Biography
After New York punk quartet Latterman disbanded in 2007, Mattie Canino teamed with Olympia-based Erica Freas on vocals and guitar, drummer Kevin Rainsbury, and bassist Nell Tallos to launch RVIVR. Frustrated that Latterman’s incisive lyrics and activist outlook had been eclipsed by mosh-oriented, male-centric crowds, Canino and the others placed gender equality and sociopolitical awareness at the center of the new band’s songs. Quickly becoming a fixture in the underground DIY punk circuit, RVIVR issued its first single, Life Moves, on Freas’s Rumbletowne Records late in 2008. Derailer followed shortly afterward, after which the group entered the studio with ex-Latterman guitarist Phil Douglas to cut its self-titled debut LP, released in April 2010. A U.S. and European tour supported the album, and the year closed with the Dirty Water EP on the German label Yo-Yo.
RVIVR maintained a relentless touring schedule through 2011, during which Tallos departed and Alanna Paoli took over on bass. The band also compiled material from its first three EPs on Joester Sessions ’08-’11 and released the single Belebend through Yo-Yo. Following that demanding year, the members regrouped to write and track their second album in 2012 with Joey Seward, also known as the Joester. The Beauty Between appeared the next year as a co-release on Rumbletowne and Yo-Yo. Over the ensuing seasons RVIVR continued routing through the United States, Europe, and Australia, enlisting substitute bassists such as Caves’ Lou Hanman, while issuing the 2014 EP Bicker and Breathe. Freas increasingly focused on solo work, and Canino formed Tender Defender with fellow former Latterman members Phil Douglas and Pat Schramm. Early in 2017 the band returned with its first new recording since 2014, the single The Tide. A handful of live dates followed, and Don Giovanni reissued the group’s first two albums plus the Joester collection.
RVIVR maintained a relentless touring schedule through 2011, during which Tallos departed and Alanna Paoli took over on bass. The band also compiled material from its first three EPs on Joester Sessions ’08-’11 and released the single Belebend through Yo-Yo. Following that demanding year, the members regrouped to write and track their second album in 2012 with Joey Seward, also known as the Joester. The Beauty Between appeared the next year as a co-release on Rumbletowne and Yo-Yo. Over the ensuing seasons RVIVR continued routing through the United States, Europe, and Australia, enlisting substitute bassists such as Caves’ Lou Hanman, while issuing the 2014 EP Bicker and Breathe. Freas increasingly focused on solo work, and Canino formed Tender Defender with fellow former Latterman members Phil Douglas and Pat Schramm. Early in 2017 the band returned with its first new recording since 2014, the single The Tide. A handful of live dates followed, and Don Giovanni reissued the group’s first two albums plus the Joester collection.
Albums
