Revis

Revis is an American post-grunge band from Carbondale, Illinois. Forming in 1999 under the name "Orco", the band built a local following before moving to Los Angeles in the early 2000s. There, the band signed to Epic Records and released their debut and sole major label album Places for Breathing in 2003. The band received mainstream attention from single "Caught in the Rain", which peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and appeared on Daredevil: The Album, the soundtrack for the film Daredevil. Despite this, the band disbanded in 2005 while working on a follow up album. The band reformed in 2010, but struggled with releasing music during this time. Despite extensive work being done on new material, including an EP named Fire and Ice and a full studio album titled Do We Have to Beg? reportedly being finished, internal disagreements between bandmembers and the record label prevented either from releasing beyond a handful of promotional singles. Both remain unreleased to-date, and after the abrupt cancellation of the album, the band announced their second breakup. In 2024, the band reformed again, with plans to release an unrelated EP and studio album. The EP, Bottles of Lightning was released in 2024, while second studio album Killing Time was released on November 7, 2025. The group, formerly known as Orco, was formed in the summer of 1999 in the small town of Ewing, Illinois. Their first big break came when they beat out 40 other musical groups for the chance to compete against five bands at radio station WTAO's Battle of the Bands at the Du Quoin State Fair in August 2000. They won the competition and were offered the opportunity to play live remotes for the station. According to vocalist Justin Holman, "It wasn't long after that, that our songs began creeping onto (WTAO's) playlist." The original Orco line-up consisted of Justin Holman (vocals), Robert Davis (guitar), Nathaniel Cox (guitar), Dan Sronce (bass) and Marcus D'Marco (drums). The band moved to Los Angeles in July 2001 but, before doing so, had to acquire a new bassist in Bob Thiemann. Despite, as guitarist Robert Davis put it, having enough hometown popularity to "play in front of 1,500 people every Friday night," the band set their sights for L.A. Orco began playing L.A. venues but had a tough time early on, being kicked out of a rented one-room bedroom and having a dismissive manager with whom they periodically spoke with. The band's earlier material under this name was quite different sounding than their work as Revis. Songs such as "Feast of the Tabernacles" featured a much rougher, unpolished sound, with some screaming vocals. With the help of a new manager, John Zagata, they recorded three demo songs, "A Gift," "Seven," and "Straight Jacket Labels" with producers Tommy Henriksen and Jeff Pilson. This eventually caught the attention of record labels, and demos for "Caught in the Rain" and "Spin" were subsequently recorded to maintain hype. In January 2002, the band signed with Epic Records to start work on their first album at NRG Recording in North Hollywood. Some of their demo songs would end up on their debut album; others were written during NRG's recording session. It was during the five weeks of recording that the band was forced to change its name to Revis because a UK band had been using the Orco name for six years compared to the American band's three years. They chose the name "Revis" after their close friend and guitar tech Jason Revis who had been with the band since its inception even without pay; only through their joining a major label would he finally start being paid. The end result of their efforts was a debut album entitled Places for Breathing, which was released on May 20, 2003. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, selling 10,000 copies in its opening week, and peaked at No. 115 on the Billboard Top 200. Revis released two singles to rock radio hits, "Caught in the Rain", and "Seven". The first single, "Caught in the Rain" peaked at number 8 on the Mainstream Rock Radio charts during a 26-week chart run, and was on the Billboard Alternative Rock charts for 16 weeks, peaking at number 20. It was also featured in the movie Daredevil and its respective soundtrack, Daredevil: The Album. The second single, "Seven", charted on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, but only peaking at number 29 over its ten weeks on the chart. The band's hometown of Carbondale announced May 19, 2003 "Revis Day" in tribute to the group. The band went on to support the album by touring with popular groups like Oleander, and Evanescence, and playing the 2003 Nintendo Fusion Tour. In 2004, Revis recorded a second demo with Tony Berg and had intentions of rerecording such tracks for a second album. Despite the band's rising popularity, however, Revis would be dropped from Epic Records and forced to acquire new management after their first album. Holman speculated this being due to poor management and the merging of BMG and Sony. Around this time, Davis and Piribauer had joined a band named Hensley and caused question over the future of Revis. Holman and Cox, without Davis, Piribauer, or Thiemann, returned to Illinois and together began writing new material akin to Revis. As of August 2005, Holman affirmed that he and Tommy Henriksen were working on 12–15 new songs with titles such as "New Ways," "Hollow Days," "Red Letter Day," and "Taste in the Flash." However, he clarified that they would not be working with Don Gilmore or Ken Andrews and showed uncertainty in regards to finding a label and touring. Later in the year, it was announced that Revis had ultimately disbanded. While the band had broken up, a number of members did their own projects. Piribauer joined Yotokyo as their drummer after meeting them when the band shared Revis’ rehearsal space. Davis and Cox had formed a new band by the name of Maryandi, later renamed The Yelling. Holman worked with a new project called Aujalyn. The bassist Thiemann went on to form TJ Brown, Dove Lane and Deep Space Radio. Reports of a Revis reunion surfaced in early 2010, saying that they were back together and working on a second album. However, original guitarist Nathaniel Cox and bassist Bob Thiemann decided not to take part in the reunion. The band originally announced two separate releases, an EP titled Fire and Ice, and a full-length album to follow, titled Gone So Long. Fire and Ice, was announced to be released on July 27, 2010, but the album was delayed, and the two releases were consolidated into one single album, titled Do We Have to Beg?. Despite the delayed release, the band did release some single songs. The first song released after the reunion was "A Better Day (Relief)" in June 2010. A second track, "Are You Taking Me Home," was released a few months later in October 2010. It was mixed by Jay Baumgardner and was released on October 6, 2010, via the band's website. Later in the month, the band played their first live concert since their reunion. The band debuted a new song, titled "Remember When", at the concert and released a studio acoustic version of a new track, "Searching for Someone" afterwards. The band rounded out the year with a re-recorded version of the track "From That Point On," a B-side left off their first album. In February 2011, the band announced that Do We Have to Beg? would be released on May 20, 2011, to coincide with the 8 year anniversary of the release of Places for Breathing. A track list wasn't announced, but some song information was revealed. An electric, full-band version of "Searching For Someone" was initially announced as the first single, but the band changed their mind and decided to release "Save Our Souls" as the first single. Additionally, the album was to consist of 12 songs selected from a group of 25 recorded songs. "Save Our Souls" was released on April 1. While the band announced the Turnstyle Tour to support the album, the tour was canceled on May