The Revival’s young sound peels out in classic rock and blues rhythms typical of much more seasoned musicians. With a confident style of composition that easily stands up to today’s successful rock artists, The Revival are more than just a catchy rock band – they’ve got real potential.

The Revival - Welcome to the Sun (instrumental)

With a collective age of just 69 at the time, The Revival recorded the first three songs they ever wrote during just 4 hours of studio time, producing the demo “Lest We Forget”. Using this as a promotional vehicle, The Revivalwent on to play Supernova.com’s Band on the Run 2009 series and dominated the Winnipeg city finals, taking a close second place in all of Western Canada.

Armed with new equipment and studio time from their Supernova wins, The Revival is positioned to go back into recording (and start playing licensed venues by themselves, now that they’re all 18). We took a minute to sit down and chat with the band about what it’s like to be young & talented indie rockers, on the cusp of their musical career.


First, introduce your band and its components?

Well there's Alex D. on drums, he's unbelievable at timing and rhythm and is going to school next year for jazz drumming to further his skills. Then there is Jay on bass and backup vocals who melds the band together and fills all the gaps. As soon as we had the first jam with him we knew that our band was finally complete, it just grooved so good - we have an extremely tight rhythm section.

Then we also have Erik Lassen who is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist; he finds so many ways of coming up with interesting lyrics with melodies to accommodate any song. Finally there is Eric Clefstad who shreds like a cheese grater and creates killer harmonies between the two guitars.

We basically are always learning, and growing from each other which enables us to fit well. We write all of our songs as a group, with equal input from everyone, the way it should be - as a team.

How would you describe your band’s sound?

An orgy between the great bands of the 70's and 90's: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blind Melon, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Social Distortion, Rancid, Sublime and so on. Add in a little bit of a modern twist, maybe some Queens of the Stone Age and Clutch, and throw in a carefully measured shot of punk rock, and you get The Revival.

What has the most rewarding thing about being in a band?

The feeling and rush that you get from playing a live show. That moment when you are engulfed in the music, and nothing else exists. The song lines up perfectly, and you get the "Tinglees", the magical shivers down your spine.

It is amazing to see other fans and musicians groove to your music. When you see people singing along to a song that you created as a group, it is a crazy feeling.

What brought you to Supernova.com?

Three out of the four members had played good shows for SN prior to being in The Revival. We all used to think it was brutal because of the way it was ran here but as soon as it picked up again we jumped on board, and rocked The Pyramid.

Oh and hearing how no Winnipeg band is on the SN showcase CD or whatever it was really made us want to emerge from the heart of the continent. We wanted to step up to the challenge and prove that there is good tunes coming from Winnipeg, seeing as there is a whole lot of SN attention to other places like BC and Ontario. We also know that Supernova is a great way for exposing new talent, hook ups with 'the business', sweet venues, and prizes that only better your band are a beautiful thing!

Was there any particular moment that made you want to pursue music full time?

Working different jobs has shown how dull life can be - you can get stuck into this trap that society tries to put you into. Music adds so much color to our lives that there's nothing we would rather be doing. It really sunk in as we played certain shows and recorded and really bonded as four individuals. We would talk and compare to other musicians and realized that we have what it takes musical theory wise,and creativity wise to get somewhere with this.

How do you want people to perceive your band?

We want people to perceive our band as real musicians who people can relate to. A band that you can play certain songs if your up or down and they get the feel. In a world full of monkey costumes, we want to be butt naked.

The Revival is not just some "lets bring back dead 70's rock and play covers" band. The Revival is a feeling, a vibe, a reminder of a time when music was about passion and not just the next big hit single. We mix our influences of classic rock, psychedelic, hard rock, funk, punk, and even reggae into a wall of sound.


Where is your favourite place to play?

SO far we have enjoyed the Park Theater a lot because of the sound quality and how grand it made us sound. But we enjoy the close encounter shows as well with people right in your face because the energy levels can be just as high.

The day before our first Supernova show we played at the War on Music, this small punk rock vibe record store venue. It was an intense show, and we wrote the lyrics to Mary McKee in the Astro Van on the way there, and got a friend to come up and rap it. Some drunk girl came in and starting stripping as we played it and she got kicked out. It was a CRAZY fun show. We still have many more places to play, Erik Lassen finally just turned 18, so we have a whole new batch of places to rock out now.

Who would you most like to tour with?

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Clutch, Rancid, illScarlett, Queens of the Stone age, or a Sublime with Bradley Nowell revived from the dead. Or another local band with a sweet sound called The In-Fluents. We would also want to go on tour with a band that has a crazy following because then you can get more listeners :)

What bands are you currently listening to?

It seems that bands were really into are no longer around, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Blind Melon, Sublime, Zeppelin but one we know personally that have some potential would be The In-Fluents. There is still hope for modern music though, Protest the Hero, Ill Scarlett, Clutch and Queens of the Stone Age are pretty sick. It just seems hard to find interesting music nowadays, you gotta weed through a whole bunch of garbage. The modern music scene needs a rock revival because there is not many interesting new rock bands, and everyone has turned to rap.

If you had to listen to one album on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Jay: I would listen to Blood Sugar Sex Magic. It makes me happy, sad, peacefull, and crazy all at the same time.

Alex D.: Well Jay stole mine, that album was a big part of my life right after grad. I'm gonna have to go with Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy. There is just such musical diversity with the vibes on that album, from the first energetic note of 'The Song Remains the Same' to the happy Reggae groove of 'D'yer Mak'er', to the psychedelic 'No Quarter' - you get a mix of every vibe you could want.

Eric Clefstad: Niandra Lades and Usually Just
a T-shirt by John Frusciante taught me the meaning of putting every single ounce of your soul into every note you play.

Erik Lassen: Dark Side of the Moon, because it shows that music has no boundaries and that mankind can do such amazing things with instruments.

How do you usually find new music and inspiration?

We usually find new music through word of mouth - all of our friends are music lovers and we share a common interest. We have a friend who has a record player and cd's and ipod hookups, and there is ALWAYS some album on in his basement. He has a huge Vinyl collection and you can always hear something new. I found out about a few sweet modern bands from these people, such as The Parlor Mob and Clutch. I don’t really like buying music off the internet, buying a cd is the way to have the true music experience. If they are a true artist they will give their all on every single song. Good Cd’s just have a certain flow to them.

Is there anything else that fans of The Revival should know?

Our band is unique because we give off a different vibe with each song. So many bands nowadays just stick with their comfort zone and make the same song 12 times. Also, the Radio's music is so fake now. You turn on a radio and its either some pop rock band like Simple Plan and Jonas Brothers, or another generic Nickleback clone. Or maybe it's just rap and hip hop which is really starting to get old!

If one was to come to a Revival show they would leave unknowing of our genre. We play reggae, funk, rock, and give of multiple feelings that make you want to dance and drink and mosh and love and hate all in one. We also have the "Jam" element: we go into long jams where Clefstad just rapes his guitar, and Jay pounds his bass. Our songs do tend to have very long instrumental sections, we love to jam. Sometimes Alex D. would go into a jam unplanned, and Clefstad would give evil looks to just end the song, but we rocked it. Now our jams are a little more planned out, and will blow your mind.


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The Revival will be competing LIVE this September 27th in Supernova.com's Break Your Band qualifier; with your votes, they could be on their way to a $25,000 Development Deal! In the meantime, the band is gearing up for another solidly rocking performance with Supernova.com - don't miss your chance to see this band before it breaks!