The roots of the Cosmic American Derelicts lie in the drunken haze of yester-year. The year was 1972 and on a hot May 17th day Eddie Rainey was born. He picked up the guitar about the age of 3 and never looked back. As Eddie grew he was greatly influenced by his father Rich, who was a singer/Banjo picker. Eddie's dad would have jam sessions at the house and Eddie would be encouraged to sing and play along. His dad also took him to many Bluegrass Festivals where he had the opportunity to see many greats including, Bill Monroe, The Stanley Bros, and Ricky Skaggs. He gradually went from country bluegrass into Rock-n-Roll. By the time he was a teenager he had also aquired a taste for Randy Rhodes, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, and of course Van Halen. In High School he met up with future founding Derelict singer/songwriter Brian Murray and played in the band Flight, Back Talk and Naked Babies. They had definitely hit on a major vibe, one, which held sway for roughly 15yrs. Eddie was always humble and unassuming and was always willing to help out other players. One of which was future founding member & bassist George Kapitanellis, their musical relationship goes back to 10th grade Algebra, discussing who's better Page or Van Halen.George picked up the Bass at the age of 16. He was a Rock-n-Roll freak, groovin to the sounds of Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, Floyd, The Dead and all that good ol' Lsd stuff. He knew there was no other life but Rock-n-Roll. George played in lots of bands throughout the 90's (some with future members Galinos Kapitanellis, Sotiri Karlis, and Mike Corr), after many projects and heartbreaks George auditioned for The Bleeding Hearts a rock band out of NYC. He auditioned and was excepted. The band also included another future member singer/songwriter Joe Wilkinson. The Bleeding Hearts were Joe's project and featured many great sessions men over their 3yrs of playing. (Feb 96)Joe was a child of the 70's and picked up the ax at the age of 12, and was hugely influence by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Foghat, Yes, Krimson and Deep Purple, as well as others. He grew up in Poughkeipse NY and moved on down to NYC in 91. Beginning in Feb of 96', the band played throughout the tri-state area and had quite the reputation as a no-holds barred Rock-n-Roll band. Their following was quite sizable, which gave them the opportunity to record a self titled / self produced CD. Recorded at Mixolydian Studios in NJ. (1997)In the meanwhile, Eddie had graduated from Berklee School of Music in Boston(95) and came back to Jersey to get his head straight. Once home he reconnected with old friend and collaborator Brian Murray, together with H.S. buddy and drummer Ronnie Moga. They wrote songs and put together a great band, Northern Comfort. Four part harmonies and lots of, magnificent playing. These two bands were the genesis of things to come.The Comfort boys and Bleeding Hearts played a few gigs together and enjoyed many the late night jam sessions on old Terhune Street. After 2 years of non-stop playing, all seemed well. But as luck would have it the seas of change swept in and internal differences and personnel turn over got the better of both bands. So George, Brian and Mike Corr, after a few pints at the bar, decided to put together another project ( April 98) with the three of them and George's brother Galinos on drums, Sotiri was also added to play congas. The idea was to have a band with lots of friends coming up to pick,sing and experiment with all styles.The band was christened The Derelicts, after Brian heard George make a casual remark about their always-rowdy drinking buddies. But even then the boys had their own bands to deal with. So at first the Derelicts were only a band solely for the purpose of getting their rocks off. The first gig line up was George on Bass, Brian singin and playin rhythm, Joe on guitar, Mike on guitar, Galinos drums and Sotiri on percussion and lots of Jack Daniels. The gig was a blast mixing in Brian originals with lots of obscure Dylan, Creedance and blues. By the third gig Eddie joined in. Mike dropped out that same summer 98'. The boys were on a roll. Playin in each other's bands and havin fun.By Dec of 98' a rift had developed within the Bleeding Hearts, and after their worst gig ever the band broke up, leavin behind a lot of great songs and spirit. The Comfort boys were also going through a lot of shit, after their founding member, friend and drummer Ron Moga decided to leave the band, citing musical differences, soon after bassist Steve Gust started to flake out and not show up to gigs. Fortunately George had sat in and knew much of their sets. Still both bands were finished and Northern Comfort folded in Feb of 99.The boys went headfirst into Derelict territory. By this time Galinos had to leave due to his day job. Joe got another gig and dropped out soon after. Sotiri jumped into the drummer chair and picked up the beat quite well. His main influence being the inimitable Keith Moon. He quickly mastered the two beat and was on his way to honky-tonk heaven. (March99) Now the boys were a 4 piece continuing in the grand ole rock-n-roll tradition. The Derelicts were a mix of Bluegrass, Honky-Tonk, Blues and Rock-n-roll. They gigged relentlessly in the ever-fickle tri-state club scene packin 'em in, but refusing to play hits. The were always playin off the cuff obscure Gram Parson's tunes, Savoy Brown, as well as playing and writing what was soon to become the Derelicts self-title debut.Brian was a rocker at heart but loved Honky-Tonk, as well as being a closet punk. He had written quite a few songs over the years, which reflected many styles, country, rock, ska, and acid rock, but had never recorded any. So after lots of singin and playin , the boys went into the studio in the winter of 2000. By this time the boys had been informed as to a certain copyright infringement. It was addressed by a name change. The Cosmic American came about from their hero (Gram Parsons) description of Psychedelic honky-tonk music. Being huge Gram fans the Derelicts thought it a natural.The CD, recorded at Visionary studios in NJ and engineered by Tom Gioia, was independently released (Dec 2000) and sales were brisk in the following months. It captured their live sound and featured some great guitar playing and songwriting. But as cruel fate would have it Brian decided that he could not handle the chores of the band & husbandry . So he retired from the band and is still missed,(July 01'), not wanting to quit (they're havin too much fun) George called up old friend and ex-member Joe Wilkinson to see if they could at least cover their gigs, which were already booked months in advance. Joe jumped on board and after a few stumbles and baby steps the band finally started hitting its stride once again by Jan 02'. They played and wrote and played some more and after a tumultous year and a half of playing. The band decided to part ways yet again with their singer. (Dec 02')In the meantime George and Eddie formed another band with Louie Demayo on mandolin. The band Hillbilly Water played lots of gigs in NY and NJ. Also recording a 3 song demo at Chung King studios in NYC. Hillbilly Water came out of Eddie's passion for blugrass and acoustic music. George jumped at the chance to get into another project and learn a new style. Lou D. joined on mandolin and vocals after a 5 year stint in Ed's dad's band Risky Business. In the 2 years of their existence the band also recruited fiddle player extraordinaire Nick Reeb. Nick's a country boy from Ohio. Who happens to be one of the best bluegrass fiddle players in the counrty. He met the boys in a club in NYC. and was recruited on the spot by Sotiri. His playing brought out a whole new energy in the band. They played alot around the area and as luck would have Nick was poached by a great up and coming bluegrass band King Wilke. Off he went to greener pastures. God bless that boy cause he sure can play. The band carried on, but personnal turmoil struck their fearless leader Louie D. and he bowed out in the summer of '04. He returned in the fall of o5'. After successfully staving off throat cancer. The band has finished their debut cd "Have a Drink" which was also recorded at Visionary studios in NJ. (April 07).That year (Jan 03) the band recruited two great musical talents Jamaican born Latoya Williams who handled all of the singing chores and songwriter/guitar Danny Pavas another Bergenfield native. Both were hugely talented individuals. Latoya's voice full of power and blues, and Danny's writing style complimented the ever expanding sound of The Derelicts. Bringing them into a more R&B, soul vibe. Their fans loved it. Encouraging the band to write, perform and eventually record. They performed to lots of lovin fans for over 9 months but personal obligations led Latoya to quit the band in Nov. 03'. Without a singer The Derelicts decided to lay low for that winter, they wrote, rehearsed and as luck would have it, Latoya and Danny(4/04) re-entered the picture in July of 04'. They played for a bit and after some conflict Danny split for his own gig. He is currently working on his first full length Cd ('07). They continued as a 4pc. and began work on their 2nd Cd(Dec'04). Their second Cd was recorded at the legendary Electric Lady studios in NYC. Truly a dream come true. It was a great experience for the band and they loved every minute. Chris Petro engineered and help produced "The Product." Joe Wilkinson re-entered the picture to conrtribute 3 songs. The album was finished (Sept 05), Titled... "The Product", featured 4 songs with Latoya & 4 songs with Joe as well as 2 instumentals. Both Latoya and Joe Wilkinson departed shortly after due to previous obligations. The Product has never been issued. Perhaps one day.As luck would have it good friend, fan and singer/guitarist Scott Lauro from NY's Little Rusty, started hanging out and pickin with the band (Jan 06). Scotty was a friend of George's from upstate who would come out to see the band from time to time. He was a big admirer of the band's and Eddie's guitar work. Within a month he was in the band and pickin like a son of a bitch. Playing many gigs and collaborating with the Derelicts on songs which would eventually be recorded in 2007 as their third album. The Derelicts were Scott's first chance to be the main vocalist after sharing the vocal duties in Little Rusty.The Derelicts continued there on again off again collaboration with songwriter Joe Wilkinson. Playing a few gigs in San Diego Ca. and finally bringing their sound to the west coast, in late Sept. (06). The trip was a gas.The Cosmic American Derelicts then started on their 3rd cd "Songs from the Homestead" (Jan '07) and finished in (Dec '07). The songs were written by the band over the course of two years and recorded at their house in NJ. The band wanted a less produced sound for their new songs. Their last studio sessions at ElectricLady Studios were great, but the band felt like they went a bit too far with the over dubs and tracking. The Product was the first album the band did which used a horn section and piano/organ & percussion. The Derelicts felt that the new tunes were down home style numbers that didn't require all the major studio razzle dazzle, and seeing that George had acquired so much vintage gear over the years they decided that their place was the only studio to do it in. Once again as on their last recordings they teamed up with engineer/Producer Chris Petro who is always a pleasure to work with. He knows how to get the best out of The Derelicts. The band went in and in just 7 sessions the main body of tracks was done. Lots of acoustic instruments and grooves.The band are hoping to have the Cd printed and available to the public by late Spring 2008. The Derelicts have started to write more songs which I'm sure will be recorded sometime within the next year or so. The home studio is coming along nicely, so I'm sure there'll be alot more tunes to come in the future. The Derelicts also have added Rob Clores on piano/organ. (Dec 07). Rob is a great talent who has played with many greats and also contributed his talent to 3 of the songs on the new album. The band is very excited to have him aboard and are looking forward to collaborating with him on many ideas.The Cosmic American Derelicts have opened for and played with many great artists which include: Terry Reid, Buddy Miles of Band of Gypsies' fame, Levon Helm & Rick Danko, The Kentucky Headhunters, Derek Trucks of Allman Brothers , Vasser Clements of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, NRPS, and The Del McCoury Band, Peter Rowan, King Wilke, ...to name a few.Thanks for givin a shit... Rock and Roll knows no boundary and neither do we........We would love to hear from you our fans. Any questions or comments call us at 201-387-6008 or email us at
[email protected] n roll lives.
