The Highest Revival at the Cinema Bar

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The High Revival is the solo project of Giovanny Blanco and he performs at the Cinema Bar this week, so he told the News about what he has in store for Culver City…

When did you start playing and performing? When did the band form?

The High Revival is me, Giovanny Blanco. It’s my solo and band project. A few years back I did a project where I got together for a few days with some folks and we wrote and recorded some songs, and played a show at the end of that week giving away the songs on a cd – that was called The High Revival. In the last year when looking for a new name for my solo adventures, I resurrected the name. I’ve been singing since I was 11. My first experience was a boy band in the Dominican Republic called Mermelada. A few years later I joined my first rock band called Fuzz. Moving back to the United States I joined and formed original bands over the years and released records independently and through record labels. Meaningful Mindlessness (jazz funk), The G-Men (funk rock), Liquid Circus (industrial alternative), Viva Malpache (Latin Punk), SPiGGa/SHU-SHO (bilingual funky pop), El Quickie (latin alternative), The Holy Broken (Blues Rock), Blanco and Junk (Roots Rock), The High Revival (Americana Rock). In the last 10 years I’ve played in many cover bands and tributes while releasing original music and The High Revival is my latest incarnation. Solo or with Band I perform a mix of originals and covers. 

Describe your sound…

My influences are all over the place. I love the genre breakers (Prince, Bowie, Queen), the poetic troubadours (Tom Waits, Leornard Cohen), the rock ‘n’ roll craftsmen (Tom Petty, Springsteen), Latin Music (Jose Jose, Wilfrido vargas, Cafe Tacuba), and pop from the last 100 years (with a stronghold on the ‘70s and ‘80s like Hall & Oates). I like to think that my music live in a neighborhood where all these things meet.

What are your career highlights so far?

Some are obvious, some not so obvious. From playing Madison Square Garden when I was 13, singing and sharing the stage with artists I’ve loved and admired (like Joan Jett, Los Lobos), various awards and acknowledgments over the years, to having people cover songs I’ve written and meeting couples who met at a show I performed at and got married. But the most loved highlight for me is anytime something comes together, whether it’s a song, a certain group of individuals playing together, and being lost in a song and feeling others with me on that journey – that’s my favorite. 

What recorded music is available — particularly the most recent?

Links to songs I wrote or co-wrote and sing on can be found at https://truckstopmixtape.bandcamp.com/

Have you performed at Cinema Bar before?

I have performed there. I call it the church. I’m not a religious man myself but I believe in the power of song and of temples. My first week in Los Angeles someone took me to the Little Brown Church in the Valley – https://www.ourventurablvd.com/step-inside-the-little-brown-church-of-the-valley-in-studio-city/ – it’s the most peculiar place. A church that barely fits 20 people but the feel of that room is enormous. I had the same reaction when I first stepped into the Cinema Bar. A scared room of souls and spirits coming together to celebrate the Book of Song and all its singers. It’s the closest thing to church for me. Sadly I don’t live close but I try to go more often than just Easter and Christmas. Their Wednesday night open mic, “Open Mic Revival” (No Relation) is a night of pure love run by Mary Beth and Omar. Kindred spirits (songwriters, performers and I also run an open mic in Tarzana called Truck Stop Mixtape at a place called Bar 10 at the Corbin Bowl – every Wednesday starting in June (Mondays til then). 

What can we expect from the set this time?

Lots of energy and love, old school classic songs reinterpreted, and original songs of mine sandwiched in between. I have an amazing band of talented fools playing with me that night (Tom Bognar of TB3 and 80ztop on Guitar, Sean Matthes of Illegal Fun on Bass, and Nick Liberatore of Elemenopy, and the Goddamn Comedy Jam). I probably won’t leave the stage much – I’ll perform acoustically when the band takes breaks but expect some cameos and appearances from some local singer-songwriters. It’s a family affair. 

What else do you have coming up?

I’ve been writing songs this year and I plan on recording soon. I’m itching to release a few singles very soon. And more shows – solo and full band. 

High Revival perform at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 23 at the Cinema Bar. Go to thecinemabar.com for more information about the venue.

Elsewhere this week

The Culver Hotel will be hosting the likes of Sylvia & the Rhythm Boys and and Scotty Bramer. Go to culverhotel.com for more info.

The next concert at Boulevard Music is on May 23, with the Tannahill Weavers. Go to boulevardmusic.com for more info.