Riley & The Urban Revival has been playing together for a while – but not playing out. They have a polished smooth sound, embracing and mashing up a range of genres. You can catch them at the Blues Saloon on April 26.
Please tell me about the origin of The Urban Revival. How did you all get together?
Riley, David and Karu were playing acoustically at small house shows, weddings, and coffee shops for several years. All this time, we were writing lots of songs–some clunkers, but also some catchy and inspiring ones. As Karu got older and became quite a talented young violinist, we decided to take it to the next step. We went into the studio and recorded some of the songs. They sounded so good that we realized we needed to put together a full fledged band to let these songs spread their wings.
You have a great list of members; can you tell us just a little big out each?
Riley grew up playing as a kid down by the Mississippi River in the West Bank trying to dig for treasure and build rafts out of sticks. Always when she was playing she sang; she sang constantly to herself as solace. A bazillion hours of singing later, and she’s gotten pretty good.
Karu Thompson, like Riley, is mixed race; blended cultures (and blended music) feels like home for him. He grew up playing violin in classical orchestras while also playing bluegrass and blues.
Brad Masoni has been playing bass across genres and around the world–from Americana in Amsterdam to punk and tropical rock in Shanghai and indie rock in Rome.
Yinka Ayinde is a monster sax player who’s played with national acts like Burna Boy and Ashely DuBoise. He seems to merge with his sax when playing live; his improvised solos are a sight to behold.
Dan Porwoll has played drums since he was a wee lad. His home turf is jazz and funk and he brings that flavor with him into most songs.
Monita Bryant is a Liberian American who grew up on Staten Island, NY. We knew she was a great singer and we tugged her out of her shyness into the studio and onto the stage. She’s come out of her shell and has found her (deep, warm, soulful) voice.
Chris Olsen grew up playing in church with his father, who is an excellent piano player. He majored in voice performance at college and loves playing and singing pianist singer-songwriter tunes.
David Thompson was a wannabe rock guitar-star (think Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton). He can’t fully let that fantasy go, but has learned his gifts lie more in the song-writing and arranging department.
You talk about genre-blending on your website. You really do make that happen cohesively. Cheap wine has a real American feel, the horns give After the Meltdown a jazz taste, while Lonely feels soulful. That being said, like spice in a dish, I can hear a little bit of each genre in each song. How do you approach the songs? Are you intentional with setting out with a certain sound or does it seem to emerge?
As David let his dreams of guitarist-super-star die, he turned to his talents in organizing people. He manages large numbers of people in his day job. He’s learned that if he brings together different people with different roots and allows each to share their inner song, the result is fabulous. You just have to be open to mixing things that are often seen as thou-shalt-not-mix. Right now we’re recording a new song that features sax & mandolin.
As a teenager, Riley’s friends would make fun of her for having playlists that went from Mariah Carey to Martina McBride. Fortunately, the mixing of genres is finally catching on.
People don’t realize how much genre blending Prince did. He was a pioneer in that area. We’re hoping we can continue that “Minneapolis Sound” evolution into totally new territory.
Please tell us about your debut show in April.
We’re playing at the Blues Saloon in St. Paul on Saturday April 25th at 6pm. I’ve discovered that most people don’t know what an amazing venue the Blues Saloon is. It’s spacious room with high ceilings, a big stage, and surrounded by old wood. It’s easily one of the best live music venues in the city. Super sleeper status.
How are you preparing? Have you had some “soft opening” shows? Are you playing each playing for family nightly?
We’re kind of obsessed with writing new songs and arranging covers in new ways. So our rehearsal list is packed; we’re rehearsing a ton. For most of us, rehearsal is the funnest couple of hours of our week. When you’re having fun, your creative juices are flowing at their best. We’ve got a relatively unknown Prince tune that we’ve put together an awesome arrangement for. Riley absolutely shreds the vocals on that song. You gotta hear it!
Mostly Minnesota 