photo- Frank Miller
photo-frank miller
The Revelers officially formed in the fall of 1989 when the former drummer for The Mice, Tommy Fox, started rockin' out with singer/ guitarists Andrej Cuturic, Joel Kaufman and bassist Rick Brom. The Revelers played gigs around Cleveland at clubs like Pats in the Flats and Ohio City's now infamous Babylon A GoGo. Their acute pop sensibility possessed youthful exuberance and sweet sincerity, yet the band qickly gained a reputation for rocking twice as hard as the area's notorious punk bands.
The Revelers released Warning Sign b/w Set Myself Up on Cleveland's own St. Valentine Records the following year which helped them gain a devoted local following. Yet it was the 1992 single Walking/ Thinking b/w Underwear, released on the (former Bongwater/ Butthole Surfer Kramer's) Shimmy Disc label, that gave the band the regional recognition they deserved and allowed The Revelers to considerably expand their fanbase.
After three years, Brom quit the band and was replaced by jazz-trained bassist Matt Charboneau, who was still in high school at the time. Charboneau harbored a John Entwhistle style of bass playing that blended perfectly with Fox's legendary Keith Moon style of drumming. The Revelers rightfully gained the reputation as the hardest rocking live band in the region, regularly leaving audiences doubfounded in Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Youngstown.
This period also saw The Revelers' fist full-length LP, 91st Street Stomp, released on the band's own Inbred label. That vinyl-only album was a mish mosh of recordings made over the previous five years; some recorded on a four-track cassette machine in their practice space, others recorded at Kramer's state of the art 24 track Noise New Jersey recording facility.
On Top, recorded at a small basement studio in Kent and released the following year, was much more cohesive and made many critic's end of the year top ten lists. Winter of 1995 saw the Revelers once again back with Kramer at Noise New Jersey, and those sessions resulted in the hard rocking Better Get Hit in Your Soul CD.
By 1997, The Revelers were almost ready for the world. Unfortunately, Charbonaeu was splitting his time between the Revelers and numerous other jazz and rock projects. Possessing such limited time, he was soon replaced by former Boogie Man Smash bass player George Frank.
In 1997 The Revelers packed up and headed to New York City with the hope of finding a reputable label to release their music. Within three months they signed with NYC's Spin Art record label, which was releasing records by indie-pop icons as the Apples In Stereo, The Lillies, as well as former Pixie Frank Black and the Catholics at the time.
The Revelers did two albums for Spin Art. 1998's Hard Times Sunday Spirits is considered by most Revelers fans to be their best, and with good reason. The recordings were done right at the band's rehearsal space, so the band sounds entirely comfortable. It was also the Revelers most versatile collection of songs; from the hard rockin So Chemical to the psychedelic sounding Meet Me at the Station and Silver Ship, this is simply the Revelers at the top of their game.
The Reveler's final release, 1999's Day In Day Out, was a decent enough recording. Andrej and Joel had become great songwriters, as tunes such as Always Lit and Last Mistake confirm. Yet unfortunately the recordings and final mixes seem rushed, leaving the album sounding a bit dry and unpolished.
By '99, tensions in the band were fraying. While they were touring quite a bit, the band still wasn't able to earn a decent living despite their hard work. The Revelers played their final show that summer, opening for Guided by Voices in Columbus Ohio.
The Revelers Yuletide reunion show, December 23rd at The Beachland Tavern was the first time Andrej, Joel and Tommy played together since the breakup. Bass duties were by Matt. Rick was scheduled to play on a handful of early tunes but later bowed out, and George, who now lives in San Francisco, was not able to make it to Cleveland for this gig. It was nonetheless quite a moving experience for those in attendance, as well as the band members. In fact, The Revelers even scheduled a second show opening for You Am I at the Beachland Tavern, March 22nd, 2007.
Going through some old things I found a 4 song tape dated 1993 with Oh My Marie / Up In My Tree / Brotherhood of the Railroad Train Gang / Sweet River. Gonna go give it a listen.....
Its been so many years and so many tears since I've heard that tune! Leo was in my tummy at so many REV gigs...now he's beating his own drums at the ripe age of 16! Feel old yet??? Missin ya!
