"The Barking Eye"

It was 1994 when I got my first taste of the local folk rock band Rainhorses led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Chris Belsito. The band had an interesting sound, almost gloomy in their first originals. The band recorded their self titled album with guitarist Brian Oja, Paul Blair and a few other musicians that their names escape me.
Brian and I were good friends at that time so when the Rainhorses lost their practice space, I rented them my basement for a while. Their drummer at the time decided to leave and I became their drummer. George Ravlich became their bass player after Paul moved out of town shortly after recording their debut album.
Rainhorses went on to play some great gigs and record some wonderful music. Some these include opening for Great Big Sea, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Colin James plus showcases at festivals like the Northern Lights Festival in Sudbury. The band recorded an album called "August Mask" and a later album called "Turbulence" that sadly never got completed. Some songs were recorded for it however and are posted on
the official Myspace site. Rainhorses combined folk rock with some interesting rhythms and harmony vocals to produce a very unique sound for a Sault band. The music was easy to listen to but had a deep lyrical center based on Chris's writing. Some compared our music to Blue Rodeo, Hemingway Corner and even Crosby Stills and Nash which was a huge compliment. Rainhorses wrote a ton of songs, some never seeing the light of day but they exist on tapes that were recorded in my basement. Some of these songs are now on the Rainhorses Reverbnation site and are FREE to listen too.

I left Rainhorses after doing an outdoor show at Cornfest here locally, searching for more of a progressive rock band to fill my creative bug but as years have passed, I realized I made a bad error in judgment. We all make mistakes but I feel now that Rainhorses could have gone on to bigger and better things had we all focused a bit more. We all just seemed to be searching for something better never realizing that we had the perfect situation right under our noses. Live and learn. I still get people asking about that band via the internet and yes in person and I hope one day, Rainhorses regroups for a show or 2 or even to record more music. You never know. Until then, enjoy the sounds or Rainhorses on these 2 sites.


The Official Rainhorses Site

The Official Rainhorses Reverbnation Music Site