Rat Wakes Red is home to the songs of James Raftery. On recordings, he plays many of the parts himself, joined by Jeral Benjamin on strings and production. Two albums have featured Christy Davis on drums and John Werner on electric guitar. New members include Matt Raftery on drums and Andy Kuusisto on bass.
Dizzy on Daddy, the first album, featured the spare lineup of James on acoustic guitar, voice, and found sounds, and Jeral's viola multi-tracked into a lush, romantic, edgy song cycle of heartache and yearning. A sad and sweet wall of sound.
2005's Horizon Drops was the electric flipside to the previous acoustic rush. Christy Davis of Mold and Kansas State Flower added drums to James' electric guitar, keyboards and vocals. The songs were faster, crunchy rock nuggets full of energy, hooks and loud/soft lurches.
2007 brought Energy Garage, a 4-song EP/DVD to sate until work on the new full-length is finished. Now in production, it is expected in 2009.
Rat Wakes Red has played live shows from New York City to Toronto and opened for such artists as Bob Mould, Hayden, and Sloan.
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