2002

My best friend in High school played Translate Slowly for me in 1986 (my Jr. Year in H.S. in Virginia Beach, VA) The next year I bought that, and Saturday, and loved them. Then in 1989, while a freshman at ODU in Norfolk, I jumped at the chance to see them at the Jetty on 5/22/89 in Virginia Beach. Alas, when I got there it was 21 & over, and I was 3 months shy of my 21st B.D. I pleaded with the club manager, to no avail, and ended up listening to the whole set sitting on the sidewalk outside. I missed my only chance to see them by a slim margin. I was happy to find the new Dualtone releases this year, I already had “Translate” & “Pop Beloved” on CD, and my Saturday tape had worn out years ago. Now, if we can just work on the band members for a reunion show, THAT would be worth flying to Texas for!
-Jason James (Aug. 28, 2002)

Around 1991, the Reivers followed a Houston (?) band called The Rockets. After every song the Rockets played, the frontman would grab the mike and shout “Thank you. WE’RE THE ROCKETS!”. Over and over. So later, after some song break Croslin grabs the mike and says “Thank you, thank you. We’re THE ROCKETS…..no, the Reivers!” This seemed to tickle the other Reivers no end…
-Mark Porter (April 22, 2002)

I don’t know if my story qualifies as an authentic Reivers reminiscence, given the fact that 15 minutes ago I had no idea who they where. . .

Many many many years ago, I had a friend who made a tape for me, a collection of music – the sort of tape that friends made for each other back when most of your music was on vinyl.

Well, in December of 1990, my friend went the way of all things – on this tape was a song that I got really attached to – since all I had left was of him was a cassette tape – and let me tell you, I babied that tape – still have it, in fact.

Well, there was a song on it that became a favorite of mine, but I had no idea who did and the only person who knew was long gone. It became a habit of mine to ask anyone who wa aound when the tape was playing “do you know how did this song?” I got alot of guesses (Lloyd Cole?) and I followed up on everyone one of them – nope, no one knew.

If you’re even wondering if your website has any sort of impact – it ended 13 years of wondering for me. That song, as it turns out, was Freight Train Rain. My girlfriend found it on your site.
So thanks alot! Now, I’m off to buy albums.
-Michael Sonesen (Feb. 22, 2002)

As a college-graduate-future-uncertain vagabond circa 1987, I got put to work by the then Record Bar in Charlotte NC (the Eastland Mall location) and came across a really striking album cover. It was “Saturday” from the Reivers, and on the strength of the cover art work alone, I took the vinyl home and fell in love with it’s contents. I later picked up the Zeitgeist/Reivers “Translate Slowly” record and later “End of the Day,” but never felt that love and pure enjoyment of “Saturday.”

Anyway, my little Reivers anecdote is as follows: While working at the record store one afternoon, on a day the band was in town to do a show, I picked up an incoming call and heard the female voice on the other end ask if we had “Saturday” in the store. I went to check, thinking how cool it was to finally find someone else interested in this band I’d come to love, when I returned to the phone with the somewhat embarrassing news that we didn’t have the album in stock (I guess I’d bought the only copy in the store). As I explained to the woman that we didn’t have the album, I told her that she should try to find it because it was really a great album and that I’m sure she’d love it as much as I did. It turns out that the caller was Kim Longacre (!) and that she thanked me for my appreciation and heartfelt recommendation. After doing a mild Ralph Kramden (hummana-hummana-hummana), I composed myself to speak with her a bit about how much I liked the record, etc. She asked me to come to the show that night and said she’d be looking for me. Alas, as one of the ultimate stupid moves of my life, I didn’t go. Short on cash and, I suppose, courage, I stayed at home. Don’t ask me what I was thinking – to this day some fourteen years later I still regret my decision to miss that show. I’m sure it was great. Oh well. I’ve got my memory I guess and hopefully I’ll have the cd whenever it get re-released.
-Steve Ricciutti (Jan. 31, 2002)