After The Show: A Q&A With Colour Revolt

Mississippi indie rockers Colour Revolt are on fire right now, with a sonically adventurous new album, The Cradle, under their belts, and a national tour underway. We caught up with frontman Jesse Coppenbarger after their recent show at Nashville’s Mercy Lounge. View photos of the show here.

How’d the gig go?

It went really well actually. We had a great time and got to try some lighting ideas we’ve had and do a Sparklehorse cover! I saw him/them at Mercy Lounge twice and thought it was appropriate for our show.

Why’d you choose “Our Names” as your opener?

We opened with “Our Names” because it’s a good vocal warm up for Sean and I and it’s a slow builder like most of our set, so we thought it felt right.

Why’d you pick “Eye Pennies” as the closer?

We closed with the song “Eye Pennies” by Sparklehorse because we needed a cover for a “Live at Paste” session. We all liked it and Sean fit the PJ Harvey part perfectly. It meant a lot for me to pay homage to Mark Linkous on the same stage I’d seen him.

Were there any rough moments? Any highlights?

I mean, other than the usual stick breaking or accidental wrong note, it went off with out a hitch. “Mona Lisa” was kind of a highlight for me because I looked up and people were actually jumping up and down and throwing their arms in the air. It seemed like it actually moved people by itself without us having to over-sell it or something.

Is there anything unique about playing a show for a Nashville crowd?

I feel like there are maybe more musical people in Nashville, so you feel like you have to be on your “A” game, which I guess you should always be bringing…haha. However, you know you did well when people tell you after the show that it was moving. That goes beyond showmanship or technicality and makes you feel like you did something real in there.

What’s the one song of yours you want people to hear the most?

Right now, it’s “ The Cradle” live. We’ve changed it up a little since the record and get to stretch it out a little and make ourselves comfortable inside of it. We’re trying to do that with all of our songs, but that one really feels like it’s got something really powerful living in it every time we play it.

How’s the tour been going? How’s life on the road?

Well we’re two days in and four shows deep. It seems to be going well though. It’s hard to tell this early into the run but we’re with a great band, Turbo Fruits, and everyone seems to be happy and upbeat. It might be the food though. You never know.

You’ve opened for The Breeders, one of our favorite bands. How was that? Any road stories?

My God. It was probably the best experience of my life. And to know that they listened to our album and picked us to open based off of that was surreal. I had graduated college on Friday and on that Monday we were sitting in San Diego listening to them sound check “Happiness is a Warm Gun.” Kelly Deal is one of the coolest people ever. There weren’t ever really any antics but they usually referred to us as the “Mississippi boys” and made fun of our shoes a lot. It was too short. I hope we get to do it again.

Set list:

Our Names
The Cradle
Reno
8 Years
A New Family
Each Works
Mattresses Underwater
She Don’t Talk
Heartbeat
Mona Lisa
Moses of the South
Our Homes Are Graves
Brought to Life

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Eye Pennies (Sparklehorse cover)