2001

I have a fond memory of seeing the band live about 12 years ago. They were playing at the Waterworks, a bar/restaurant in Waco. I was a student at Baylor and was doing a year of graduate work in philosophy. All my friends had left the year before and I had made some new friends that year. I went to the show with a couple of them and it was just fantastic. I had never stayed for the entire set of anyone’s show before–I guess I hadn’t seen any bands with real energy and spark. My friends and I were up in the “loft” area and had a great view. I remember sitting around under a pecan tree at a friend’s house, drinking wine and smoking cigarettes and listening to “Saturday” on cassette!!
-Toni Lofton (Aug. 9, 2001)

I just had to let you in on my Reivers story. Way back in 85 I think. A friend of mine had told me he had eaten lunch at the hard rock (I think) in Dallas and played Freight Train Rain on the box because he had read somewhere about the band. He said it was an amazing song. Trusting my friends taste in music I later saw that they would be in Dallas. I forget were but it was somewhere on Greenville St. My girlfriend and myself went to the show. My friend was to join us but never made it. I was blown away! I had pretty much given up on good live music at that point and the Reivers gave it back to me. I saw that they would be playing in Austin the following weekend so me and my friend jumped in the car and headed out for what would be the first of several trips to see them. over the years I really don’t know how many times I have seen them but it was a lot. I found myself in Washington D.C in 89 were they played the 9:30 club to a sold out crowd. I was late and didn’t get in but I sat outside and listened to a great set.
The Reivers changed my view of music for the better and for ever.
-Kyle (June 23, 2001)

My memory is somewhat fuzzy with respect to the actual time period, but I am thinking it had to be late 1983. I had the opportunity of dating Kim’s sister Kate. Both Kate and Kim were living together in a rather small apartment at the time, and I would venture over to their place from time-to-time for free meals, conversation, etc. As I recall, Kim was dating some guy in law school and she was working at an Austin movie house; I believe it was the type of theater that played alternative films. Kate and Kim had wonderful parents (I believe their father was a professor) who lived in an area of Austin that had the most incredible views. Their parents were gracious enough to invite me over for an occasional meal (I was making minimum wage at the time, so free food was always a good thing) and I always left their home with a sense of “all things are possible”. Truly great people!

The portion of my story that lends itself to Zeitgeist/The Reivers, is that I recall Kim had a really cheap guitar, and she and I would sit around banging out really simple chord progressions; I’m not talking night-after-night type sessions, but just the occasional “hey lets play guitar” type stuff. It’s wild to think that I actually knew Kim when her guitar abilities were rather limited. But as we all know, and thankfully so, Kim elected to take her passion for music to the next level and became a truly talented musician within a very short period of time. Like many relationships, my time with Kate ended and I moved to Houston. I continued to follow Kim’s career and had several opportunities to see her perform; both she and her fellow band mates were truly a talented bunch. I remember the last opportunity I had to watch them play live was at Fitzgerald’s in Houston. An incredible show! I still bang around on the guitar, and every once in a blue moon I think about the times in that small Austin apartment and the opportunity I had of sharing a few moments with two wonderful sisters.
-Keith Pearce (May 17, 2001)

I just wanted to thank you for your excellent site. I was surfing the net and somehow ended up on the Tiny Telephones website. I saw John Croslin’s name as one of their engineers. It made me wonder if it was the same John Croslin from The Reivers. Some searching led me to your page. I’m actually glad to hear that John, Kim, and Cindy are still involved with music. I’m also glad to see that someone cares enough about the band to keep up with what they are doing.

I bought “Translate Slowly” in high school after hearing this band called Zeitgeist played on a new music hour on KCGL in Salt Lake City. I think they played “Araby” and , possibly, “Translate Slowly.” (That was back when radio would play songs by independent-label bands. Oh for those days again!) It has long been one of my favorites. Like some of the other forum letters I’ve read, I always loved the drum sound on that album. I bought all of the albums as soon as they came out and even found the “Quality Time with..” promo in a used store. I love the acoustic version of “Star Telegram.” It makes me feel like I’m in a backyard, sipping lemonade, and singing songs with friends.

I saw them on the Pop Beloved tour in ’91 at the Bar and Grill in Salt Lake. Somehow, I talked four or five friends into going with me. There were probably 15-20 people there. We got right up close. Kim was wearing a schoolgirl outfit. Combine this with her incredible singing and the fact that she played guitar, and we were all in love with her. They hung around talking to people after the show, but I was so starstruck that I think all I could say was “Good show!” To this day, that show is still one of my favorite shows. I was in a band with three of those friends, and we definitely modeled our sound after bands like The Reivers, Winter Hours, and Miracle Legion. I still play all those albums regularly.
-Shawn Jacobs (Feb. 27, 2001)

Hey- I just wanted to say thanks for your web site. I have been a big fan ever since Translate Slowly in the 80’s. Had the pleasure of seeing them perform at Club Lingerie in Hollywood, jeez probably in the very early 90’s. Cool thing about the concert, besides their music, was that another hero of mine was in attendance – Moe Berg of The Pursuit of Happiness, whom I’ve always considered thee best songwriter of his generation – he and Westerberg…but anyways, I spoke with Moe who said he was a big fan of The Reivers and that he and John were hoping to get together and do some collaborating. Also told John, and the others how great I thought they all were. All in all a really great evening. But unfortunately, I don’t think there was ever a John and Moe collaboration…or was there???

Should know also, that since I’ve gotten this computer, I was able to go online and get a new copy of SATURDAY…which I could not find for ever. I had it on cassette, but a friend lost it – the idiot! – and so for five years I was without that album…now thanks to the internet, I have a copy once again.
-Karl Wiedergott (Feb. 17, 2001)