The Reverberations - Changes

A couple of weeks ago, the Swedish independent punk rock label BELUGA Records released "Changes" the sophomore album by Portland, Oregon, based psychedelic rockers The Reverberations. The album was recorded in one week in Joshua Tree, CA in the middle of the desert and displays a band that has obviously matured and is now drifting toward more psychedelic pop rather than raw garage rock. 

So it was time for this blog to have a chat with Bob Fountain, organ player and once member of  The Crawling Walls, a garage band whose sole album "Inner Limits", was released on VOXX records in 1985 

1) For the viewers of this blog who would not know you, what would you tell about The Reverberations to introduce yourselves? How long are you guys together as a band? Who is playing what instrument in the band nowadays?

Ian Bixby was raised by wolves as their percussionist. It’s a little-known fact that wolf packs often adopt young humans as their drummers, since wolves themselves are sadly uncoordinated and can’t reach the cymbals. Cam Mazzia plays ALL FOUR strings on his bass guitar, but usually not at the same time. Also, he is the egg-man.  John Jenne lives in a sealed coffin in a secret location. Incense and incantations raise him and his guitar for live (well, undead at least) shows. Bob Fountain is an accomplished time traveler, who recently returned from the year 1985, where he retrieved the Vox Continental organ from Crawling Walls (Voxx VXS200.030, Lolita 5043). His pesco-temporal machine is powered entirely by fish tacos. Dave Berkham found the other 4 hiding behind a Tuff-Shed in Northeast Portland and taught them how to play some songs.

2) About the sophomore full length record “Changes”, what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a “live” in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?

For a week in November of 2017, we moved into an AirBnB in Joshua Tree, California, to record the album. The guitar, bass, keyboard, and drum tracks were all recorded live by our friend and recording engineer, Pat Kearns. Most of the songs were done in one or two takes, with the notable exception being “Time Stops”, which took about a dozen attempts before we nailed it. The vocals and lead guitar parts were added over the next couple of days. Back in Portland, we added some finishing touches a couple of months later.

3) Do you consider it should be foolish not to use the nowadays recording technology or do you guys decided once and for all to only work with analog machines in analog studios?

We have recorded all analog and all digital, and everything in-between. We tend to lean towards messing with tape, especially when we record ourselves. It just gets a warmth that is hard to recreate. As far as being foolish for using new tech; That’s hard to say! Maybe we are the fools for using tape and losing all our tracks to faulty machinery. Or, maybe we are geniuses because we were forced to record it better.

4) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?

Dave writes and sings the songs. The rest of the band members occasionally yell “Hey” at the right time and sing harmless harmonies. Recently, Bob has started collaborating in the songwriting process.

5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?

Psychedelic aspects of everyday life; lost loves; questioning existence

6) The Reverberations are generally described as a being a “60’s Garage Psych” band. Do you agree with this label? Are you proud of it or do you consider there is way more than that?

We are, indeed, a garage psychedelic band, but we do all original material. Some of it is heavily influenced by the music of the late ‘60s. But, as our new album states, there have been some changes. Our newer sound is drifting toward psychedelic pop rather than raw garage rock.

7) Do you have a new video on YouTube featuring a track from the new LP?

“So Strange”:


8) What can concert goers expect at a The Reverberations gig? Are you playing any famous cover songs? 

 Expect it to be loud and have some behind-the-head guitar solos and bass flourishes. We often have our friend Matt Stanger provide a liquid light show during our local performances. We sometimes throw in a nugget such as “Hot Smoke and Sassafrass” or “We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet”.

9) Are there any bands in Portland, OR today you consider yourself close to?

We share some band members with Hauer Things, Mantis, and The Low 12. We often play shows with the The Cool Whips, The Mean Reds, The Shriekers, The Sellwoods, The Pynnacles (before their keyboard player moved to San Diego), along with bands of other genres.

10) So far, your both full length albums were released on European labels ( first Screaming Apple and now Beluga). Is there more interest in your music from European labels than from American labels or is this just a coincidence?

Yes, there seems to be more interest from European labels, and our fan base is very international.

11) Will you ever consider releasing those full length on CD or is this totally out of the question?

We have CD’s!! We did only a small run of them mostly for promotional purposes.

12) Anything you wanna add?

We hope to play in Europe within the next year. If any festival promoters are reading this, please contact us!

“Mesmerized”: 

PURCHASE IT HERE: https://belugarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-reverberations-changes