Zack Feinberg and David Shaw have been writing songs together for fifteen years, but in January 2021, the New Orleans bandmates found themselves in the strange position of getting reacquainted. Their group, the Revivalists, hadn’t played together since the pandemic broke out nearly a year earlier, and according to Feinberg, “it had probably been a hot minute” even before then.
But it didn’t take long to rekindle the fire that helped fuel songs like “Wish I Knew You,” the breakout, double-platinum 2016 hit that launched the Revivalists onto the global stage. In fact, that first writing session produced “Kid,” the leadoff track and first single from Pour It Out Into the Night, the band’s fifth album, out today.
Inspired by the imminent birth of twins with his fiancée, Feinberg felt the creative heat more than usual. “It was like I was filled with a vitality of really wanting to deliver something special,” he says. “It felt very momentous in a lot of ways.”
On “Kid,” Shaw sings about the importance of having eternal hope and personal confidence, extolling listeners to “sing the songs that wake the dead” and “keep them ringing in your head.” Watch the video for “Kid” below, and read on to hear from Feinberg about what the song and the band’s new album mean to him. Listen to Pour It Out into the Night here.
The phrase “Pour It Out into the Night” could apply to just about any night in New Orleans. What inspired the album title?
During the pandemic [Shaw] would go out into his shed, and he would turn on the microphone and start pouring out all the anxiety during that time period, all the creative energy. He’d wake up in the middle of the night and go out there and play music. I think it speaks nicely to a motif in our lyrics, a common thread, that we’re encouraging sort of an unburdening, to get things off your chest, to share what you’re going through, to work through what’s going on in your life, to get it out in the open.
Do your fans give that energy back to you?
I don’t like to delve too often into YouTube comments ’cause it’s dangerous territory, but I did see somebody write a really nice comment [about “Kid”]. They were talking about how their mom had passed and that our band had been something they had in common. He wrote that he likes listening to this song and thinking about his mom and how much she would’ve loved it, and how he wishes he could have shared this with her. And he’s grateful for what a blessing this song is—he used that word. I don’t want to sound too pretentious, but even before this song was shared with anybody, it already felt like a blessing to me. I felt like I had this beautiful creative outlet and was working on this thing that was giving me life with my best friend. It felt like we were channeling a really special energy.
You wrote the track “Good Old Days” after Mardi Gras. How did that day inspire the song?
It just felt like one of those extremely special, beautiful days where the whole city is out celebrating. You’re with your best friends walking all over the city, having a great time popping in on different house parties, seeing friends. Everybody’s dressed up in ridiculous, beautiful outfits. The whole day is a giant expression of creativity and life.
We end up back at Dave’s house, and we’re just unwinding, messing around with cool sounds, having a jam session. We came up with the main part and the guitar thing, and it feels great. I take an Uber home and I’m lying in bed trying to fall asleep after this day with all this music and energy and whatever chemicals remaining in my bloodstream. And that sentiment came to mind because, truly, this is a day I’ll look back on—“these are the good old days, they’re ahead and behind.” I have to keep that in mind. I have to appreciate this. It might not always be like this.
