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GenreIndie, Rock, Alternative
Rank−
Albums2
Songs22
AboutAlpha Rev. Half Greek, half Latin, it means, loosely "the beginning of something new, when you first get up in the morning, when the light bulb goes off, that instant of inspiration and redemption, those moments that keep us going forward."
That's how Texas-born musician Casey McPherson describes the name of the group he's fronted for two years, but it's also an apt description of the music on his major label bow for Hollywood Records. Produced by David Kahne, the record overflows with instantly accessible melodies, memorable lyrics and intense spirituality.
a combination of a background in classical music, big bands, '60s rock, folk, funk, soul and country.
What can you say about someone whose influences include Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, Glen Miller and the big bands, Pink Floyd, Steve Miller and Johnny Cash, and sounds like a cross between Jackson Browne and Ryan Adams?
"Melody is what connects music, it takes you somewhere, gives you a memory, makes you feel like it's OK, changes your mind, lets you chill out, drive a little bit farther or stay up a little bit later," he says, teaching himself how to write "1-4-5 chords on one hand and melody on the other" as a youngster on a toy electric keyboard.
The album tells the story of a day in the life of any one of us, hitting the ground running with high hopes when we open our eyes in the morning, then going through a number of trials that tests our resolve before we emerge, hopefully, whole on the other side.
"Music is my way of communicating," says Casey. "It's a gift I've been given and trained to do, a universal language. If I knew how to do it in a less personal way, it would be a lot easier."
You can hear that in the falsetto emotional heights achieved in "Phoenix Burn," the Beatle-sque chords in "When Did I Wake Up," the autobiographical heft to "Colder Months," the aching balladry in "New Morning," and the blue-eyed R&B of "Face Down." There is also a fire-and-brimstone quality to the lyrics—plenty of images of burning, then rising from the ashes—that points straight at his upbringing in the church, where he honed his musical talents. Home-schooled, McPherson immersed himself in music, turning around the Hondo acoustic guitar his father bought at Sears, so he could play it left-handed, learning to play the chords upside-down. It also helped him overcome a number of family-related hardships.
"The point is, if we do get burned in life, what's left makes us stronger, wiser, more open, more understanding," he says. "Many times, what makes us better people is when the stove is too hot, even though it hurts."
McPherson's previous band, Indochine, released a pair of albums and built quite a following in the southwest, before he formed Alpha Rev, a loose conglomeration which includes bassist Alex Dunlap, drummer Tommy Roalson, violin player Brian Batch, cellist Dave Wiley, keyboardist Derek Morris and guitarist Derek Dunivan. The band immediately made waves in Austin, named by the Chronicle as one of Austin's best performing rock groups and by the local Rare Magazine the town's "rarest of them all." McPherson's songs can be heard on Bravo's NYC Prep and on the ABC Family show, Greek.
"Music is one of the strongest things therapeutically for me," he says. "It helps me work through my own issues."
His music is where he reveals his deepest thoughts, opening himself up emotionally and spiritually through the songs.
"Phoenix Burn" is about rising from the ashes of disappointment, as McPherson admits, "I need to find a way of letting it go/When everything falls apart." In "When Did I Wake Up," he's "Tired of taking history on the chin/I've been bleeding from pressure lately." "Colder Months," a song he wrote while in an online session with Bob Schneider and Jason Mraz, recalls his time in New York, pawning his guitar pedals and eating crackers to survive. "I'm still bleeding," he sings. "These thoughts of pain/Don't make a sound/They keep us hidden in the lost and found."
"Sometimes it feels like your life is being drained from you, that it's slowly leaking out," says Casey about the song. "So you have to heal those wounds, or you'll keep dying."
"I don't give a damn/About the castle on the hill/Or the gold that we could eat/Or the horse you have for sale," he sings in "New Morning," indicating fame and success are not his goals as a musician.
"There's a degree of self-loathing that comes with being a musician," he laughs. "The things that we put importance on aren't really that important."
"Born face down on the floor/In high water." The funk-driven "Face Down" contains one of McPherson's best lines, describing that, even in birth lurks the specter of death.
"I've experienced both total self-destruction and total health within the protective walls of music," says Casey. "Once I stopped escaping from everything, I was able to see that music was not me. I've learned to separate myself and, in the process, have had a lot more fun along the way."
