Rail, One Of Seattle's First Big Bands, Is Back

Way before there was a Nirvana or Pearl Jam or Soundgarden or Alice in Chains or any of the other major label signees that have slipped out of the Seattle stew, there was Rail.

Rail - bassist and lead singer Terry Young, drummer Kelly Nobles, and guitarists Andy Baldwin and Richard Knotts put down their formative hard-rocking roots in high school. They worked school dances and eventually graduated to clubs, playing through the late 1970s and into the '80s.

In 1984, Rail signed with EMI America. They were the first rock band out of Seattle to sign with a major label.

"Then we went on the road," said Young. "We were on the road a lot. Opening for Van Halen, headlining our own tours. We did it for years, until we got families and got tired of it and we just stopped.

"You know, we never broke up," he added. "we just stopped playing. But we never broke up."

And they never drifted apart, even though drummer Nobles now lives in Oregon. Last summer they started talking about working together again and Young, Baldwin and Knotts did an acoustic set at The Taste of Edmonds.

"We wanted to see how it felt, and it felt good," Young said. " Kelly is definitely a part of this, even though he's in Oregon. But In the meantime we've been working with Mark Welling (who once played with Rail contemporaries Perennial)."

The reformed Rail plays Parker's Restaurant tonight. Young said they had hoped to do the Moore or the Paramount but it wasn't feasible at this time.

"You know," Young said, "a lot of people who bought our records and supported us were kids at the time. They never got to see us, either because we were out on the road, or they were too young to get into the clubs. So a lot of this is for those fans.

"We don't know why it didn't happen bigger for us back then," Young said. "I think it had more to do with timing then anything else.

"But we've all kept playing and working. I'm still working with a trainer on my voice and writing, so why not? . . . We're ready to give it another shot. We're already getting calls from merchandisers! That's amazing."

But at the mention of Rail reforming, there has been one question anyone who ever saw the band asks: What about Young's knee-high fur-covered boots?

"I still have the furry boots," Young said, laughing. "We were just talking about them, whether or not I'd wear them. I don't know. We'll see. Right now they just sit in the closet. Except when my kids get them out.

"They like to play with them." Tonight: Rail, with Magic Bus, Parker's Restaurant, 9 p.m.; $24 with dinner, $8 show only; 628-0888.