Back in 1995, it was carnival time (the famous carnival of Patras). I was just getting to know a new band from Patras, my hometown, from a
Pop and Rock Magazine cd-collection.
It was a cd about the local anglophone music scene, featuring bands like Mayday Overdrive, Dirty Saints and a band by Chris Gallanopoulos, called
Lexema (or something like that, i don't quite remember).
Raining Pleasure's contribution to the sampler was the following three songs:
A Sad Universe
My Planet B612 (yeaaaaahh, right - our godfather)
and
Let The Light Lead You
Three beautiful, yet "plainly" produced, songs. Nice vocals, sing along personal and kinda melancholic lyrics and a violin that made them stand out!
Well, for the next few months, me and my best friend, Sotiris, never really stopped talking about their music. In February (don't expect me to remember a date, ok?) the school was talking about a very live concert, in theater Pantheon (bought by Village Cinemas eventually). The line up:
Raining Pleasure
Dirty Saints
Mayday Overdrive
and
Ksylina Spathia
That's right... Almost all the bands featured in this Pop and Rock sampler, plus one of the biggest then greek-singing rock bands (Ksilina Spathia).
Raining Pleasure were the opening act. I didn't really know the songs, apart from these 3. But, their appearance is the memorable appearance i have since my youth. Lousy sound (Pantheon is kinda notorious for its bad quality sound), but an exceptional closure. Their final song was a cover to
Paul Anka's "
You Are My Destiny". A song that later would prove to be a special part of their live sets for quite a few years, prior to signing for Emi.
I also remember having a brief conversation with
Dimitris Poulikakos, one of the most respected (kinda cult for me, though) rock personas of Greek "underground" music. He told me that these four guys from Patras have a bright future ahead!
Man, you were soooo right :)
Eleven (11) years later, Raining Pleasure have recorded five (5) albums, three (3) of them at Emi Greece. They have been nominated two (2) golden records and they have sold more than 55.000 copies. Thousands of loyal fans follow every new step of theirs.
And most important? They are pretty ready for the big (and quite difficult until someone proves it a myth) step to foreign audiences.
But the most important of all, for me at least, is that they are currently working on their new album! :)
Hope that it won't take long guys...
cheers,
Potis
http://myplanetb612.blogspot.com
Unconventional Tastes
