Revis
Encyclopedia
Revis is an American post-grunge
band from Carbondale, Illinois
. They released one major label album, Places for Breathing
, in 2003 before disbanding in 2005. The band reunited five years later in 2010, and completed work on a second album, Do We Have to Beg?, however, "legal issues" keep the band from releasing it in current form, leading to the band to claim they plan on re-recording the whole album.
The band moved to Los Angeles
in July 2001 but, before doing so, had to acquire a new bassist in Bob Thiemann. Despite, as guitarist Robert Davis put it, having enough hometown popularity to "play in front of 1,500 people every Friday night," the band set their sights for L.A. Orco began playing L.A. venues but had a tough time early on, being kicked out of a rented one-room bedroom and having a dismissive manager with whom they periodically spoke with.
The band's earlier material under this name was quite different sounding than their work as Revis. Songs such as "Feast of the Tabernacles" featured a much rougher, unpolished sound, with some screaming vocals.
and Jeff Pilson
. This eventually caught the attention of record labels, and demos for "Caught in the Rain" and "Spin" were subsequently recorded to maintain hype. In January 2002, the band signed with Epic Records
to start work on their first album at NRG Recording in North Hollywood. Some of their demo songs would end up on their debut album; others were written during NRG's recording session.
It was during the five weeks of recording that the band was forced to change its name to Revis because a UK band had been using the Orco name for six years compared to the American band's three years. They chose the name "Revis" after their close friend and guitar tech Jason Revis who had been with the band since its inception even without pay; only through their joining a major label would he finally start being paid.
The end result of their efforts was a debut album entitled Places for Breathing
, which was released on May 20, 2003. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, selling 10,000 copies in its opening week, and peaked at #115 on the Billboard Top 200.
Revis scored two rock radio hits, "Caught in the Rain", which peaked at number 5 in the Active Rock Radio charts, and "Seven". "Caught in the Rain" was also featured in the movie Daredevil
and its respective soundtrack, Daredevil: The Album
.
The band's hometown of Carbondale announced May 19, 2003 "Revis Day" in tribute to the group.
The band went on to support the album by touring with popular groups like Oleander
, and Evanescence
, and playing the 2003 Nintendo Fusion Tour
.
and Sony
. Around this time, Davis and Piribauer had joined a band named Hensley and caused question over the future of Revis. Holman and Cox, without Davis, Piribauer, or Thiemann, returned to Illinois and together began writing new material akin to Revis. As of August 2005, Holman affirmed that he and Tommy Henriksen
were working on 12-15 new songs with titles such as "New Ways," "Hollow Days," "Red Letter Day," and "Taste in the Flash." However, he clarified that they would not be working with Don Gilmore or Ken Andrews
and showed uncertainty in regards to finding a label and touring. Later in the year, it was announced that Revis had ultimately disbanded.
While the band had broken up, a number of members did their own projects. Davis and Cox had formed a new band by the name of Maryandi, later renamed The Yelling. Holman worked with a new project called Aujalyn. The bassist Thiemann went on to form TJ Brown and Chalk Buddha.
The band originally announced via Facebook that the new album, titled Fire and Ice, would be released on July 27, 2010. The album was later delayed and renamed Do We Have to Beg?. The first song from the reunion was be "A Better Day (Relief)" and became available for free on the band's website on June 29.
In September 2010, the band announced that the next song would be "Are You Taking Me Home". It was mixed by Jay Baumgardner
and was released on October 6, 2010 via the band's website. Later in the month, the band announced they would be playing their first live concert since their reunion, on October 29, 2010. The band debuted a new song, titled "Remember When", at the concert. People who attended this concert were also given first access to download an acoustic version of the new song "Searching for Someone", from the band's official website.
The band has also re-recorded and released an updated version of "From That Point On", which was a rare b-side to their first album. They later released a video for the song as well.
On February 9, 2011 the band announced on the website that their next album would be called Do We Have to Beg? and would be released on May 20, 2011 to coincide with the 8 year anniversary of the release of Places for Breathing
. The band has yet to announce a track listing, but some song information has been revealed. "Searching For Someone" was originally announced as the first single, before the band changed their mind and decided that "Save Our Souls" would be the first single. Additionally, there are due to be 12 songs from a current shortlist of 25 recorded songs. "Save Our Souls" was released on April 1.
While the band had announced the "Turnstyle Tour" to support the album, the tour was canceled on May 13 due to circumstances that were beyond their control. After a week of silence and no promotion, the album release was quietly delayed, without a new date, due to undisclosed legal issues.
On June 6, they released the song "Fire and Ice" as a thank you for the patience from their fans. It's available as a free download or any amount of donation. A concert was played on July 16, but no information was released in regards to the alleged legal issues or status of the album.
On August 3, the band announced that legal issues are keeping them from ever releasing the album in current form, so they are currently in the process of re-recording the entire album.
Former
Guest, Session and Touring musicians
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
band from Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...
