Earlier this week the largest independently owned record label in the world, Wind-up Records, announced that it added hard-touring, heavy-jamming New Orleans rockers the Revivalists to its stable of artists. Other bands currently on Wind-up’s roster include emo queen Amy Lee’s ensemble Evanescence, singer-songwriter John Ondrasik’s stage act Five for Fighting, South African indie outfit Civil Twilight and post-grunge proselytizers Creed.
The Revivalists, winners of the 2012 Best of the Beat Award for Best Rock Band and Best Rock Album (City of Sound) (Photo: Josh Brasted)
For the Revivalists, the band first made waves in the Crescent City with its surging single “Common Cents” and hard-won ballad “Soul Fight” off of its self-titled, 2008 debut EP. Between powerhouse performances at that fall’s New Orleans Indie Rock Fest and Tulane University’s Crawfest the following spring, the burgeoning 20-something band won over its peers and began picking up gigs regularly across the Big Easy. With a devout local following behind them, singer/guitarist Dave Shaw, guitarist Zack Feinberg, drummer Andrew Campanelli, and bassist George Gekas staked the Revivalists’ claim on stage, often stretching its songs into uncharted sonic territory.
As the Revivalists’ sound grew, so did the band, bringing in pedal steel guitarist Ed Williams and saxophonist Rob Ingraham into the fold. Steady gigs at small festivals and clubs around the Gulf South followed, and fresh on the heels of its first full-length, Vital Signs, in the spring of 2010, the band rode into the Fair Grounds for its first Jazz Fest show. That concert featured a sit-in from trumpeter and keyboardist Michael Girardot — who had also recorded with the group on its latest effort — a burlesque troupe and drew high praise from Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, who proclaimed, “Singer-guitarist David Shaw had a dash of Dave Matthews in his crusted tenor, but there was a heavy-rock spring in the Revivalists’ strut.” Soon after, Girardot joined the Revivalists number, and with him in the mix full-time, the group toured mightily, hitting its stride on the jamband circuit as it criss-crossed the country.
Last year, the band got on board with Hard Head Management, a firm founded by Stefani Scamardo, the wife of jam king Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, Allman Brothers Band). The Revivalists also dropped its second long player in 2012, City of Sound, which earned the band a Best of the Beat Award for Best Rock Album. The band itself, which performed at the awards show as well, took hook top honors for Best Rock Band.
Presently, Wind-up records plans to re-release City of Sound packaged with a live disc in early 2014. The Revivalists are currently on tour and working on new material for its next album, which is expected to hit in summer or fall. In roughly six weeks, the band returns home to ring in New Year’s at the Civic Theatre with Dirtfoot and the Cardinal Sons on Tuesday, December 31 starting at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are only $20 in advance. More info here.
