The Rain Parade

The Rain ParadeIntroduction 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 BaumThe Rain Parade—Founded, 1981, Los Angeles, CAMembers of the Blank Generation and punks-to-the-core in spirit, David Roback and Matt Piucci (former college roomates) establish an ambitious guitar/songwriting collaboration in Los Angeles, in the spring of 1981. By June, David's multi-instrumentalist/songwriting brother, Steven Roback, accepts his brother's invitation to join the collaboration, quits U.C. Berkeley, and returns to L.A. By end of summer 1981, keyboardist and classical violin prodigy William Cooper Glenn, accepts David Roback's invitiation, and quits Yale University for L.A. The Rain Parade is founded.As early as fall 1981, The Rain Parade are documented commenting that punk was dead, but that punk was a brilliant and necessary creative revolution, which had cleared the way for a new golden age of musical creativity. With this awareness, the brothers Roback, Piucci and Glenn (drawing on a deep affection for pop music of all periods) began constructing a new sound: informed by the darker times of the punk era, but musicallly adventerous: softer, modal, eastern-sounding, acoustic-electric guitar mixes, droning melodic bass lines, hypnotic organ patches, vocal harmonies, and songs that 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.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 open1984: 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.Rain Parade "My Secret Country" -1985 Live On The BBC's "Whistle Test"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.Post-1988 and beyond: Paradian Phoenix continues to circle...Nostradamus quoted saying Rain Parade invented "alternative music." Rain Parade reincarnations/notable projectsSteven Roback 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)