The Magic Number Is III   

    The Winery Dogs were back in town on Sunday for a show at Warehouse Live presented by Blackhorse Limo Concert Series and hosted by That Metal Show's Eddie Trunk.

    Warehouse Live and Eddie Trunk welcomed a full house of faithful rockers. Opening the night were local rockers Karmin K and from Austin a band that I have enjoyed seeing several times before, Black Heart Saints. The fans were ready to rock from the moment that super group The Winery Dogs walked onstage. The large crowd was totally into every song throughout the set, and it wasn’t lost on the band. All three musicians are incredible and even first time attendees were blown away.

    A special moment during the night was when Mike Portnoy appeared on stage with a sparkling birthday cake for Billy Sheehan to wish him a Happy 70th birthday.

    The Winery Dogs are an American Supergroup formed in 2012 by Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen. 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 rock band with a lead singer/guitarist as the frontman. After an aborted project, tentatively titled "Bad Apple", talk show host Eddie Trunk heard about it and suggested it to 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 and the rest is history. 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, David Lee Roth, Talas, and Mr. Big. Mike Portnoy is known for being the original drummer of bands Dream Theater, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, Neal Morse Band, Sons of Apollo and Adrenaline Mob.

    The Winery Dogs have  just released their new album III, which you can listen to and download at their website: www.thewinerydogs.com.