Artist description 5-piece all-tambourine band.

Music Style tambourine pop/disco/rock

Musical Influences Stevie Nicks, Wagner, Linda McCartney, Joan Jett, Lou Rawls, Rob Deslongchamps,

Similar Artists none

Artist History Formerly from Germany now based in Cincinnati, Ohioe

Group Members Stretch, Hairpatch, Sidecar, The Reverend Logjam, Fox Foxx

Instruments Tambourines, concertina, vocals, drums, bass, guitar, keyboards

Albums Fictitious

Press Reviews Viva The Rawls! German-to-Cincinnati band The Rawls work to bring their exciting German Disco sound to a worldwide audience INTERVIEW BY MIKE BREEN http://www.citybeat.com/archives/2000/issue626/musicarticle2.shtml If you were a German Disco/Pop tambourine band trying to get your career going outside of your homeland, where would you move? New York? Los Angeles? Cleveland?For the ever-traveling, globe-trotting band The Rawls, Zincinnati seemed as logical as anywhere. At least they say they're living here now, in the interest of getting press in CityBeat's 'Locals Only' column."We like the landscape there," says Alto tambourinist The Reverend Logjam from the road. "I guess Cincinnati sort of looks a little like the Rhineland. I hate the chili, though."The Rawls - which also features Stretch (rhythm tambourine), Shondra Sidecar (vocals), Fox Foxx (leering tambourine and concertina) and Hairpatch (bass tambourine) - formed somewhere in Germany around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Foxx and The Rev had already been playing together, but the full band cemented after "a long night of red wine, Jagermeister, cheap champagne, and five pairs of dark sunglasses," according to Stretch.The group's American debut, Fictitious, has been drawing raves from the German edition's of Tiger Beat and the Christian Science Monitor, with it's off-beat hybrid of rigid Disco, traditional German music, chant-along choruses and orgasmic tambourine playing. The band's self-professed influences include everything from Wagner to Linda McCartney to the Backstreet Boys (and an unhealthy obsession with Lou Rawls, the group's alleged namesake), all of which creep into the group's unusual Pop sound. The band performed around Europe for some time, but struggled with a useless first manager and public disdain. Frequently "the target of flying schnitzel," the band decided to head west for a more supportive scene in which to cement their legacy."Artists historically have not been appreciated during their own lifetimes," says Stretch. "The Rawls are no exception."The band has brought their inventive live act to the stages of Cincinnati only an unfortunate scant few times, including gigs at the German-friendly watering hole The Comet. So what can one expect from a Rawls live show?"A lively mix of young and old artists, fellow musicians, and former East German female track stars," says Stretch. "We play, you applaud," says Hairpatch more succinctly. "That's it baby!"In the band's immediate future, there is a planned Christmas album to be released in July titled Deck The Rawls, which Ms. Sidecar describes as "a nostalgic look at the tambourine throughout the holidays." Further worldwide touring is also on the horizon, with the band weighing offers from The Springfield Kazoo Marching Band, North Carolina's Little German Band and Dancers, and, oddly enough, The Pretenders. Judging by some of the songs on Fictitious, you sense a humorous side to The Rawls, perhaps debunking the unfair stereotype that Germans are cold, dark and humorless. That stereotype is sure to be perpetuated further in America when the Falco box set is released later this summer and the Mike Myers' "Sprockets" sketch from Saturday Night Live is turned into a feature-length movie.While The Reverend dismisses the view as "all in fun," he admits his parents are "a little ashamed" of Myers' depiction. Stretch insists "Cold and Dark" was his nickname in high school and Sidecar also doesn't mind being seen as gloomy - in fact, she embraces it. "I am not ashamed of my cold and darkness," she says. "It's what makes us all so charming."To keep up with The Rawls, check their Web site at therawls.com.

Location Cincinnati, Ohio - USA

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