Artist description A boy, his guitar, and a violist are given the keys to multi-track heaven and find urgent, elegant, harmonic convergence...loss and longing...heartache and yearning...

Music Style Rock/Pop

Musical Influences Kate Bush, Kristin Hersh, Art Garfunkel, Nina Hagen, ELO

Similar Artists Kristin Hersh, Elliot Smith

Artist History Rat Wakes Red started as James Raftery in his living room on a one-track condenser cheapie singing songs which had begun to pour out. Jeral Benjamin heard this and got him in the studio with her viola and they whipped up this album, "Dizzy On Daddy". James has gone back in the studio to create the next album and will be joined by Christy Davis (ex-Mold) on drums, and John Werner on guitar. Jeral is back in the producer's seat. Look for it in early 2003.

Group Members James Raftery (vocals, guitar), Jeral Benjamin (viola). New album will feature Christy Davis(ex-Mold) on drums and John Werner on guitar.

Instruments Guitar, Voice, Viola, Sounds

Albums Dizzy on Daddy

Press Reviews NEW REVIEW!!! - The Big Takeover - Issue #48 "Acoustic folk guitar and viola, with a whispery, troubled voice? Yes please! Rat Wakes Red is a strange moniker for such an exquisite murmur, but James Raftery makes lovely music that has a lot in common with Elliott Smith (in fact, his double-tracked voice is so similar, we might not be able to tell them apart blindfolded!) and Bookends-era Simon & Garfunkel. One could imagine Gus Van Zant or Mike Nichols using these recordings in a film Good Will Hunting or The Graduate-style; they're affecting-nagging in a similar manner. Think of the unhappy Bill Murray diving in the pool and staying submerged to The Kinks' worrisome Kinda Kinks folk-ditty, "Nothin' in the World Will Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl," and that's the pensive mood of meditative musing here. Each time Raftery hits one of his bass strings, it slips into a slice of Jeral Benjamin's hovering viola, and the air is like leaves falling on a fall day. See "Dead Ringer," a pretty song that's a comment about continually making the same romantic mistakes, for an example of this at its best." - Jack Rabid, The Big TakeoverT

Additional Info produced by Jeral Benjamin

Location Brooklyn, NY - USA

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