Just as they are about to tear up the northeast on the “Gas Station Elvis Tour” I got to chat with Joe Mansman from “Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band”. They’ve been tearing up the local area for a decade now, bringing their gritty, sleazy biker rock style to any venue who would have them. They have always put in a great effort and I’m looking forward to catching them at one of the local shows in town, and at the record release party in November at Putnam Place.
Who is the best band or artist you’ve seen live?
-Metallica, hands down, as far as an iconic stadium band. I actually love the 72 Seasons album and got to see them with my wife in East Rutherford among 80K people -- it was mind blowing. On a smaller scale, one of the best bands I’ve ever seen was Norma Jean in Boston, probably 2008-2009. To this day,they’re one of my GOATS. Watching them live tearing up a room of a couple hundred kids just makes you feel like you’re fighting gravity man, like you can’t help but move.
I’ve seen your band playing for what feels like forever. How did the band get started and how long has this lineup been together?
-This year marks our 10-year anniversary actually! Chris and I are the only originals from that time but our current lineup just turned 3. We started with a single EP we were excited about and just played any gig we could -- literally anything: clubs, dives, hotel bars, house parties, colleges, shipping containers, backyard barbecues, birthday parties. We did that every weekend for years, first traveling around in a 2007 Ford Freestar with all the seats removed, the band sitting on gear, driving to places like Philadelphia, Boston, Providence, NYC -- wherever the gigs were. Eventually we graduated to a bigger Econoline and doing longer runs and bigger gigs. Mostly paid in beer or pizza, but that was alright haha clearly we’re still doing all of that. Except we ride a bit more comfortably.
The “Gas Station Elvis” tour starts September 20th with a show at the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds and anothersupporting Plush at Empire Live. After those shows, you’ll hit the road with Texas Hippie Coalition. The tour culminates with an album release party November 7th at Putnam Place.
That’s an awesome chance to get in front of a lot of new faces. What are you most excited about?
-We’re excited to play North Carolina for the first time, and also to return to Columbus and Flint. What’s cool is that we have fans in those areas who only get to see us once a year so they make this huge thing out of it and we’re excited to come back for them-- it’s motivating to be on your A game during those shows.
The band has a sound that is straight forward, gritty Rock N Roll. Can we expect more of the same on the new album?
-Absolutely. This will be our first official full-length release, and has returning elements and themes from our first few records, both lyrically and sonically. Our second EP ‘Bastard’ was only designated as an album on streaming services becauseof its overall length not number of tracks. So releasing this new one as a full body of work is exciting. It’s got a lot of energy. I’lljust say that, at least that’s how it feels to us. I can’t really review ourselves here but hopefully listeners like it and comment on what they think.
I told a friend about the band, and she played it on Spotify at work in New Hampshire. She said people were coming over asking who it was. With the changes in how music is consumed, what’s your plan to get in as many people’s ears as possible?
-We usually have all of our stuff everywhere and we play a lot--whether touring, regional, or local, we’ve rarely not been out there putting our best foot forward and just being the best we can live. Our band really thrives on word of mouth and punk DIY principles as you can see your friend relayed a good example of that, so there you have it, share us with friends and come see us live.
I wish you the best of luck on the tour – I can’t wait to see you at the album release party
-Thank you! Always a lot of love for you all. I’ll see you in Saratoga!
