Chuck Ragan: Class Warrior
» The Revival Tour - Enigma, SA - April 29, 2010
» Chuck Ragan + Tom Gabel - Republic Bar and Cafe, Tas - May 14, 2009
» Chuck Ragan: Out of Hot Water (lame band pun #43) - May 7, 2009
Chuck Ragan made his name as the lead singer of Florida-based punk rock band Hot Water Music. When the group disbanded amicably in 2006 he launched his solo career, steering away from the group’s main influences and into the realms of folk and country.
With three records under his belt and a loyal fan base, Ragan has enjoyed significant solo success, but after 15 years of playing live he has grown a little tired of the structure of a conventional gig.
“I’ve been going for so long on the road, there’s a formula to it. All of these shows that we go to there’s this common formula where you show up and there’s some music on the PA and then the opening band comes on and then they finish and then there’s a break and then the next band and then another break and then the headliner and then everybody goes home.
“Depending on who’s playing it can make for a great show. But you do it for 15 years straight and anything can get monotonous…It’s just like this kind of famed formula.”
As he began to grow tired of the quotidian nature of the music tour Ragan thought that there must be a better way.
Enter: The Revival tour.
Although by no means a novel concept, the idea behind the tour is a lineup of musicians who play collaboratively throughout an entire set, without a hierarchy of order. It’s a musical revolution for a classless society. But before we blacklist the man as a socialist and boot him out of Hollywood, I’ll allow Ragan the chance to plead his case.
“This tour is something we’ve done in the States the past couple of years that my wife and I organise and I’m just thrilled to bring this show and show people this thing. It’s a simple idea, it’s an old idea, it’s not anything fancy it’s just very very simple showcase of music, but what sets it apart from the other tours is that it’s just non-stop. We are basically breaking down the barriers of who should be a headliner and who should be an opener and presenting the show from the beginning altogether.
“From the very start we all take the stage together and the night just kind of continues and people come on and off the stage and we play and sing on each other’s songs. It makes for a more interesting show for the people coming to support it as well as us playing it…. It’s constantly changing and it keeps it fresh and honest and it keeps it real. To me it’s more challenging as a musician.”
The US Revival was met with a great deal of success which has lead to our chance to experience the collective juggernaut. Ragan introduces the new lineup like an elite team of superheroes.
“We’ve got Frank Turner, UK lad who’s just tearing it up. This is first time to Australia so he is just beside himself right now. Ben Nichols from the band Lucero, they’re just a fantastic Southern rock group – just a powerhouse of a band. His pedal steel player Todd Beene, who’s a good friend - he was on the first Revival tour as well. That guys could just play three hours by himself and put everyone on the floor, he’s unreal. Tim Barry from Avail, old punk-rock troubadour who’s been around for ages and he’s just continuing on with his solo stuff and doing a great job. And then my fiddle player, Jon Gaunt who’s played fiddle and violin and strings on pretty much all of my recordings.
“All of us are such good friends and we’ve kind of played together for so long that’s kind of a like a little family reunion. If there’s any one person that people care to see you really should get there early because otherwise you’ll probably miss something. Very little of this tour is scripted and with that we never really know what is going to happen.”
The tour is organised by Ragan and his wife and their passion for the project is clearly evident. It is a pleasure to see someone so committed to the process of writing and collaborating with new musicians. This passion for co-writing also see’s Ragan working on a new album with Brian Fallon, front man of The Gaslight Anthem.
“We’ve been writing since October loosely. We’ve just kind of been sending songs back and forth and having a great time doing it. Gaslight is the top priority and their record is coming out in June. Once that happens they are going to be pretty much in full force for quite a while. So I’m not even sure when we’re going to record, there’s nothing set in stone right now. We definitely want to do a record together so hopefully it works out either the end of this year or early next year.”
Exciting stuff. For Hot Water Music fans there have been a select number of reunion shows in the US, and an upcoming summer tour of Europe. With his passion for the solo and collaborative work, it doesn’t, however seem like a full scale reunion is a high priority for the band.
“The way that my wife and I run it (the Revival tour) we have all of the say in the matter so that’s a lot different. When we do the Hot Water Music stuff there’s so many other people – granted nowadays when we do the Hot Water stuff it’s a lot more relaxed since we don't have any deadlines or schedules or anything when we do come together…But in the older days with everyone we had either working for us or with the label and all the pressures, there wasn’t a whole lot of personal space. Sometimes the band just didn’t coincide with your schedule.”
Thankfully for Ragan, this new project does. It is exciting to see a musician willing to scare the crap out of potential promoters by altering the structures of live music that we have become so accustomed to.
Ok so maybe Chuck Ragan isn’t exactly Trotsky. I’ll still be a little worried if they all take the stage wearing red shirts.