Alpha Rev: Get ready for the beginning of something new.
That's how Texas-born musician Casey McPherson describes the name of the group he's fronted for two years, but it's also an apt description of the music on his major label bow for Hollywood Records. Produced by David Kahne, the record overflows with instantly accessible melodies, memorable lyrics and intense spirituality.
a combination of a background in classical music, big bands, '60s rock, folk, funk, soul and country.
What can you say about someone whose influences include Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, Glen Miller and the big bands, Pink Floyd, Steve Miller and Johnny Cash, and sounds like a cross between Jackson Browne and Ryan Adams?
"Melody is what connects music, it takes you somewhere, gives you a memory, makes you feel like it's OK, changes your mind, lets you chill out, drive a little bit farther or stay up a little bit later," he says, teaching himself how to write "1-4-5 chords on one hand and melody on the other" as a youngster on a toy electric keyboard.
The album tells the story of a day in the life of any one of us, hitting the ground running with high hopes when we open our eyes in the morning, then going through a number of trials that tests our resolve before we emerge, hopefully, whole on the other side.
"Music is my way of communicating," says Casey. "It's a gift I've been given and trained to do, a universal language. If I knew how to do it in a less personal way, it would be a lot easier."
You can hear that in the falsetto emotional heights achieved in "Phoenix Burn," the Beatle-sque chords in "When Did I Wake Up," the autobiographical heft to "Colder Months," the aching balladry in "New Morning," and the blue-eyed R&B of "Face Down." There is also a fire-and-brimstone quality to the lyrics—plenty of images of burning, then rising from the ashes—that points straight at his upbringing in the church, where he honed his musical talents. Home-schooled, McPherson immersed himself in music, turning around the Hondo acoustic guitar his father bought at Sears, so he could play it left-handed, learning to play the chords upside-down. It also helped him overcome a number of family-related hardships.
"The point is, if we do get burned in life, what's left makes us stronger, wiser, more open, more understanding," he says. "Many times, what makes us better people is when the stove is too hot, even though it hurts."
McPherson's previous band, Indochine, released a pair of albums and built quite a following in the southwest, before he formed Alpha Rev, a loose conglomeration which includes bassist Alex Dunlap, drummer Tommy Roalson, violin player Brian Batch, cellist Dave Wiley, keyboardist Derek Morris and guitarist Derek Dunivan. The band immediately made waves in Austin, named by the Chronicle as one of Austin's best performing rock groups and by the local Rare Magazine the town's "rarest of them all." McPherson's songs can be heard on Bravo's NYC Prep and on the ABC Family show, Greek.
"Music is one of the strongest things therapeutically for me," he says. "It helps me work through my own issues."
His music is where he reveals his deepest thoughts, opening himself up emotionally and spiritually through the songs.
"Phoenix Burn" is about rising from the ashes of disappointment, as McPherson admits, "I need to find a way of letting it go/When everything falls apart." In "When Did I Wake Up," he's "Tired of taking history on the chin/I've been bleeding from pressure lately." "Colder Months," a song he wrote while in an online session with Bob Schneider and Jason Mraz, recalls his time in New York, pawning his guitar pedals and eating crackers to survive. "I'm still bleeding," he sings. "These thoughts of pain/Don't make a sound/They keep us hidden in the lost and found."
"Sometimes it feels like your life is being drained from you, that it's slowly leaking out," says Casey about the song. "So you have to heal those wounds, or you'll keep dying."
"I don't give a damn/About the castle on the hill/Or the gold that we could eat/Or the horse you have for sale," he sings in "New Morning," indicating fame and success are not his goals as a musician.
"There's a degree of self-loathing that comes with being a musician," he laughs. "The things that we put importance on aren't really that important."
"Born face down on the floor/In high water." The funk-driven "Face Down" contains one of McPherson's best lines, describing that, even in birth lurks the specter of death.
"I've experienced both total self-destruction and total health within the protective walls of music," says Casey. "Once I stopped escaping from everything, I was able to see that music was not me. I've learned to separate myself and, in the process, have had a lot more fun along the way."
Alpha Rev: Get ready for the beginning of something new.
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