The New Orleans band The Revivalists is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its breakthrough release, Men Amongst Mountains, at a Nov. 4 show at the Refinery. After a couple of modestly-received releases by the band formed in 2007 in New Orleans, that 2015 album suddenly made the band a sensation.
Fueled by the sensual, pulsing rocker “Wish I Knew You,” with its insistent chorus of “I wish I knew you when I was younger/We could’ve got so high,” the album perfectly framed the band’s infectious mix of brassy New Orleans funk, gospel energy, hard-rock riffs and pure soul vocals.
And when the song was used in a popular TV ad for Blue Moon beer, the Revivalists took off fast.
The “Wish I Knew You” single has been streamed more than 250 million times. And thanks to follow up hits like the aching, horn-spiked ballad “It Was A Sin” and the glowing, joyful rocker “Keep Going,” the “Men Amongst Mountains” album has been streamed around 400 million times and gone multi-platinum.
To celebrate the album’s 10th anniversary and the role it has played in the band’s continued success, the Revivalists’ will play all of Men Amongst Mountains at the Refinery as part of its’ “All in the Family: 10 Years Of Men Amongst Mountains” tour.
Bassist George Geckas, part of the band since 2007, recalled that period around Men Amongst Mountains in a recent interview with the Charleston City Paper.
“We were a band that was hungry and had been basically living out of a van for a decade, and suddenly we were playing bigger rooms and being asked to be on national TV,” Geckas said. “And it was a lot of fun. It was a time when we were checking off all these boxes and achieving these goals we’d had since starting the band.”
The original album had 14 songs, but earlier this year, the Revivalists released a remastered and expanded version on streaming and physical media. The updated Men Amongst Mountains has 36 tracks, including live tracks, remixes, B-sides, alternate takes and collaborations with Portugal. The Man and Poolside.
There’s even a commemorative book to go along with the reissue featuring never-before-seen photos.
Geckas said diving back into the album after ten years was a fascinating process.
“It’s been interesting because we’ve never done any retrospective work before,” he said. “We scoured through old videos and the sessions from that time. It’s been fun, like an investigative exercise. There’s a great feeling of nostalgia in everything about this.”
The fans have been enjoying the band revisiting its past, as well.
“It’s been nice to hear from so many people about what they were doing with their lives back then. It’s been great because we’ve played virtually all of the album every night, so we can dive into the songs and play them now with the ability and crispness that the fans deserve.”
“It’s fun to see people whose lives were changed as much as ours by this record,” Geckas added.
The Men Amongst Mountains reissue is so massive that the Revivalists can essentially fill its whole set with the material each night. Geckas mentioned during the interview that the band has a new album ready to go, but right now, it’s about looking back.
“It was a hell of a rocket ride,” he said of the Men Amongst Mountains era. “We realize how lucky we are to be in a position to perform these songs that people want to hear, because there are a million artists who would do whatever they could to get to that position.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 6 p.m., Nov. 4, The Refinery, 1640 Meeting Street Road, Charleston. Tickets range from $51-$222: therefinerychs.com
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