Celebrated Paisley Underground act Rain Parade will reunite onstage in Atlanta early next year for the first time in more than two decades to play a benefit concert for Bobby Sutliff, singer/guitarist/songwriter for ’80s contemporaries The Windbreakers, who was seriously injured in a car accident over the summer.
The concert will take place Jan. 19 at The Earl — and it appears it won’t be the only reunion show for the Rain Parade. On his Facebook page, singer-guitarist Matt Piucci recently posted that, “Rain Parade needs a great drummer. … Not a ton of gigs planned, but cool ones.” He also suggested European concerts are in the works: “Fully intend to cross the pond in 2013.”
As for benefit show, promoter Chris Chandler says he asked Piucci why he’s reforming the Rain Parade now after years of resisting pleas for a reunion. Piucci’s response: “Our friend as badly hurt. We were asked to help. Here we come.”
Sutiff spent more than a month in intensive care at Ohio State University’s hospital after the June 15 accident in Powell, Ohio. According to Chandler, Sutiff “is on the road to full recovery” after spending two more months in physical therapy. The benefit is being put together by friends trying “to help with living expenses until his world fully returns to normal.”
Chandler says a tribute album also is in the works, with contributions so far from Piucci, Long Ryders’ Tom Stevens, Don Dixon and Will Kimbrough, with additional tracks expected from The dB’s, Velvet Crush with Matthew Sweet and more.
Rain Parade tour dates:
Jan. 19: The Earl, Atlanta, GA
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- New releases: David Bowie live, reissues from The Other Two, Beat Farmers, Rain Parade
- New releases: Rain Parade’s ‘Crashing Dream,’ Lucy Show’s ‘…undone’ on CD for first time
Hmmmm… I wonder if this reunion will include David Roback. Sounds pretty cool though.
Completely agree with the Jazzmaster. No Roback, no Parade. I bought their Roback-less release, Crashing Dream a few years back – meh.
Crashing Dream had one Roback, as did the Explosions In The Glass Palace EP.
Oh yeah. Steven was the only Roback on the Behind The Sunset live LP.
Viva Saturn, Robacks’s post RP band, was terrific!
Gil Ray of Game Theory/Loud Family on drums