They turned a city’s Hurricane Katrina recovery into a catchy alt-rock band name.
This Saturday, The Revivalists bring their unique New Orleans flavor to The Anthem.
“A piece of the band name is inspired by that post-Katrina time period,” guitarist Zack Feinberg told WTOP. “The city was getting back on its feet around that time and we wanted to come up with a name that would be evocative of the time and place … but also giving a nod to the way we like to play live and enjoying older styles of music.”
Before forming in New Orleans in 2007, its members grew up across the country.
“I was always a musical kid,” Feinberg said. “I remember sliding around the house playing Michael Jackson. I would buy music at a pretty early age. I remember buying Nirvana ‘In Utero’ when I was in first grade and being moved by that; being moved by Paul Simon. But what really got me into playing music was my father who plays guitar.”
To this day, he remembers struggling in those early guitar lessons at age 9.
“‘Bad to the Bone’ or just those classic blues riffs,” he said. “When you’re learning an instrument it’s really frustrating at first. … I remember giving up for a while, but the guitars were always around, so I would just play around with it on my own.”
He moved to New Orleans to study at Tulane University. That’s when he met future bandmates, lead singer David Shaw and drummer Andrew Campanelli, who grew up in Falls Church, Virginia before moving to the Big Easy to study at Loyola University.
“I was riding my bike one sunny afternoon and I heard this really good singer tuning and playing guitar and just belting it out for nobody really on his front porch,” he said. “I stopped to listen and that’s how I met our lead singer, David Shaw.”
What was it about Shaw’s stoop performance that caught his ear?
“It was the sound of his voice,” he said. “It also struck me as original music. This wasn’t a song I’d heard before and it was just powerful. I was just stopping to enjoy it — I didn’t think this would be that moment that was going to be a band that I ended up having for 15-plus years. I just saw that he had something.”
After a self-titled EP in 2008, the band recorded its first album “Vital Signs” (2010).
“There’s moments that I’m really proud of,” he said. “The opening track, ‘Not Turn Away,’ I really like how that came out with the performance and the mix. … ‘Catching Fireflies’ is a highlight as far as studio performance. I like some of the other tunes that are on there. ‘Straw Man is one I’m personally proud of.”
They recorded their second album “City of Sound” in late 2010, independently releasing it in 2012, before signing with Wind-Up Records and rereleasing it in 2014.
“It was our first effort with Ben Ellman as producer, who’s a really excellent producer,” he said. “He plays saxophone in the band Galactic and has done great work with their albums, then Trombone Shorty, he did two records with him. He’s got a really unique production style. We really wanted him to express his producer voice.”
Their third album “Men Amongst Mountains” (2015) exploded with the platinum-selling single “Wish I Knew You,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard alternative chart.
The song was penned by Shaw in tribute to his girlfriend, who he’s still with today.
“He was just wistfully looking back, but at the same time, there’s this element of gratitude in it like, ‘I wish we had more time,'” he said. “A lot of people have interpreted it in other ways which are equally valid because music is subjective. It’s often a family member like, ‘I wish I had this time with you earlier.’ … That’s all wonderful to us.”
They hit No. 1 again with “All My Friends” off the album “Take Good Care” (2018).
“Dave co-wrote that with this producer-songwriter Dave Bassett and had it fairly fleshed out,” he said. “We worked with them in the studio and just kind of added on top of it and tracked it. Beyond that, they wrote the tune and we just cut it over their demo.”
Along the way, the band has played the biggest music festivals in the world from the New Orleans Jazz Fest to Austin City Limits, from Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo.
“We’ve done Bonnaroo twice,” he said. “The first time was in 2013 when nobody had really heard of us. … When nobody’s heard of you and you deliver and rock it and they love you, it’s really meaningful. We did a late-night tent set that was super, super special. Then we played it again on the main stage and that was also great.”
Best of all was opening for The Rolling Stones last summer in Jacksonville, Florida. He’ll never forget meeting the rock legends backstage in between sets.
“That was nuts,” he said. “First, Charlie Watts walked in. … Then Keith [Richards] and Ron [Wood] come in and joke around. … Mick [Jagger] came in like a bundle of energy about to get on stage in front of 80,000 people and starts giving everybody pounds. ‘Did you have fun?’ We’re like, ‘Yes, thanks for having us, Sir Mick.’ It was surreal.”
Now, the band brings all that experience to D.C. at The Anthem.
“We’ve had amazing shows in D.C. over the years, especially last year at The Anthem. It was our first time playing in that amazing venue, one of my favorite venues in the country or the world. We’re definitely excited to come back there and rock that again.”
Hear our full conversation with guitarist Zack Feinberg below:
