Meet The Band
Kent Wall
Kent was born in Newberg Oregon, a small town 60 minutes southwest of Portland. Early in life he knew that music was more than just something to break up the silence. It was nourishment, testament and counsel all rolled into one. Moving and growing up in California and Florida through the 60s, 70s & 80’s exposed him to many genres of music that helped define the facets of his own musical core. Then after marrying his Floridian wife Frances and moving back to Oregon; Kent heard the song Pride and Joy by a guitar slinger out of Texas named Stevie Ray Vaughan and it was like “coming home”. Since then Kent has continued on what would be called a "BluesRock" musical path with no boundaries defined other than, the "undeniable Groove".
“I’ve had the privilege of playing in several very fine groups in my life with some extraordinary souls and musicians. Raindriver didn’t just fall together. It went through a serious metamorphosis over several years but it has finally found its true soul. It was certainly worth the blood, sweat and tears. Good music always is, because music is more than just something to break up the silence…” – Kent Wall
Matt Bell
Matt first picked up the guitar as a teenager in the mid 1980’s under the influence of mainstream and classic rock radio as well as MTV. Early influences included AC/DC, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton and, after raiding the older brother’s record collection, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. Then came the influence of so-called “progressive rock”, followed by the “jazz-rock fusion” influence of acts such as Jeff Beck, Steve Morse/Dixie Dregs, John Scofield, and Scott Henderson/Tribal Tech.
Enamored of the more sophisticated and jazz influenced harmony of fusion, Matt enrolled in the local university jazz guitar classes, where he discovered his biggest influence, Robben Ford. Matt earned a bachelor of music in jazz guitar and after many years in bars and clubs, embarked on a career on the high seas as a cruise ship musician before a career change led to a long hiatus from performing live. Matt joined Raindriver in the summer of 2015, and is thrilled to be back making music again.
David Boyle
Well like everyone I was born, then pow! Music. The first thing I remember was Jazz. Bop, Hard Bop, Cool and West Coast. Then when I was nine The Who were touring the summer of 76. My cousin gave me a copy of Live At Leeds. I thought what is that Bass player doing, I've got to learn that. Flash forward.
Moved to Portland then joined my first "real band” Bombay in 1989. Played around Portland at Eli's, Satyricon, Cisco and Ponchos and Starry Night. During this time I met Kent. I have been involved in various music projects ever since. Also I play with a revolving group of people in Hood River. Thanks for checking out Raindriver, David Boyle.
William Anderson
Born and raised in Detroit, William took up the drums in the early seventies. Though hard rock was the prevalent formative force in the early years, he also studied the progressive styles of early Yes, King Crimson, Kansas and the like. These greatly influenced his style and creative approach to all music.
Over the years, William has played in wide variety of performing and recording projects, in a wide variety of genres, including rock, jazz-fusion, funk, middle-eastern hand drumming, and even a stint with a traditional country group. Every bit of it added a new dimension to his drumming.
The openly creative approach of Raindriver allows William to bring it all together. There are no holds barred, and everyone works together to bring something new and exciting to the music, because, it’s all about the music. To William, nothing could be more important...