Formed in 2001 in Deerfield, Illinois, the quartet known as the Redwalls began life as a British Invasion cover outfit called the Pages. While still attending high school, singer and guitarist Logan Baren, his brother Justin on bass, lead guitarist Andrew Langer, and drummer Jordan Kozer delivered their debut performance at Pops for Champagne, a jazz venue near home. The Pages soon shifted focus to original songs and secured steady gigs at Nevin’s Live in Evanston; before long, the club’s booker Mitchell Marlow resigned to become the group’s full-time manager. Former Wilco drummer Ken Coomer, a friend of Marlow’s, helped route the Pages’ demo to Capitol A&R executive Julian Raymond. Midway through recording their first album for Chicago’s Undertow imprint, the band inked a deal with Capitol in mid-2003 and adopted the Redwalls name at the label’s urging—an earlier Capitol act had already used the name Pages, though it achieved greater fame as Mr. Mister. Undertow released the Redwalls’ debut album, Universal Blues, in fall 2003; after those sessions wrapped, Kozer departed to pursue college and Ben Greeno took over on drums. The band’s first Capitol release, De Nova, arrived in June 2005. Produced by Rob Schnapf, whose credits include Elliott Smith and the Vines, the album layers horns and major-label sheen onto the Redwalls’ raw energy while preserving their spirited classic-rock devotion. Fittingly, the similarly retro-minded Oasis tapped the group for its summer 2005 U.K. tour.
