The Raisins Band Analysis

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Fetters, Nyswonger and Arduser are all former members of the Raisins, a Cincinnati-based band that was a local success in the early 1980s. In 1983, the Raisins, who then consisted of Fetters, Nyswonger, Rick Neiheisel (keyboards, vocals) and Rick "Bam" Powell (drums, vocals), recorded an eponymous album, produced by Adrian Belew. Adrian's friendship with the Raisins dated back to the mid-'70s, when he crossed paths with them as a member of a band named Sweetheart before being discovered by Frank Zappa. The Raisins album, which was released on the small Cincinnati-based label Strugglebaby, produced a local No. 1 hit, "Fear is Never Boring" (later re-recorded for the Bears' first album), on popular Cincinnati radio stations. Clive Davis, then head of Arista Records, considered signing the band, but the Raisins didn't break through nationally. …show more content…

Two more album releases followed in the next few years, but the band was unable to secure a national recording contract, and went on hiatus in 1996. During this time, Belew released solo albums and rejoined King Crimson. Belew's Inner Revolution album from 1992 featured Arduser on drums, and Fetters played in Belew's backing band for the tour supporting its release. On the tour for Belew's 1994 album Here, psychodots served dual roles as the opening band as well as the Belew's backing band, and they played a few Bears songs despite it not being billed as a reunion of the group. Fetters released a solo CD in 1998 on which Belew cowrote two songs, and he, Nyswonger and Arduser all performed on various cuts. Arduser's band the Graveblankets, which also featured Nyswonger, released a series of albums through the late '90s. Arduser and Nyswonger also played live with other local Cincinnati

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