THE WINERY DOGS, featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, FLYING COLORS, ex-DREAM THEATER), bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS) and guitarist Richie Kotzen (ex-POISON, ex-Mr. Big), are currently out pushing their self-titled debut. Sheehan is featured in a new interview with Examiner.com. An excerpt from the story is below:

(photo courtesy of Markus Cuff)

By Thomas Gerbasi

It was about as far removed as you could get from the packed arenas and stadiums Billy Sheehan, Mike Portnoy, and Richie Kotzen had played numerous times over the years, but it didn’t matter the first time the trio that would eventually become The Winery Dogs got together in the rehearsal room.

“There was a little drum kit there that wasn’t Mike’s normal kit,” said Sheehan. “I played through some little bass amp. Richie just sat in the corner with his Telecaster and he had a little microphone to bark out some melody lines, and we didn’t know how it would go. There was some anticipation not knowing exactly how it was gonna work, but very quickly we did and we were very pleased.”

That day the group in the making gelled, always a dicey proposition when putting together a project like this.

“I had just done a tour with Mike, and I had played a lot with Richie over the years,” recalled the legendary bassist, who has played with the likes of David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and Talas over the course of his illustrious career. “I was pretty sure it was gonna work, but songwriting wise and what we were going to come up with, I wasn’t sure completely. So there was some element of uncertainty there, which is good because it kept us all on our toes. But very soon into it, things just started falling together organically and naturally, without any help from anything. The first time we sat down we got four or five things without any preparation.”

Go to this location for the complete story.

The Winery Dogs will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show, Rockline, with host Bob Coburn on Wednesday, August 14th at 8:30pm PT/11:30pm ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with the band that night by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). The show will be streamed on Rocklineradio.com for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast.

Check out The Winery Dogs in concert at any of the following US tour stops:

August

3 - New York, NY - B.B. King Blues Club and Grill
4 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon
7 - Newton, NJ - Newton Theater
8 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's

October

3 - Agoura Hills CA - The Canyon
4 - Las Vegas, NV - Vamp'd
5 - San Diego, CA - Ramona Mainstage
6 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
8 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow’s
9 - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’s