In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into the latest super group that might be around a lot longer than most.  You might know the names but not the band name.  I am talking about The Winery Dogs and this is their first record, which is named after the record.  The band is Richie Kotzen, who is Lead Singer, Keyboards, Guitars, and Percussion, Billy Sheehan, who is Bass and Back Up Vocals, and Mike Portnoy, who is Drums, Percussion and Back Up Vocals.  Richie Kotzen was part of Poison for one record in the early 1990’s and put out several solo records.  Billy Sheehan has been part of several bands like Mr. Big and Dave Lee Roth solo band.  Mike Portnoy is best known for his time with his old band Dream Theater and was part of Avenged Sevenfold for one record.  There is not much history on this band.  They were formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2012.  They were looking to a more of a classic hard rock sound for their music.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Elevate

A classic hard rock start to the opening track.  Richie is rocking it on the guitar while the bass and drums are solid.  This is a solid song.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  I love Richie’s singing, which I have always loved it.  This band wrote some nice lyrics to go along with the music.  Mike is a mad man on the drums.  I love the bass break that they gave Billy on this song.  Mike is going nuts on the drums during the bass solo.

Desire

I love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song.  Billy is dancing all over the place on bass.  Richie’s singing is pretty strong with some really great lyrics.  I love how everyone in this band is singing.  It is a pretty rare situation.  I am loving the music on this song.  I love the bass break towards the middle of the song.  There is a nice guitar break right after the bass solo.

We Are one

I love the heaviest on the bass and drums at the beginning of the song.  The guitar riff is simple but bends nicely with bass, drums and the singing.  I love how Mike and Billy sing with Richie on this song.  I love the lyrics and he is singing is pretty strong.  I love Richie guitar breaks between the singing.  There is some pretty solid playing towards the end of this song.  I am enjoying the music middle point and at the end.

I’m No Angel

I love the guitar playing at the beginning with some solid drums and bass playing that comes in seconds after the guitar playing.  The slower is perfect at the point of this record.  There is some solid lyrics.  There  is some really nice music on “I’m No Angel.”  I really like the back up singing on this song.  The guitar playing is pretty good with those short guitar solos.

The Other Side

I love the drumming at the beginning and the bass player enters with a nice riff.  Richie comes in with a nice high-end guitar riff to float over the top.  Richie’s singing is solid on this song.  I love the lyrics.  The music is pretty solid on this song.  The guitar break brings on some nice fast pace drumming from Mike.  It turns into a nice guitar solo at the midway point of the song.  I love the trade-off from the drums and bass in the last two minutes of the song.  The guitar solo over the top is just right and perfect.

You Saved Me

I love the fast pace acoustic guitar with the echo from the bass in the background.  The drums are calm and fade which makes it just right.  I love the layers on the guitars.  I am not going to say this much but multiple guitars are just right for this song.  It sounds good and right.  I love Richie’s singing and there is some nice lyrics.  There is some well placed back up singing.  I am really loving the music on this song.  I love the ending of this song.

Not Hopeless

I love the solid start of this song on a music stand point.  Richie’s singing is solid with some nice back up singing.  Winery Dogs wrote some nice music on this song.  I love the trade-off on the solos from the guitar and bass player.  There is some solid lyrics and music on “Not Hopeless.”  I love the meaning and theme behind this song.  There  is a nice exiting guitar solo at the end.

One More Time

I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  Billy comes in dancing all over the bass with some solid drumming from Mike.  I love Richie’s singing.  There is some well written lyrics on “One More Time.”  There is a solid ending.

Damaged

I love the music and the pace of this song.  I love the lyrics and how Richie’s singing is calm and relax.  This is a nice relaxing song.  He has a nice melody on “Damaged.”  I love drums and bass playing on this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Six Feet Deeper

I love the music at the beginning.  It has a nice pace to it.  Billy has some nice movement on the bass guitar.  There is some nice lyrics and the lead singer singing is solid.  I love the well placed back up singing.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle part of the song.  I love how they ended the song.

Time Machine

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  It reminds me of something you would hear from Soundgarden or Alice In Chains.  This whole song sounds like something from the Grunge era of metal in the early to mid 1990’s.  They did a great job on the writing between the lyrics and music.  I believe this is my favorite song on this record.  I love bass break at the end of the song.  I love the ending of “Time Machine.”  There is a nice guitar solos towards the end.

The Dying

“The Dying” starts off slow with some nice guitar playing.  The singer has some solid singing.  There is some nice lyrics.  I love drumming from Mike.  I love distorted guitar effected.  It is not over the top but it is just right.  He has a nice overdrive pedal to make that nice powerful warm sound.  I love the how they are using the back up singing on this song.  There is a nice build up to a guitar solo towards the middle part of the song.  I love how they ended this song.

Regret

I love the drumming and the keyboard playing on “Regret.”  They twisted some piano and organ playing.  I love melody and lyrics from the singer.  I could see Bruno Mars singing on this song and writing it.  Richie and Bruno has some nice soulful singing voices.  I love the music on this song.  They put some thought behind this song.  There is some nice guitar and piano action towards the middle of the song.  It turns into a nice guitar solo.  This is a perfect ending to this song and this great first record for this band.

Line Up:

• Richie Kotzen – Lead Vocals, Guitars, and Keyboards
• Mike Portnoy – Drums and Backing Vocals
• Billy Sheehan – Bass and Backing Vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.thewinerydogs.com

Twitter:  @TheWineryDogs

In closing, when I heard this band was happening, I was pretty excited to hear the music.  I have always been a huge fan of Richie Kotzen and Mike Portnoy.  This is pretty much what I thought the record would sound like.  It reminds of a Richie Kotzen solo record.  I mean that in a good way since I am a huge fan of this guitar playing and singing.    Richie writes some great tunes and put Mike behind some of the songs to help write them.  It is something else.  The lengths of these songs are just right.  They are not too long but not too short.  Some I do feel need to be a little bit longer.  The music on this record is off the charts good.  I hope they have success with this record and tour.  I would love to hear more tunes from this group.  I highly recommend this band and record if you are a fan of the classic hard rock sound.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser