The Revs

:"This is an article about the Irish rock band. For the Major League Soccer team, see New England Revolution."Infobox musical artist


Name = The Revs


Background = group_or_band
Origin = Kilcar, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Genre = Indie rock
Punk rock
Years_active = 2000 to 2007
Label = Haldern Pop, Evelyn
URL = http://www.therevs.com/ http://www.myspace.com/sver
Current_members = Rory Gallagher
John McIntyre
Michael O'Donnell

The Revs are an indie rock band from Kilcar, Donegal, Ireland. The group consists of three childhood friends: Rory Gallagher (named after the famous blues guitarist Rory Gallagher and who had previously released the album "20th Century" at the age of 18) on bass guitar and vocals, John McIntyre (guitar, vocals) and Michael O' Donnell (drums, percussion). They formed on the eve of the millennium with an aim to "change the face of Irish music".Fact|date=March 2007

History

Early on, The Revs music courted controversy because of their attacks on manufactured pop. The group's targets included 'Louis Walsh' (Louis Walsh being the svengali behind Westlife and Boyzone, amongst others). Their debut album "SonicTonic" achieved gold status, despite being a low-budget and independent live release, and drew comparisons to The Police, Weezer and Supergrass.

They followed this up with the stand-alone singles "Tuesday, Monday" and "Loaded" before the debut studio album "Suck" in February 2003. This album (recorded in Trackmix Studios, Clonsilla, Dublin) entered the charts gaining them many new fans, as well as pleasing the ones who had assembled en masse due to their constant touring across Ireland and the UK. The songs are an eclectic mix of punk rock, surf guitars, pop-rock and indie, similar to Pixies, Radiohead and Muse, with paranoid lyrics (influenced by Bill Hicks) expressing their conflicting love and distaste with the world.Fact|date=March 2007They were voted 3rd in the Hotpress readers poll behind U2 and The Frames in 2003. They are one of the few Irish bands to ever play in Slane Castle.In March 2004 they had a top 30 hit in Australia with the single Death of a Dj. They had a short 2 week coast to coast tour and received rave reviews from the Ausralian music press.

Taking a lengthy break during which they decided upon a change of direction, wrote dozens of songs and roadtested them in small venues around Ireland, they returned in November 2004 with a sample of the music that was to come: a new single "Broken?", backed with "Ode to Saint Susie, Patron Saint Of Supermarkets". They now sounded more like The Flaming Lips, Big Star or The Smiths, with their love of Radiohead still shining through, and this release confused the public who had dismissed them. During the months that opened up 2005, they recorded their third album, "The Revs", in Malmö, Sweden with Tore Johansson, the producer behind Franz Ferdinand and The Cardigans.

This LP was released on October 14 2005, following the single "Time Slippin" in September. Despite being their most critically-acclaimed release to date, it was their least commercially-successful album in Ireland. A successful European tour of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France followed in 2006, alongside the well received European release of "The Revs". [" [http://therevs.com/news.html New Irish dates added for December] ". therevs.com.]

In January 2007 Rory Gallagher of the Revs announced on the band's official forum that they were taking a break of "indefinite" length. [" [http://therevs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12807 The Revs - Official Website Forum Index] ". therevs.com] In July 2007, the band played a short tour of Ireland which is widely believed to have been their last, with speculation abound of a definite split or name change. Two songs from the bands self-titled album - 'Take It All Back' and 'Streets' - are to appear on the soundtrack of the forthcoming movie PS I Love You (film) [http://www.muse.ie/music-ireland-music_news-irish_news/the-revs-announce-comeback-tour/spId/87969CEC-BD83-98C5-86141FA8C01FD899.html]

Rory is currently the resident musician at Buddy's Bar in Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote.

Rory has recorded a solo album in Germany due for release in August 2008. More current info at www.rorymusic.org

It has been confirmed that John is also releasing a solo album this year.

Discography

Albums

SonicTonic 2002highest chart position No. 5

Suck 2003highest chart position No.3

The Revs 2005highest chart position No. 25

ingles/EPs

Video

* [http://www.fabchannel.com/therevs Fabchannel.com - Free video stream of Revs concert at Paradiso, Amsterdam]

Notes