Elephant Revival’s Daniel Rodriguez Talks ‘Petals’, Touring, And Headlining Red Rocks (INTERVIEW)

Elephant Revival is having a good year and they aren’t taking it for granted. The humble, multi-instrumental quintet from Nederland Colorado just wrapped a long stretch with Josh Ritter opening for his “Sermon On The Rocks” tour and now are back on the road again. But this time it’s Elephant Revival who is the main draw. The band is performing widely in support of their 4th full-length studio album Petals, which was just released on Thirty Tigers.

Glide Magazine recently caught up with Elephant Revival’s Daniel Rodriguez, who wears several musical hats as the band’s frontman, bassist, and banjo player to talk touring, releasing an album, and headlining the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Congratulations on the release of Petals. The album is so rich and diverse. Musically it sounds like a bit of a departure from the sound Elephant Revival has carved out for themselves in the past. How have you grown as a band? How was this recording process different? 

We have grown immensely since our first record and needed a producer to guide us along. The tones and sounds in the songs that are on this album are really unique to other albums and we are so happy how it turned out. I hope many people get to hear it.

How did you find time to record this while touring? How long did it take you to record? 

We recorded the album last summer. We pulled our bus right up to [producer Sam Kassirer’s, also known for his work with such artists as Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive and  Langhorne Slim] studio. We were in Sam’s studio for about a week, he came to Colorado. Then it took about a week to mix so it took about two weeks.

Daniel Rodriguez (Photo: Rich Gastwirt)

What is going through your mind right this very minute? Dango Rose, who plays upright bass, mandolin and harmony vocals in the band, started as a busker. You have gone from festival sweethearts to headlining Red Rocks in your home state and your fourth studio album just dropped .That is incredible!

It feels great! It feels nice to have broader visibility. Incredibly exciting to have people notice our craft and our art. I really hope people like it.

What is most exciting for you as a band about headlining Red Rocks? Two years ago you opened there for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Any special plans for this show?

It is such an honor, Red Rocks is the most beautiful venue in the world. Colorado is our home state and we are only playing it twice on the tour, there is so much energy that goes into that. People are in for such a huge acoustic phenomenon and the venue itself is a huge natural phenomena. I can’t give away all of the surprises we have planned for the show, but I can tell you that we will have aerial performers. Josh Ritter and Rising Appalachia will be playing as well. We may have some local musicians from Colorado play too, but I can’t leak that information (laughs).

What is your favorite place you have played so far on tour? Or most memorable moment? 

This tour? Last night we played a small club/oasis in Joshua Tree in the mojave desert that sold out really quickly. It was a weird desert oasis scene and the aesthetic was awesome. Our very first show of the tour in Flagstaff was great too. It was our first headlining tour in a few months and it was nice to stretch it out. The reception was great and we played really well.

Switching gears for a minute, let’s talk about “Furthest Shore”, off of the new album. (In true folk fashion, “Furthest Shore” is part of a series of songs that follows the tale of a boy washed away at sea). When you wrote “Currach” for the first album did you have “Furthest Shore” penned already?

Hold on, let me ask Bonnie [Paine, the other lead singer of ER who also plays the cello, washboard and musical saw.](Covers mouthpiece) Hey Bonnie, when you wrote “Currach,” did you have “Furthest Shore” written? Actually, if you listen to our live CD, you can hear other pieces of the story.  You hear “Currach” and then “Stolen”. Then Bonnie sings the first line to the next song which goes “Deeper than the sea” and that is all the crowd gets from it. “Furthest Shore,” off of Petals is the next part of the tale. Our discerning listeners will listen to it in entire sequential order and some others won’t even notice.

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Elephant Revival is deeply intertwined with environmental causes. Can you tell me about how that is threaded into your work and which causes those are? 

As we tour, we do our best to be conscious of how much waste we create and energy we use. Touring has a lot of impact on the environment. We work with organizations that are involved with carbon offsetting to plant trees. We also sell reusable to-go containers at our shows and we always use them, so we don’t get styrofoam. When we play we always keep a huge jug of water back stage as well and do not use plastic bottles.

What is your favorite song from your catalogue to perform? 

“Petals,” the title track off of the new album, the recording came out so nice.We haven’t performed it enough yet but it will grow (laughs). I think I’m confusing the question, I also really like to perform “Birds and Stars” live.

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Will you play “Petals” live in Boston?

Of course!

I heard a rumor that Bonnie wrote that with her two sisters, is that true?

Bonnie wrote it herself. She and her two sisters started playing the song and wanted to record it but they never did.  .

The band is multi-instrumental and has such a unique sound. If you could cover any song at all, what would it be?

Good question! As the person singing it, I would pick something by Paul Simon, probably something off of Rhythm of the Saints, or Bob Dylan. Bonnie wants to cover Nina Simone’s “New Day.”

Petals is out now. Elephant Revival play Boston’s Paradise Rock Club on April 29th. For more music and a full list of tour dates visit elephantrevival.com.

Cover photo: Lisa Siciliano/Dog Daze Photo