THE SONS OF THE SOUL REVIVERS – LIVE! RANCHO NICASIO<\/h1>\n
For this extraordinary album, The Sons of The Soul Revivers were recorded live at Rancho Nicasio, a Marin County (Ca.) roadhouse famed for presenting roots music, during two sold out shows for the kind of mainstream audiences that don\u2019t get to hear traditional gospel quartets very often, if ever.<\/p>\n
And now even more people will be able to experience some of the musical frisson of those nights thanks to this new release by the Little Village Foundation, a nonprofit founded by blues keyboardist Jim Pugh to put out music that would otherwise be overlooked by commercial record labels.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we sing, people say, \u2018I felt something,\u2019 and they wonder what it is,\u201d says the Sons\u2019 Dwayne Morgan. \u201cWe tell them that some people call it energy, but we call it the Holy Spirit. And it moves. It touches people\u2019s hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dwayne, 45, and his older brothers, James Morgan, 50, and Walter Morgan Jr., 55, form the vocal core of the group. They\u2019ve been singing together in church since they were kids.<\/p>\n
Walter Jr., who also plays guitar, founded the Sons in 1970 to continue the quartet tradition that the brothers\u2019 father, Walter Sr., and his brothers started with the original Soul Revivers. The Sons are rounded out by Oliver \u201cPetie\u201d Calloway on drums and bassist \u201cQ\u201d Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuartets are down home with a groove that\u2019s out of this world,\u201d Morgan says. \u201cWhen you get a good, driving fast song and that beat locks in, oh, my goodness, you can\u2019t help but skip.\u201d<\/p>\n
With their new album and recent exposure to audiences outside the church, the Sons are hoping to follow the crossover success of gospel groups like Southern California\u2019s Mighty Clouds of Joy, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Dixie Hummingbirds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in our prime right now,\u201d Morgan says. \u201cBefore we get any older, we want to get exposed to as many people as we can across the world. We\u2019re broadening our horizons. Our dreams are coming true.\u201d<\/p>\n
–Paul Liberatore<\/p>\n<\/div>
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