. They released one major label album, Places for Breathing
Places for Breathing
Places for Breathing is the first studio album by American post-grunge band Revis. Released in May 2003 on Epic Records, it was recorded in 2002 at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood...
, in 2003 before disbanding in 2005. The band reunited five years later in 2010, and completed work on a second album, Do We Have to Beg?, however, "legal issues" keep the band from releasing it in current form, leading to the band to claim they plan on re-recording the whole album.
Early years (1999–2001)
The group, formerly known as Orco, was formed in the summer of 1999 in the small southern Illinois town of Ewing. Self-described as a "group of friends," Orco's first big break came when they beat out 40 other musical groups for the chance to compete against five bands at radio station WTAO's Battle of the Bands at the Du Quoin State Fair in August 2000. They won the competition and were offered the opportunity to play live remotes for the station. According to vocalist Justin Holman, "It wasn't long after that, that our songs began creeping onto (WTAO's) playlist." The original Orco line-up consisted of Justin Holman (vocals), Robert Davis (guitar), Nathaniel Cox (guitar), Dan Sronce (bass) and Marcus D'Marco (drums).The band moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in July 2001 but, before doing so, had to acquire a new bassist in Bob Thiemann. Despite, as guitarist Robert Davis put it, having enough hometown popularity to "play in front of 1,500 people every Friday night," the band set their sights for L.A. Orco began playing L.A. venues but had a tough time early on, being kicked out of a rented one-room bedroom and having a dismissive manager with whom they periodically spoke with.
The band's earlier material under this name was quite different sounding than their work as Revis. Songs such as "Feast of the Tabernacles" featured a much rougher, unpolished sound, with some screaming vocals.
Places for Breathing (2002–2003)
With the help of a new manager, John Zagata, they recorded three demo songs, "A Gift," "Seven," and "Straight Jacket Labels" with producers Tommy HenriksenTommy Henriksen
Tommy Henriksen is an American singer-songwriter from Port Jefferson, New York.Henriksen first moved to Los Angeles to start his music career in 1991. He did tech work for Alice Cooper before beginning performance work with Keith Forsey on a full-length solo album...
and Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson is an American bass guitarist, best known for his stint in the heavy metal band Dokken...
. This eventually caught the attention of record labels, and demos for "Caught in the Rain" and "Spin" were subsequently recorded to maintain hype. In January 2002, the band signed with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
to start work on their first album at NRG Recording in North Hollywood. Some of their demo songs would end up on their debut album; others were written during NRG's recording session.
It was during the five weeks of recording that the band was forced to change its name to Revis because a UK band had been using the Orco name for six years compared to the American band's three years. They chose the name "Revis" after their close friend and guitar tech Jason Revis who had been with the band since its inception even without pay; only through their joining a major label would he finally start being paid.
The end result of their efforts was a debut album entitled Places for Breathing
Places for Breathing
Places for Breathing is the first studio album by American post-grunge band Revis. Released in May 2003 on Epic Records, it was recorded in 2002 at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood...
, which was released on May 20, 2003. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, selling 10,000 copies in its opening week, and peaked at #115 on the Billboard Top 200.
Revis scored two rock radio hits, "Caught in the Rain", which peaked at number 5 in the Active Rock Radio charts, and "Seven". "Caught in the Rain" was also featured in the movie Daredevil
Daredevil (film)
Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
and its respective soundtrack, Daredevil: The Album
Daredevil: The Album
Daredevil: The Album was released in 2003 by Wind-Up Records for the movie Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck. All songs were previously unreleased, and some songs appeared on later releases...
.
The band's hometown of Carbondale announced May 19, 2003 "Revis Day" in tribute to the group.
The band went on to support the album by touring with popular groups like Oleander
Oleander (band)
Oleander is a post-grunge band from Sacramento, California, USA. Its name is derived from the poisonous wildflower oleander, which line the highways of Northern California. In their nine years of activity, the band released four studio albums under various record labels...
, and Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
, and playing the 2003 Nintendo Fusion Tour
Nintendo Fusion Tour
Nintendo Fusion Tour is a touring rock music and video game festival sponsored by Nintendo, which began in 2003.Nintendo's Fusion Tour has provided early exposure for then-developing bands such as Evanescence, Story of the Year, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Anberlin and Panic! at the Disco...
.
Breakup (2004–2009)
In 2004, Revis recorded a second demo with Tony Berg and had intentions of rerecording such tracks for a second album. Despite the band's rising popularity, however, Revis would be dropped from Epic Records and forced to acquire new management after their first album. Holman speculated this being due to poor management and the merging of BMGBMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. Around this time, Davis and Piribauer had joined a band named Hensley and caused question over the future of Revis. Holman and Cox, without Davis, Piribauer, or Thiemann, returned to Illinois and together began writing new material akin to Revis. As of August 2005, Holman affirmed that he and Tommy Henriksen
Tommy Henriksen
Tommy Henriksen is an American singer-songwriter from Port Jefferson, New York.Henriksen first moved to Los Angeles to start his music career in 1991. He did tech work for Alice Cooper before beginning performance work with Keith Forsey on a full-length solo album...
were working on 12-15 new songs with titles such as "New Ways," "Hollow Days," "Red Letter Day," and "Taste in the Flash." However, he clarified that they would not be working with Don Gilmore or Ken Andrews
Ken Andrews
Ken Andrews is an American musician and producer, based out of Los Angeles, California.Andrews was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended film school in Los Angeles before his band Failure received a record deal from Slash Records.He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and...
and showed uncertainty in regards to finding a label and touring. Later in the year, it was announced that Revis had ultimately disbanded.
