The Electric Revival: A short Q and A about their Latest release FREAKS and Canadian Tour

The boys from The Electric Revival are at it again with this latest release and they were kind enough to have a chat about the album, recording, and their Canadian tour that they are on. If you have a chance, check them out while they are out on the road. These guys are a blast! See the interview below...

Q1: Congrats on the release of Freaks! As I understand it, you recorded here in town, what can you say about the experience to self-produce the album vs hiring an engineer? How did this change the process for you?

Daniel:  To be quite honest,  it didn’t change the process for us at all.  Ian Dillon (Singer/guitarist for The Electric Revival) has engineered/mixed/mastered/produced all of our records from day one,  as well as records for other bands we’ve been in (with and without each other) previously.  It’s a great process during the tracking in studio because our engineer always already knows what you want to hear out of the sound.  I hear other bands talk and they say things like,  “They just didn’t get my tone right” or “I hate the way they made my snare drum sounds” and we don’t have that problem so much.  We’ve all known each other for half of our lives,  Ian knows how I want my bass to sound on the record,  he knows what we want the finished product to sound like.  By the time we’re done preproduction and have started tracking in the studio,  we all have a pretty good idea of what we want out of it before it happens a lot of the time,  so there’s not so much guess work.  I couldn’t really imagine doing it any other way at this point to be honest.  

Q2: 2014 was a packed year for you guys. With the upcoming tour across Canada, are there any signs of slowing down later this year? Or is it right back at it?

Daniel:  No slowing down!  Bury the needle!  We are working on plans for a summer and fall tours (dates and regions and countries TBA).  We’ve also begun writing new material for another studio album and we’re all super pumped about that too!  We don’t ever want to have a new year be less exciting for us,  or a new year in which we do less than in the year before.

Q3: The Electric Revival most definitely has a unique sound. You guys have been called rock and roll, punk, hard rock, progressive rock.. In your opinion, how would you describe your sound?

Daniel:  I suppose I’d just have to call us a Rock band.  We have some punk-ish songs,  we have some hard rock-ish songs,  progressive-ish songs,  etc. which I think stems from the wide range of influences we all draw from in our own personal tastes.  Between the three of us,  there are very few genres of music I can think of that don’t get some stereo play in the van on tour.  From blues,  to pop,  to country,  to punk,  to metal,  to classical to good ol’ rock ’n’ roll!  We all have our own tastes,  and listen to a wide spectrum of music,  and I think it shows in the songs we put out ourselves as a band.

Q4: Back to the tour for a moment... Do you have a favorite city to play in?

Daniel:  It’s hard to say,  everywhere we’ve played has been deadly so far!…..I guess for me personally,  when we toured to Eastern Canada last year for Canadian Music Week,  we scored a gig in a punk squat/flophouse in an abandoned factory in Montreal called DeathHouse!  I loved that one!  but every town we play in is usually great.  People come out to support us at the shows from Vancouver to Munich,  and they  feed us and give us places to stay,  and that keeps us alive on the road ya know?  The people at the shows are what make it,  it doesn’t really matter which town we’re in.

Q5: I'd like to talk about your album. Freaks. What would you say were the main things influencing the song writing on this album?

Daniel:  Freaks is a very hard hitting record for us.  A lot of it had to do with the years we had in 2013 and 2014,  the high we were riding,  and hopefully always will.  That energy from touring,  from the stage,  from the fans,  it pushed us in a direction we’d touched on before but hadn’t necessarily developed as much.  For me personally,  I was feeling much more confident in my own bass playing when we wrote and recorded Freaks than on previous outings.  I think as a band,  despite all of us having known each other for so long,  as this band,  we’ve really gotten comfortable with the sound,  the process,  and I think Freaks really showcases that,  but then again I could be a little bit biased…. 

You can catch The Electric Revival on one of their tour dates below in support of their latest release Freaks!

Tour Dates:

Fri. Mar.6. Vancouver BC. The Railway Club
Sat. Mar.7. Nelson BC. Kootenay Co-op Radio

Fri. Mar.13. Regina SK. The Exchange
Sat. Mar.14. Winnipeg MB. The Cavern
Sun. Mar.15. Thunder Bay ON. Black Pirates Pub
Wed. Mar.18. Sudbury ON. The Townhouse Tavern
Thu. Mar19. Kingston ON. The Toucan
Fri. Mar.20. Montreal QC. Barfly
Sat. Mar.21. Quebec City. Scanner Bistro
Sun. Mar.22. Ottawa ON. Rainbow Bistro
Mon. Mar.23. Toronto ON. Horseshoe Tavern
Tue. Mar.24. Peterborough ON. The Spill
Wed. Mar.25. Guelph ON. District
Thu. Mar.26. London ON. The APK 

Fri. Mar.27. Innisfil ON.The Stone Grille
Sat. Mar.28. Toronto ON. Cherry Cola's Rock 'n' Rolla Cabaret & Lounge
Sun. Mar.29. Hamilton ON. The Doors Pub

Mon. Mar.30. New Market ON. Big Daddy's Restaurant & Bar

Thu. Apr.2. Winnipeg MB. OSBORNE VILLAGE INN
Fri. Apr.3. Brandon MB. City Centre Bar And Hotel
Sat. April.4. Saskatoon SK. Vangelis Taverns
Sun. Apr.5. Edmonton AB. Bohemia
Mon. April.6. Calgary AB.- Secret Location - TBA