As I sat in the nostalgic atmosphere of One Eyed Jacks awaiting local sensations, The Revivalists; I overheard the sound check. David Shaw, Ed Williams, Zack Feinberg, Rob Ingraham, George Gekas, Andrew Campanelli and Michael Girardot exploded out in preparation of what became an amazing and jam-packed performance later that evening. The band, minus one rather busy David Shaw (lead vocalist), sat with me while I picked their musical brains.
WHERE Y'AT: Why New Orleans?
The Band: Most of us attended college here at Tulane and Loyola. We all fell in love with the city... The people here are so supportive, we are loyal to them. We have been lucky to have so much help along the way. We are very thankful.
WYAT: How did the band begin?
The Band: We tell this story all of the time. I heard David singing and playing guitar blocks away while riding my bike. I stopped to listen, and that's how it all began.
WYAT: What is your favorite location to perform?
The Band: Of course New Orleans is at the top of our list, it's hard to announce one place being that we are a group of seven, with seven different personalities. But if we have to choose; New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Pensacola, where we hold a large amount of fans, came in as a close second to NOLA.
WYAT: If any, what would be the worst location to perform?
The Band: Not worth talking about.
These musicians, while animated on stage, were very humble and calm in person. Check it up to nerves or exhaustion from their very active tour schedule, which keeps them traveling nonstop, since signing with Madison House booking agency, which they were beyond excited about being part of.
WYAT: What does this mean for your career?
The Band: More exposure and more touring.
WYAT: What are the most crazy or outrageous tour stories?
The Band: One time a fan tattooed our name onto his body. But what is more fascinating than that is the New Orleans local, who literally travels to every concert to see us perform. We appreciate him and think it's pretty cool that someone likes our music that much.
On stage, you can tell that are not just playing music but that they feel it. They completely enjoy what they do and none of them would change it.
WYAT: When did you realize that you were bigger than New Orleans?
The Band: When the entire front row of our Boulder, Colorado performance knew the lyrics to our songs, we were like really? Colorado? It excites us to see people who we have never met before quoting our songs, verbatim.
WYAT: Name your best album so far?
The Band: Let's just say City of Sound had the best production.
WYAT: Can all of you agree on one favorite song?
The Band: We could never pick between them, it's like asking a parent who their favorite child is. Each song is like our little baby. We all par-take in the writing of our music. We each have our little favorites that we have done, but to pick between them just wouldn't be right.
WYAT: What is BTBD an acronym for?
The Band: Well it's simple; it's titled from the song's lyrics: a Banker, a Toy, a Boy, a Dress.
WYAT: How do you remember your last Voodoo Festival performance?
The Band: It was an amazing feeling. We're excited to do it all over again.
WYAT: Where do you want to take your careers?
The Band: We want to be the first band to perform on the moon (Smile!). But mostly we want to keep inspiring our fans, and keep playing music that we love. It's simple; we just love what we do.
