The Redwalls

Deerfield, IL-based quartet the Redwalls formed in 2001; originally a British Invasion-inspired cover band dubbed the Pages, the group's members -- singer/guitarist Logan Baren, his bassist brother Justin, lead guitarist Andrew Langer, and drummer Jordan Kozer -- were still in high school when they played their first show at the local jazz club Pops for Champagne. The Pages soon began writing original material and earned a regular booking at the Evanston club Nevin's Live, with the venue's booking manager, Mitchell Marlow, eventually quitting his post to manage the band full-time. With the help of former Wilco drummer (and Marlow pal) Ken Coomer, the Pages' demo recording made its way to Capitol Records' A&R rep Julian Raymond, and while in the midst of working on their debut LP for the Chicago-based indie label Undertow, the band signed to Capitol in mid-2003, changing their name to the Redwalls at the label's request. (An earlier Capitol signing was also known as the Pages, but was far better known as Mr. Mister.) Undertow issued the Redwalls' debut, Universal Blues, in the fall of 2003 -- after completing sessions for the album, Kozer quit the group to attend college, with Ben Greeno signing on to play drums. Their first record for Capitol finally saw the light of day in June of 2005. Produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, the Vines), De Nova adds horns and a bit of major-label magic to the Redwalls' sound but retains their live-wire energy and ends up being an enjoyable blast of classic rock worship. No surprise that similarly backward-looking Oasis invited the band to join their summer of 2005 U.K. tour. ~ Jason Ankeny