Let’s get one thing straight, the Chicago based quartet The Redwalls aren’t the second coming of the Beatles, even though they sound uncannily like John, Paul, George and Ringo. Originally a British Invasion inspired cover band called the Pages, brothers Logan and Justin Baren (guitar and bass), along with Andrew Langer (lead guitar) and drummer Jordan Kozar (later replaced by Ben Greeno) formed the band in 2001 while still in high school and began playing shows around the Chicago suburbs.
In 2003 The Redwalls released their first full-length, Universal Blues, on the indie label Undertow. With the help of ex- Wilco drummer Ken Coomer, the band eventually signed to Capitol Records and saw the release of De Nova this past June. Produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, the Vines), De Nova sports horns and represents a fresh melding of R&B;, pop, rock and smooth soulful harmonies. Barely into their 20s, these young men have clearly picked up on the shaggy British fashion sense of The Strokes, but The Redwalls have already obtained success by letting their music do the talking. Although they peg R&B; legends Little Richard and the Temptations as influences along with the Beatles and the Faces, the band strives to mesh their own individuality within the classics.
“We just try to be a good rock n’ roll band,” says bassist/vocalist Justin Baren. The Redwalls has been gaining quite a bit of buzz and momentum lately including a tour with seminal rockers Oasis and a coveted slot at this past summer’s Lollapalooza, but more than anything, the Redwalls don’t want to be pigeonholed.
“The press always tries to put you in a box,” comments Baren. “They try to describe you as something else or describe you as some other band and it makes their job a lot easier instead of trying to come up with something original to say about it. I’ve grown to accept it. There’s definitely more to this group than us being into the Beatles.”
And right Baren is. The Redwalls take the foundation of rock n’ roll and top it off with polished melodies. Their first single “Thank You,” is a soulful number that features horn, piano and guitar harmonies to become feel good music with widespread appeal. The Redwalls’ music will remind listeners of a simpler time when rock music was still unadulterated and fresh.
“Classic rock had more soul to it, had more message to it and more longevity than what the kids are doing today,” admits Baren. “They’re still listening to it 40 years later and it’s not like we want to sound like an old band. When we pick up a Beatles or Stones or Dylan album, it’s brand new to us. It’s the music we dug and want to play.”
The members of the Redwalls weren’t even close to becoming zygotes when those aforementioned musicians left an indelible impression on the culture of the world, but the recent success of the Redwalls confirms the consistency of music from the 1950’s and 60’s several decades later.
With three vocalists and songwriters, the band maintains a democratic working relationship with everyone contributing ideas to their songs about girls, life and politics. They constantly write new material, but as Baren mentions, they lost a number of songs before they went into the studio since there is such a lull between recording. Currently they have about two albums worth of material yet to record, and to keep those songs thriving, they work on continually fitting them into their live wire shows.
As for what’s next, the band hope to continue recording albums, tour the world and maintain their momentum. “I hope that our name becomes a household name, that people know about us in a wider thing than just this word of mouth thing that’s going around now,” explains Baren. No matter what happens, The Redwalls can always look to the past for future inspiration.
