Rootbeer Richie and The Reveille is a raucous eight-piece, soul-infused, Swamp Pop band that has gained local attention for their high-energy live shows. We reached out to Rootbeer Richie to learn more about bringing the Bayou to Colorado.
What is Swamp Pop and how would you describe your sound?
RR: Swamp Pop is a genre of music created in the 1950s in Acadiana Parish, Louisiana, where I was born. It’s a combination of a New Orleans-style rhythm, blues backbeat on the bass and drums, rock-n-roll guitars, thumping pianos, blaring horns and belted lovelorn lyrics. In short, it’s good-time-dancing music about love and loss. All of my inspiration for this project comes from old musicians from Louisiana and the South. Legendary artists like Fats Domino, Lee Dorsey, Sam Cooke and Cookie & The Cupcakes.
Tell me a little about your journey from Louisiana to Denver. How did you link up with the band?
RR: The first time I spent in Denver was on tour with an old group of mine in 2014, and I’ve been in love with the city ever since. The music scene here is really special. Everyone supports everyone and roots for each other, and it honestly feels like a family. That’s how the members of the group came to be; I just ended up becoming close friends with all of my favorite musicians in Denver by accident and the band kind of formed itself.
Did you have an epiphany moment growing up where you knew you wanted to front a band and make music?
RR: Not really, honestly. I’ve always thought bands were cool and have always had a huge appreciation for music, but growing up I always wanted to be a paleontologist. Until I realized that paleontologists don’t make very much money…so then I decided to pursue something that makes even less.
What do you expect from the audience at a Rootbeer Richie and The Reveille show?
RR: All I expect from an audience is to completely forget about everything they’ve ever known prior to entering the show, follow anything and everything I say blindly, remove all contact with anyone outside of the gathering of fans, drink the Kool-Aid, and remember… it’s not a cult.
Rootbeer Richie and the Reveille’s new self-titled EP is out now on all platforms. Catch the band at The Velvet Elk Lounge in Boulder on 11/17 @ 8 pm.