Preview: Elephant Revival in Boulder, CO

Boulder Theater
Boulder, CO

On the brink of their Boulder Theater show this Saturday, J-man had the opportunity to speak with Elephant Revival's Daniel Rodriguez to gain some perspective on one of Colorado's most coveted bands!

J-man: What was it about Nederland, CO that helped cultivate or produce a band like Elephant revival?

Daniel: When one drives to the top of Boulder Canyon- and when you finally reach the crest of Nederland- there's a moment where you can see the continental divide along with barker reservoir and all the surrounding nooks and crannies of folks' homes nestled into the forest. At that moment you sort of know you've arrived at a special place in time. In that sense it has provided us with significant natural inspiration of landscape- and horrifically beautiful weather patterns that put a lot of things into perspective.

Another huge inspiration and active part of Elephant Revival's cultivation in Nederland were folks like Vince Herman from Leftover Salmon- who found some of us places to live in Ned, hosted countless picking parties at his house, organized chaotic parades through town, and played some of us tracks from his record collection.

Then there's the Nederland picks (circle jam sessions) held at rotating places like Whistlers, The Pioneer Inn, Blue Owl Book Store, and the First Street Pub... Where you'll be picking with locals, and who knows maybe Jeff Austin or Billy Nershi is off the road and at the pick playing bazouki or something.

It's a town unlike any other, and it welcomed Elephant Revival in it's infancy and has nourished us into the adolescent band that we are. It took us in as the transients we were and are, and provided us with the amount of grounding and inspiration we need(ed).

J-man: How does These Changing Skies differ from previous Elephant Revival albums/releases?

Daniel: First off, it's the first record that we recorded straight through without any breaks. Our past album recording sessions were recorded in between the tour schedules of ours or our producers tour schedules. During the recording of These Changing Skies we all lived in the studio, recorded all day, cooked meals at the studio, slept at the studio, woke up and got back to it. In that sense there's an underlying continuity that may have came through more than our previous records.

J-man: How has the band's success translated on a national level and how has the turnout been on the road?

Daniel: Thanks to the organization of our team that extends beyond the musicians, and folks like you who give us more presence across different mediums of press, and the overall necessity we feel as musicians to hone in on our craft- These are the things that help the translation on a national and international level. We are playing to sold out crowds in a lot of places that we pull up to, and the audience always puts off an aura of enthusiasm. There is a great sense that it is growing significantly and taking on a sort of life of it's own.

J-man: How does the band feel about headlining Boulder Theater?

We have headlined the Boulder Theater before, and it's always been more than exciting. This time it feels heartwarmingly special and exciting, because we have been on the road for the past three months straight, ever since before the floods took place. We flew out to begin the tour that we just came home from one day before the floods started. It's been quite a roller coaster of emotions to be in the dynamic lifestyle of being on the road while a raging river is plowing through your town and destroying your friends homes. More so than thinking of it in terms of headlining the Boulder Theater, this time we are mostly thinking of it in terms of bringing the surrounding community together on a healing vibe, and sharing space with friends that we haven't seen in a long time.... and of coarse to bring our new album, and new songs to the community.

Purchase your tickets now for MusicMarauders Presents: Elephant Revival this Saturday November 9th at Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO: wwww.bouldertheater.frontgatesolutions.com

www.elephantrevival.com

www.bouldertheater.com