Tag: Reverse

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Reverse @ Radio 2.10.2012

Reverse killed it at Radio. Reverse always kills it, no matter where they play. There were a couple of noteworthy moments I’d like to bring to your attention.

First off, I hope their new record doesn’t take as long to make as Monkey Mind did. I can’t wait that long for “Civilian” to come out. That song was electric on Friday night.

The other thing I wanted to point out was an amazing fill that Mike Piehl pulled off during “Helicopters”. It’s like the guy grew some extra limbs to pull it off. Even the usually unflappable Mike Quinn did a double take. It’s not often a drum fill elicits a cheer from the crowd, but this one certainly did. The audience is listening.

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Reverse – Monkey Mind (2009)


Reverse
Monkey Mind
2009

You know that game where you put together your dream band from people in bands around town? Wait, what? You don’t play that game? Sure, you do. Anyway, sometimes when I play that game I end up with Reverse.

Monkey Mind is Exhibit A of what said dream band can do. Let’s start with Mr. Ian Kennedy. The man is one of the most creative guitar players in town. Have you ever heard a Telecaster make such sounds? It’s like he sprinkled it with magic riff dust. Then you’ve got Mike Piehl behind the drums. He’s a beast. Look no further than opening track, “Fluorescent”, for proof. Mike Quinn is about as solid as they come on bass. The kicker is that his backing vocals mesh perfectly with Ian’s croon-meets-scream vocals.

All of this would be for naught without some songs to back up the sonic fury. Thankfully, Reverse don’t let us down there, either. Monkey Mind is one solid record in the songwriting department. The aforementioned “Fluorescent” is in-your-face, melodic and has a heavy groove. I think I’ve mentioned in the past how much I love “Victoria”. “Slow” alternates achingly beautiful verses with a devastating chorus. “January” is a great example of how well Ian and Mike Quinn’s vocals work together. The title track and “Helicopters” are as frantic as “Good Cop Bad Cop” is deliberate. Every song has hooks to spare.

Monkey Mind came out some seven years after Reverse’s debut, The Jersey Switch. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long for their next record.*

Full Disclosue: The lovely and talented Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative did the artwork for this record.** That doesn’t make this record any less of a monster. Just letting you know.

Where to get it:

* Seriously, guys, don’t make us wait that long again.

** I think the artwork was done some 4 years before the record came out.*

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Reverse @ Church 9.29.2011

When my lovely wife (designer extraordinaire at Daykamp Creative) wants to go see Reverse on her birthday, who am I to argue? Ian Kennedy even played “Happy Birthday” for her. More importantly the band played “Victoria”, “Dead Man”, “Fluorescent” and a whole bunch of their other songs. Have I mentioned that these guys are one of the best bands in town? I think I have.

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Reverse @ The Rosebud Bar 8.27.2011

Reverse. Wait. The Mighty Reverse.

Reverse is, without question, one of my favorite bands. Their song “Victoria” is the most played song in my iTunes library.* Their latest record, Monkey Mind, took about a bazillion years to record. It was worth the wait.

As much as I love their recorded material, Reverse is a live band. That should be obvious; any band with Mike Piehl on drums is a live band. The man is a groove monster. Throw in the unflappable Mike Quinn on bass and you’ve got a killer rhythm section for Ian Kennedy to torture his telecaster over. Seriously, how does he make a telecaster sound like that? Ian and Mike also have great complimentary voices. Reverse is amazing.

OK. Enough. You get it.

* I just did the math. “Victoria” was played exactly 50% more than the next most played song in my iTunes library.** The song is that good. Also, I’m not claiming that I’ve heard this particular Reverse song more than any other. I listen to music on vinyl, cd, cassette and blah blah blah as well. Not to mention all of the music I listened to before I digitized everything many years ago. I’m pretty sure the song I’ve heard the most in my life would either be a hair metal song or something by Barry Manilow.

**The next most played song is “Go Easy Now” by The Hellacopters. In reality, the play count difference is much smaller than it would appear, as the By The Grace Of God album played nonstop in my car for at least 6 months when I first got it.