cheer member, Ethan James. Receives praise in British Press....curious in-the-know ears are aroused.
"This Can't Be Today" from The Rain Parade's "Emergency Third Rail Power Trip" LP, 1983
1983:
The Rain Parade records first album: Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (produced by David Roback and Rain Parade) released worldwide and reaches British ears and charts...finally got to play for more then 20 people...L.A. discovers it's own...Salvation Army/Three O'Clock's frighteningly talented Michael Quercio coins phrase "Paisley Underground" at Roxy show with the sensational live rocking-girl-group The Bangles, and Rain Parade. The press has an angle. The Rain Parade takes off in van.....discovers American Underground waiting for them. Plays with REM in Athens. David Roback leaves Rain Parade to shepard his own Clay Allison, Opal, and Mazzy Star.
Rain Parade "No Easy Way Down" LIVE, 1984, Club Lingere, Hollywood, CA (From Paisley Underground Part 2, BBC "Whistle Test"). Pontiac Brothers open
1984:
Rain Parade records second album: Explosions in the Glass Palace...America hears sound. Music Machine gig with Dream Syndicate...breaks eardrums and attendance records. Tour America...play with Greg Sage of the Wipers in Seattle...power blows out 5 times..minds blow out 10...Go to Japan with Dream Syndicate: Record Live in Japan "Beyond the Sunset in Tokyo." Earthquakes , Mothera, Rodan....everything.
1985-87:
Tour US, Europe, Japan....Blue Chariot keeps us warm across vast stretches of Northern Europe in heart of insane winter...Valley Forge on wheels, no heat Sweden, bags fall out, are recovered in mountains of Germany...Rounded up by record company officials after unknown period of time passes in Amsterdam.....Scotland proves it should be a nation unto itself...Italy throws national holiday for its own (second generation) Matt Piucci—daughters are offered by Italian town elders for marriage...respectfully declined. Record fourth album: Crashing Dream...Appear on BBC Live Whistle Test...Get run out of country by English Press looking for alternative to Royals....
1988:
Rain Parade embarks on live recording project at venues in California, Washington and Oregon. New songs are darker, more electric, more ominous than previous outings..."No Easy Way Down" direction explored in electric live storm with signature melodies, eastern-sounding modal electric guitars, melodic shifting bass lines. Classic rare Piucci/S. Roback-penned songs from this project include: "Got the Fear," "The Sniper," "Novocaine," "Power," "Undermine," Tranquility Base, etc." Live recording yields incredible results:Dark, electric, ,moody, melodic, masterworks. Record company unsure how to market darker version of Rain Parade passes on releasing album.
Mod Lange Records in Berkeley,CA steps in and gives heart and gold to compilation of rare Rain Parade outakes and demos: DEMOLITION, 1990, 090 Records. Limited Edition pressing sells out in pre-sales. No further releases or pressings occur. Rain Parade members move to different cities, band put on ice, indefinitely..final show at Berkeley Square, Berkeley, CA. April 1988..a tremendous musical upheaval...a truly memorable, sad, and uplifting event. Rain Parade as a band has not plalyed a single note since.
Viva Saturn: (1989-97) Featuring Steven Roback, with John Thoman, Matt Piucci, Will Glenn, Ross Inden, Carlo Nucio, Billy Blaze, Gary Eaton. Featured guests: Green on Red's Jack Waterson, Chris Cacavas, and Barbara Manning. Produced by Steven Roback with Matt Piucci.
David Roback
Rainy Day (1983) Produced by David Roback. Featuring Susanna Hoffs, David Roback, Kendra Smith, Will Glenn, Steven Roback, Matt Piucci, Michael Quercio, Karl Precoda, and members of Dream Syndicate, Salvation Army/Three O'Clock, and The Bangles.
Clay Allison:(1983-84) Featuring David Roback, Kendra Smith. Produced by David Roback.
Opal: Featuring David Roback, Kendra Smith, with Keith Mitchell, Suki Ewers. Produced by David Roback.
Mazzy Star: Featuring David Roback, Hope Sandoval, with Keith Mitchell, William Cooper Glenn. Produced by David Roback.
Matt Piucci
The Hellenes: Featuring Matt Piucci, with John Thoman, Alec Palau, Billy Blaze. Produced by Matt Piucci with Steven Roback.
Rain Parade Announcements:
With great sadness our friend, and highly influential Rain Parade member Will Glenn passed away from a rare form of liver cancer in 1996. We miss everything about you...your humor, Yale-schooled brilliance, heart, soul and deep musical passion. Will was an orignal and one of the true greats of our time. Will also played with Mazy Star under the name William Cooper. RIP: Will Glenn, Syd Barret, Arthur Lee, Ethan James. fade live.(SR)
I interviewed Morty Nevins of the Three suns on my blog- the composer of 'Twilight time' gave a fascinating account of the music business of the 40's and 50's.
Hey thanks Rain Parade! I LOVE your music since the 80s.. I know all your records and I still remember a gig you've played in Italy (maybe 1987-88 ... at Slego club, Rimini).. I also have a cassette with a cool interview with you guys.. Matt Piucci ...you have roots here in Italy, Abruzzo.. All the best! Ciao Paolo
Massive thanks for the 'add'. The Rain Parade created some genuinely beautiful and often disturbing music and 'Beyond the Sunset' is possibly the greatest live album ever recorded. One of the most under-rated bands of all time.
Maybe one day we can afford Rickenbaker guitars... Earning money we only can listen to your tunes. Fortunatly, we adore them and continue playin' on squiers...
March 16th. marks the passing of our brother Will Glenn. I miss his friendship. I miss his humor. I miss his intellect. Eight years has passed. My heart goes out to his wife Angela and their son Henry. We are all better for having known him. His love of life, family and music resonate to this day. I looked into the night sky and the wind carried a sweet melody. Will,you are loved. You are missed and I'll remember you always. Much love to you and your's....Jack Waterson