While the band had broken up, a number of members did their own projects. Davis and Cox had formed a new band by the name of Maryandi, later renamed The Yelling. Holman worked with a new project called Aujalyn. The bassist Thiemann went on to form TJ Brown and Chalk Buddha.
Reunion and Do We Have to Beg? (2010–present)
Reports of a Revis reunion surfaced in early 2010, saying that they were back together and working on a second album. However, original guitarist Nathaniel Cox and bassist Bob Thiemann decided not to take part in the reunion.The band originally announced via Facebook that the new album, titled Fire and Ice, would be released on July 27, 2010. The album was later delayed and renamed Do We Have to Beg?. The first song from the reunion was be "A Better Day (Relief)" and became available for free on the band's website on June 29.
In September 2010, the band announced that the next song would be "Are You Taking Me Home". It was mixed by Jay Baumgardner
Jay Baumgardner
Jay Baumgardner is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He has worked on albums by Ugly Kid Joe, Helmet, Papa Roach, Endwell, Coal Chamber, Godsmack, Three Days Grace, New Found Glory, Spineshank, Alien Ant Farm and Orgy....
and was released on October 6, 2010 via the band's website. Later in the month, the band announced they would be playing their first live concert since their reunion, on October 29, 2010. The band debuted a new song, titled "Remember When", at the concert. People who attended this concert were also given first access to download an acoustic version of the new song "Searching for Someone", from the band's official website.
The band has also re-recorded and released an updated version of "From That Point On", which was a rare b-side to their first album. They later released a video for the song as well.
On February 9, 2011 the band announced on the website that their next album would be called Do We Have to Beg? and would be released on May 20, 2011 to coincide with the 8 year anniversary of the release of Places for Breathing
Places for Breathing
Places for Breathing is the first studio album by American post-grunge band Revis. Released in May 2003 on Epic Records, it was recorded in 2002 at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood...
. The band has yet to announce a track listing, but some song information has been revealed. "Searching For Someone" was originally announced as the first single, before the band changed their mind and decided that "Save Our Souls" would be the first single. Additionally, there are due to be 12 songs from a current shortlist of 25 recorded songs. "Save Our Souls" was released on April 1.
While the band had announced the "Turnstyle Tour" to support the album, the tour was canceled on May 13 due to circumstances that were beyond their control. After a week of silence and no promotion, the album release was quietly delayed, without a new date, due to undisclosed legal issues.
On June 6, they released the song "Fire and Ice" as a thank you for the patience from their fans. It's available as a free download or any amount of donation. A concert was played on July 16, but no information was released in regards to the alleged legal issues or status of the album.
On August 3, the band announced that legal issues are keeping them from ever releasing the album in current form, so they are currently in the process of re-recording the entire album.
Members
Current- Justin Holman – lead vocals (1999–2005, 2010–present)
- Robert Davis – lead guitar (1999–2005, 2010–present)
- David Piribauer – drums (1999–2005, 2010–present)
- Kyle Needham - guitar (2011–present)
- Simon Huber - bass guitar (2011–present)
Former
- Nathaniel Cox – rhythm guitar (1999–2005)
- Bob Thiemann – bass guitar (1999–2005)
Guest, Session and Touring musicians
- Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
- drums (studio) (2002–2003) - Kevin Haaland (SkilletSkillet (band)Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John and Korey Cooper , along with Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison. The band has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose...
) - guitar (live) (2010) - Brad Smith (Blind MelonBlind MelonBlind Melon is an American rock band active from 1989 to 1999, and from 2006 onward.Best remembered for their 1993 single "No Rain", the group enjoyed critical and commercial success in the early 1990s with their neo-psychedelic take on alternative rock...
) - bass guitar (live) (2010)
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat. |
||
| 2003 | Places for Breathing Places for Breathing Places for Breathing is the first studio album by American post-grunge band Revis. Released in May 2003 on Epic Records, it was recorded in 2002 at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood...
|
115 | 1 |
| 2011 | Do We Have to Beg?
|
||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt. |
US Main. |
|||
| 2003 | "Caught in the Rain" | 20 | 8 | Places for Breathing |
| "Seven" | — | 29 | ||
| 2011 | "Save Our Souls" | Do We Have to Beg? | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||
External links
- Official Website of Revis
- http://www.myspace.com/revisreunion