Raindogs’ Mixed Pedigree : The Mixed-Breed Pedigree of Boston-Based Raindogs

Band: Raindogs

Personnel: Johnny Cunningham, fiddle, mandolin; Mark Cutler, vocals, guitar; Darren Hill, bass; Jimmy Reilly, drums; Emerson Torrey, guitar, vocals.

History: The Boston-based Raindogs are a stylistic and geographic mixed breed. Irishman Reilly played in the Belfast punk band Stiff Little Fingers, before hooking up with Hill in the New Orleans group Red Rockers. Relocated to Boston, Hill and Reilly set out to start a new band that would incorporate Celtic and Cajun folk influences. They stumbled upon Cunningham fiddling in a pub, not realizing that the Scot was a folk luminary as a member of Celtic bands Silly Wizard and Relativity. Cutler, a triple-threat as singer, songwriter and lead guitarist, was romanced away from the Schemers, top dogs of the Rhode Island rock scene, and the Raindogs emerged in February, 1987. Torrey, another former Schemer, replaced original Raindogs guitarist Ty Avolio six months later. Signed last year by Atco, Raindogs began working with star Dire Straits producer Neil Dorfsman, but broke with him and co-produced its debut album, “Lost Souls,” with the lesser-known Peter Henderson.

Sound: The Rolling Stones and “Highway 61”-era Bob Dylan are Raindogs’ twin pillars of influence, with Cutler’s nasal, drawling vocals falling somewhere near Tom Petty on the Dylan-Jagger continuum. Cunningham’s lilting yet propulsive fiddle gusts, swirling through the basic guitar-rock architecture, give Raindogs both sweetness and bite. As guitar partners for more than a decade, Cutler and Torrey have the ability to go on extended six-string excursions a la Television or Neil Young. With an uncommon melodic gift and an ability to address questions of moral conscience in lyrics that are plain-spoken yet resonant, Cutler arrives as a noteworthy songwriting voice.

Shows: Bacchanal in San Diego on Wednesday; Ventura Theatre on Friday; the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday; Wiltern Theatre next Sunday. (All dates opening for Warren Zevon.)