SOMEWHERE ON THE ROAD – Nobody thought anything about an album, or writing new material. They didn’t even realize when they started blasting through rock, pop, old country and songwriter classics they were sowing the seeds of a band that’s equally funky, gleaming, blazing and joyous. But that’s what happened when extended soundchecks turned into jamming in the off hours, getting together to lay some tracks down turned into writing songs.
And now there’s Rosie & the Revival. Six musicians, all singular creative specialists on their own. Together, they’re a musical force to reckon with. Wyatt Beard, Nick Buda, Jon Conley, Kenny Greenberg, Harmoni Kelley, and Danny Rader have played in enough bands, they recognized the alchemy, moving from playing everyone’s favorite songs to writing their own. Rather than keep it to themselves, they decided to hunker down and capture the chemistry.
Soundchecks and Tape Decks is the sum of all that. Five covers, including AC/DC’s band-naming “Whole Lotta Rosie,” six originals from a band who has recorded and toured with artists including GRAMMY-winners Bonnie Raitt, Shelby Lynne, Willie Nelson, the Allman Brothers, Chris Stapleton, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard and Taylor Swift. Designed to create a song cycle that delivers on the Revivals’ vast experience and set of influences, the collection also evokes a time when freeform album rock radio was a place where people could hear all kinds of music tied together by a certain creative intention.
“We didn’t think about making a record,” recalls keyboardist/vocalist Wyatt Beard. “We’ve all played in all kinds of groups, and sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s great. But this was something very different…”
“It was really a way to have fun when we were doing soundchecks with Kenny Chesney,” continues guitarist/producer Kenny Greenberg. “We were in Tampa a few years ago, and just started calling out songs. Suddenly, we’d been there almost two hours. Everyone up here takes music very seriously, but this was just a blast. And the more we did it, the more fun we had.”
“We can play a lot of different things,” adds multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jon Conley. “But at our core, Soundchecks and Tape Decks is who we are as musicians, writers, producers. Writing for this turned out to be great, it really focused us as a band. But getting to record songs by everyone from Tom Petty to the Meters to the Stones? When you can find that kind of musical alignment, you start to really understand the engine that drives this band.”
Like the Eagles, whose “Already Gone” is included and who coalesced as Linda Ronstadt’s backing band, Rosie & the Revival came together touring with Kenny Chesney, whose own form of rock-steeped country has become a sound and place all its own. Working together on some of America’s biggest – and most intimate – stages creates an almost telekinesis that lets them hairpin-turn almost reflexively. That freedom and torque is all over Soundchecks.
To celebrate the release of this stellar group’s debut, No Shoes Radio aired an exclusive interview with the band earlier this week announcing the project, with album tracks “Just Getting Started,” “Wait A Minute” and “Keep It Coming” in regular rotation on the channel all week. With a release date that coincides with Chesney’s tour closing, three nights at Gillette Stadium, it’s also one more reason to celebrate.
