"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)
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 Ensemble, Ssion, 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 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, 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.
"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. " (Muse Artsweek, CalAggie.com 11/30/06)
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.
View Ragwater Revue’s EPK
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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FEBRUARY 2008
We’re making our way down to Los Angeles in March! Stay tuned for more info!!!
MAY/JUNE 2007 - NEW SONG CLIPS!
Just added are three song clips off our brand-spanking-new full length self titled album...Listen to ’em and let us know what ya think! And if you’re in the Bay Area around July 7th be sure to come to our record release show at the Starry Plough for a raucous good time and some free cd’s to boot!
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