The Raindogs

The Raindogs were a band formed in Boston, United States around 1985 after several members had disbanded the rock band The Schemers. They combined Celtic and American music to form their own hybrid of rock and roll. Based in Boston, the ‘dogs were made up of Mark Cutler, Red Rockers rhythm section Darren Hill and Jim Reilly (of Ireland’s “Stiff Little Fingers"), Emerson Torrey, and Celtic fiddle king Johnny Cunningham, formerly of Silly Wizard. Their single, "Some Fun", was widely played on FM radio. MPG: [1]

The Raindogs toured extensively throughout the United States with Warren Zevon, Don Henley, and Bob Dylan and were noted for their incendiary live performances. Their CDs garnered critical raves but ultimate success eluded them due to record company shakeups and lack of publicity.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

The group released two albums on Atco Records:

• Lost Souls (1990). Produced by Pete Henderson and the Raindogs.
• Border Drive-In Theatre (1991). Produced by Don Gehman. The album features spoken word performances by Harry Dean Stanton and Iggy Pop.

Personnel

• Johnny Cunningham - fiddle and mandolin
• Mark Cutler guitar and vocals
• Darren Hill - bass guitar
• Jim Reilly - drums
• Emerson Torrey (replaced Ty Avolio) - guitar and vocals

Johnny Cunningham died in 2003. Mark Cutler has several solo CDs on independent labels, and performs solo and with his bands The Schemers and The Dino Club. Darren Hill has a management company called Ten Pin Management; he manages The New York Dolls, Paul Westerberg, and others. Jim Reilly lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Emerson Torrey owns a recording studio and performs with Mark Cutler.