The Winery Dogs
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The Winery Dogs are an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
supergroup formed in 2012 by
Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...
,
Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...
and
Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departur ...
.


Background

The idea of the band started out as a project featuring drummer Mike Portnoy and bassist Billy Sheehan, who were aiming to form a
power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...
rock band with a lead singer/guitarist as the frontman. After an aborted project, tentatively titled "Bad Apple", with guitarist/vocalist
John Sykes John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. Following a stint in ...
, talk show host
Eddie Trunk Edward Scott Trunk (born August 8, 1964) is an American music historian, radio personality, talk show host, and author, best known as the host of several hard rock- and heavy metal-themed radio and television shows. Biography Trunk was born on ...
heard about it and suggested Richie Kotzen, who had previously played with Sheehan in the band Mr. Big from 1997 to 2002. The three musicians got together at Richie Kotzen's studio in Los Angeles and at the end of the jam session, they had a few skeletons of songs that would appear on the debut album. After their first album success, they released a live concert DVD called ''Unleashed in Japan 2013: The Winery Dogs''. Prior to the Winery Dogs, all three members have had successful careers with other bands. Richie Kotzen is known as a former member of bands Poison and Mr. Big, as well as having a consistent solo career with many albums released. Billy Sheehan is known for playing with
Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
,
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
, Talas, and Mr. Big. Mike Portnoy is known for being the original drummer of bands
Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
, Flying Colors,
Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...
, Neal Morse Band,
Sons of Apollo Sons of Apollo is an American progressive metal supergroup formed in 2017 and composed of drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan, keyboardist Derek Sherinian, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. History Sherin ...
and
Adrenaline Mob Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata. History Th ...
. When asked about the band's main influences, Mike Portnoy commented that they are working towards a
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
sound, influenced by
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
,
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...
, as well as newer artists such as
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...
,
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
,
the Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...
and Lenny Kravitz. The band's self-titled debut album was released in Japan on May 5, 2013 through
Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
subsidiary WHD Entertainment, with a worldwide release following on July 23, 2013 through Loud & Proud Records. It was produced by Jay Ruston. It features 13 songs and they switched out the song "Time Machine" with the song "Criminal" for the Japan edition. In June 2015, the band entered a studio around Los Angeles to record their second album. In a July interview, Portnoy said the album was about to begin mixing that month, and it should be released before they begin their October tour. The album, titled '' Hot Streak'', was released on October 2, 2015. The Winery Dogs also have a band clinic in the summer called Dog Camp. This camp allows musicians and fans to come meet, jam with and learn from the band. Not only does it include individual clinics, but it also incorporates a band setting as well. In April 2017, it was announced by Kotzen that Winery Dogs were taking a break. Kotzen was quoted as saying the band were "still friends", however, and it's likely there will be more releases from them in the future. The band performed the song "Elevate" at a tribute for David Z, bass player for
Adrenaline Mob Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata. History Th ...
, who died in a car crash. On December 5, 2018, Mike Portnoy announced that The Winery Dogs would go on a one-month tour of the U.S. in May 2019. In November 2022, the band announced the upcoming release of their third album 'III' on February 3, 2023.


Band members

*
Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...
– guitar, keyboards, piano, lead vocals (2012–present) *
Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departur ...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals (2012–present) *
Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums

* ''Unleashed in Japan 2013'' (2013) * ''Dog Years: Live in Santiago & Beyond 2013-2016'' (2017)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winery Dogs, The American musical trios Hard rock musical groups from New York (state) American blues rock musical groups American supergroups Musical groups established in 2012 2012 establishments in New York City Musical groups from New York City