Rön Revög | Rock & Roll Music since 1997

The 12 Hour Session

Recorded in 1997 at the 89 Greene st. studios of jingle house tomandandy, this marks the first ever recordings of Ron Revog as a band. Three of the songs, (Uncle Jerry Brown, Misty, and Blane) were written by Fernandez and Schwartz while room mates in a duplex on west 47th street. The bluegrass ditty “Water Yeast and Ganja Butter” was written by Mylotte and Fernandez the morning of the sessions, after a wake and bake. Every member of the band (including Retzer in a spectator role) was present at this recording session. To this day “The 12 Hour Session” remains the only time all the members of Ron Revog have ever recorded in the same room as a band. Many Revog cynics have claimed that, “Uncle Jerry Brown” is as good as it ever got for the hi-tech folk band.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Dirty Bird Sessions

The amorphous set of songs that became “The Dirty Bird Sessions” were tracked at Sam’s pigeon infested studio in Culver City, CA during the infamous 2001 E3 conference. These were high times for the launch of the original XBOX and Sam and Marc launched into action with “Back to the Park,” an ode to world smitten by Dance Dance Revolution mania. Perhaps capturing the spirit of the age even more poignantly was “Polygon Man,” an improvised rant against the digitalization of humanity that ranks among the band’s sharpest diatribes. Although an ‘odd bird,’ these sessions document the formation of Marc and Sam’s musical partnership, and paved the way for the rebirth of the Vog.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ronnie Misses the Revogs

Recorded in November and December of 2001 the widely unavailable and often scorned (Mylotte referred to these songs as ‘Marc’s Syd Barrett sh%t’), Ronnie Misses The Revogs is without a doubt the hidden jewel of the band’s catalog. This is the sound of Marco tortured, lovelorn and unhinged, a cathartic release that wafted out of his Spring St window for all to hear. (literally, check out the end of ‘Bubba’) Although lacking the polish of Instant Classic or the experimentation of What’s Not To Like, this is the band’s most emotionally affecting album, hands down. The fact that a lot of these songs never got a full band workout is a ‘Cry’-ing shame.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Instant Classic

Lost innocence, high technology, lost sessions, high times: “Instant Classic”! The “big budget” album the band always wanted to make, but never got the opportunity to fully complete. Nestled in Studio 5E under the guidance of Jeremy Adelman, the album came together in the chill of post-9/11 NY, and was arguably some of the first music bounced to disc amongst the rubble. One listen to “Paranoid” and “Johnnie Walker” and you can feel that the 5E vibe was truly alive, but the album also showcases the explosive raw intensity of the Petitioners/Revog collaboration “Bandwidth (Don’t Let ‘Em).” The world was changing so drastically but with “Instant Classic,” the band proved that there would always be room for Ronnie.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

What’s Not to Like?

The “virtual band” concept hit an unprecedented peak on “What’s Not To Like,” a deceptively dark collection of obsessively overdubbed songs that many consider the peak of the group’s recorded output (so far). The emotional rollercoaster begins with “Let It Rain,” a spooky pop ditty that finds Marc in top form. “Ronnie’s Rock N Roll Dream” spells out the band’s ambition in plain English, while “I’m So Stupid” plumbs depths so deep that Sam temporarily left the group upon hearing Marc’s bitterest of rants. The album’s core contains two truly mind warping nuggets, Sam’s improvised Barrett-isms on “Crying World” and Marc’s epic “Blue Fin Tuna.” Both were produced in a fever dream of activity in Sam’s studio in the summer of 2002 and showcase his bizarre love affair with analog synths. Completing the trip is the golden triangle of “Oil Pump Blues” “Tea Tonight” (Lawrence’s sole song writing contribution) and the title track “What’s Not To Like,” a fitting end to this sprawling masterpiece.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Genealogy

A collection of B-sides and the out of print “Reflexology” EP, the aptly titled “Genealogy” album really lays out the genetic code of mid-period Revog in all it’s glory. Sam’s Dirty Bird ballad “Back to the Park” gets an update with Lawrence’s soaring back up vocals and Marc’s foreboding spoken word. “White Owl” brings Mylotte’s deft chicken pickin to the fore as Marc lambasts GW with one of the strangest imitations of a southern accent put to disc. “Girls From Val’s” exposes the seedy underbelly of jingle singers for hire and starts off a trio of super loose Studio 5E jams rounded out by “Brazilian Coffee” and “Crazy Rabbit.” Tracks 7-11 comprise the much sought after “Reflexology” EP, an 80s electro tribute by the last band qualified to pay homage to that slickest of decades. “808,” produced by downtown luminary Drazen Bosnjak, Adam Glitz’s “Body Talkin,” these were sharp left turns for the ambassadors of strum, and nicely set up Lawrence’s Gary Numan-esque “Bit Vice.”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Politically Lazy

Finding a delicate balance between depression and inspiration, “Poltically Lazy” is the Sunday afternoon after the wild weekend of “Genealogy.” Make no mistake, under the mostly soft rock productions these are the most artful songs in the band’s repetroire. In the harsh light of the 2004 elections, the boys waxed poetic on taxes (“I Figured It Out”), racism (“Compartmentalized”), patriotism (“Here Comes the 4th”), dwindling resources (“Where’s the Water Coming From?) and of course, politics (“Pissing In The Wind”). There’s a aching sadness emanating from these songs, perhaps most prevalent in “Everyman’s Land.” This was the perfect prelude for the band’s blockbuster belly flop to follow.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Belly Flop

With the full band in action, Ron Revog finally fulfilled their pop promise with “Belly Flop.” Marc, Sam, Lawrence, and Dan each deliver top notch songs that pushed this album far beyond previous levels of listenability. Utilizing web cams, way back in 2006, the band shot videos for “CEO” “Verb” “Pack One for the Homies” and the title track. Perhaps the standout moment on the album is Mylotte’s amazing return to the fold, “Power Chords,” a mid album burner that is truly a Jimmy Buffet fans worst nightmare.
“Belly Flop” is truly a virtual band tour de force, with fully orchestrated songs graced by the core band with contributions from Jeremy and Taylor. Download today, believe the hype, and prepare for the next chapter in Vogdom: “Taking All The Credit”!!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Taking All the Credit

Coming Soon…