Favorite Bands You Might Not Know #6 - Rail

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Obviously, the groups in my Favorite Bands You Might Not Know series either have, or had, released and sold records in their time, so people know of them, yet they've all flown under the radar of the general population. We are at #6 in the countdown: Rail. Consisting of vocalist/bassist Terry James Young, guitarists Rick Knotts and Andy Baldwin, and drummer Kelly Nobles, 80's metal band Rail formed in Seattle in 1970, while the members were still in high school (Fun Fact: In the 1980's, Ronnie Montrose was briefly a member. The band combined Rail and Montrose songs in their live sets.) Rail's claim to fame was winning MTV's 1983 Basement Tapes contest, which secured them a recording contract with EMI. The band built a following through touring, particularly here in Colorado, where they won over a Van Halen crowd in Boulder, and word spread. Visits opening for the likes of Greg Kihn, and Night Ranger, solidified their popularity here (I even went to see Night Ranger at Red Rocks just because Rail opened.) Although they released three albums and an EP, Rail never quite caught on the way they should have. They do still show up at the occasional 80's metal nostalgia festival, and remain a popular live draw in the Pacific Northwest, but deserved more popularity than they achieved. The 80's metal group also had a bit of prog in them: (Info verified by Wikipedia)