Vic Judd – Bass Guitar & Vocals

I began playing guitar when I was fifteen. Many hours were spent playing along with records by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers and Eric Clapton. I played for 15 years before I felt ready to start my first own band “The Undesirables” in 1988. The band’s material included covers of such divergent artists as: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, John Lee Hooker and Al Green.

I switched to the Bass Guitar when forming the band “Jaguar Jones” in 1990. The “Jones” sound was firmly rooted in the blues of Otis Rush, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughan, “just to name a few”, and in rock bands such as Cream, The Clash and The Rolling Stones.

In 1993, along with three other “Jones” members, I formed the band “Royal Crush”. This band placed more emphasis on original material and its sound was much more pop driven with a strong element of, what could best be described as, “Surf Punk”. The group produced two recordings; a self-titled debut album and the follow-up recording “Uncorked”.

After a several year hiatus, I returned to playing in 2001 by joining as the bassist for “Gravy from the Hip” following the departure of Jeff Dreiling. The groups sound was firmly in the vein of both Rock & Roll and good old Jump Blues. My first actual gig with the band was to compete in and ultimately win Wichita’s first annual regional blues competition. – Talk about pressure – We went on to represent Wichita & Kansas at the International Blues Competition (IBC) and made the semi-finals down on Beale Street, Memphis Tennessee in January 2002.

When “Gravy from the Hip” ended with the departure of Vocalist and Harmonica player Steve Jordan, the band brought onboard Vocalist Rocky Heyen and shortened the name to “Gravy”. With Rocky out front, Gravy won the Wichita Blues Competition for the second straight year and another trip to compete in the IBC down in Memphis, where we again finished as semi-finalists. The Gravy sound, while firmly rooted in the Blues, was also influenced by the much harder driving sound from groups such as Deep Purple, Moody Blues, Cream and Grand Funk Railroad.

Early in 2004, after another personnel change, which included the additions of Gary Hess on Keyboards and Randy Swisher on Lead Guitar, the band changed its name to “Rain”. This current incarnation, while still having a bit of a Blues feel to it, also draws heavily on Motown R&B, blue-eyed soul singers such as, Van Morrison, Joe Cocker, and James Taylor and of course an abundance of Beatles tunes, cause everyone knows “…you just can’t beat The Beatles!”.

Musical Influences:

James Jamerson and Bob Babett (“Funk Brothers” Motown session players); Paul McCartney (The Beatles); John Entwistle (The Who); Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Double Trouble”); Kenny Gradney (Little Feat) and blues legend Willie Dixon.