· reviews ·

Dirty Dave Osti and Craig Erickson are Grande Revival. The duo released "Liberty Station" in mid-January 2022. The two artists do not play alone on this disc. Anthony James Tuco is the bass player. Cosmo Benz swings the drumsticks . In addition, Stavros Papadopoulos (also known as Super Vintage , King Mountain , Universal Hippies , Revolution Highway) contributes guitar and choral singing to the title track, "Liberty Station". Right now, you can almost bet that Grooveyard Records releases have Joe Romagnola (Blindstone, Mountain Of Power, Tony Spinner, among others) involved. This is also the case here, because he produced together with the two protagonists. The ten original compositions were recorded at Dirtshack Pacific Northwest and Rivertown Recording.

Launched as a new formation, Grande Revival delivers what you can expect from the two frontmen. Straightforward hard rock that finds its footing in blues rock with both of its feet. With the ten songs, however, the combo also looks at the left and right sides of hard rock. With the temporary heaviness and a lot of guitar action in general - also refined with the bottleneck - one is happy about views of Southern Rock, for example. A detour into rocking country is just as welcome as the boogie variant in the blues. In addition, both musicians also put a decent, very appealing pound in the scale of pleasure vocally. Grande Revival skilfully peppers the songs with individually crocheted blues/hard rock patterns that are well worth listening to. Crashing six-string solos are right at the top of the agenda alongside driving rhythms, groove and fine twin sounds. You're right in the middle of it right from the start and not just there.

There is also a great atmosphere on the highway, cruising in the right lane towards the horizon. Despite all the dynamics in calmer waters, the Grande Revival is a turn on. The use of the acoustic guitar is great. Then this six-string forms a great contrast to the electric guitar. The solidly leveled sound simply fits the Hard Rock and in the ballad-like phases one is happy about sufficient airiness in the expression. Now, if a song is particularly highlighted, it doesn't mean that all the others are overshadowed. The concluding "Big River Moon" is - also in the justified length - a number that, so to speak, summarizes all components of the Grande Revival music like the blurb of a book. Just great what is delivered in this Craig Erickson composition. This calm intermezzo - again sweetened with acoustic guitar - is exciting. The track is a primus inter pares.

"Liberty Station" is a first great release from Grande Revival. Dirty Dave Osti and Craig Erickson have successfully put their musical heads together and come up with ten songs that will keep you in the mood and going from start to finish. Both thumbs up and more music from Grande Revival please. Stay healthy and take time for good music as a distraction.

Joachim 'Joe' Brookes / Rock Times - Germany (February 2022)
 

---

Extremely successful debut of the new working group.

If you know what to expect when Craig Erickson and Dirty Dave Osti are the leading protagonists of this formation and the disc comes out on the Grooveyard Records label run by Joe Romagnola, you should have an idea, which is not only literally played here.

Sure thing: handmade, shirt-sleeved rock that is deeply rooted in the blues and has both classic and southern rock in it in good doses. The duo recorded ten songs on the six-strings with drummer Cosmo Benz and bassist Anthony James Tuco and also received help from their Greek label mate Stavros Papadopoulos, who can be heard on guitar and vocals on the title track. The label boss has once again worked as a producer and conjured up the necessary earthy sound for the formation, from which, logically, the guitars stand out.

After all, these are the ones that give the tracks their direction and degree of heaviness. When things get more laid-back ('Gypsy Southern Highway', 'Big River Moon'), as with isolated Country/Americana passages ('Liberty Station'), you can also look to various Southern icons such as THE OUTLAWS or THE ALLMAN BROTHERS think, while GRANDE REVIVAL in the heavier songs ('Scars On The Road', 'Good Time') is more in the realm of classic 70's hard rock.

Since the two bandleaders also cut a fine figure as singers, and not a single one of the ten tracks can be picked out as a weak point, this new working group can only be congratulated respectfully on an extremely successful debut! Please keep going!

Walter Scheurer / Power Metal Germany (February 2022)
 

---

Grande Revival is a brand-new project where two veteran blues rock guitar slingers/singers have joined forces. Craig Erickson and Dirty Dave Osti have already distinguished solo careers with multiple albums on their C.V. but on initiative from Grooveyard Records executive Joe Romagnola have teamed up. Using the help of Anthony James Tuco (bass) and Cosmo Benz (drums) the duo each wrote five songs where they trade licks and have several guitar duels that will please fans of the blues rock genre, while sharing the vocal duties. Craig and Dave produced the record themselves with the help of Joe Romagnola and it is a production that has been kept pretty sober. The sound is pretty basic, all attention is focussed on the playing and singing and there is no room for fancy gimmicks. They let the music do the talking and prove that even in the blues rock genre you can create an enormous amount of variety. With "Cabin In The Country’’ there is even a sort of a country influenced semi rock song to be heard but the bulk of the songs are guitar driven. The best song for me is without a doubt the title track with a guest role for Greek guitar god Stavros Papadopoulos. The album closer "Big River Moon’’ is also a great song. If you are looking for a similar act I would say that this record is (partly) in the same vein as the latest Outlaws effort ‘Dixie Highway’. Which should make you conclude that Grande Revival also touches the southern rock style as well and that is certainly the case although it is not their main thing. At the end of the day "Liberty Station" is a solid and strong effort by Dirty Dave and Craig that will go down as a treat for a general blues rocker that doesn’t mind some extra variety.

Michel van de Moosdijk / Headbangers Lifestyle (February 2022)
 

---

Grande Revival from America consists of: Dirty Dave Osti - vocals and lead guitar, Graig Erickson - vocals and lead guitar, Anthony James Tuco - bass guitar and Cosmo Benz - drums. The band released their debut album "Liberty Station" as a CD on February 1, 2022 via Grooveyard Records and is assisted on the title track by guitarist Stavros Papadopoulos. The 10-track album starts with "Scars On The Road", in which the band performs a wonderful swinging blues-rock song, played at a medium tempo and has a catchy danceable rhythm, followed by "She's My Angel ", an excellent song with a medium tempo and a high dance level and "Brave The Storm", a progressive blues rock song with 70s influences from bands like Taste and Cream, which is played at a moderate tempo and contains tempo changes. Then follows "Cabin In The Country", a beautiful rock song with a fairly slow tempo, slight country rock influences and tempo changes, the title track "Liberty Station", a great song, which is also played at a slow tempo and has an infectious rhythm. . In "Gypsy Southern Highway" Grande Revival presents me with a fantastic song in a medium tempo, which has a catchy rhythm and contains Southern rock influences, in "Heal The Hurt" I get a rock song with a recurring rhythm in a medium tempo. which makes me want to dance and in "Good Time" the band lets me enjoy a great rock song with influences from the song "Alright Now" by The Free. Followed by "Sweet Comfort Of Love", a beautiful fairly quiet Southern rock song with an infectious rhythm and "Big River Moon", another nice sounding rock song with an average tempo and influences of Southern rock and blues rock which has a catchy rhythm and subtle tempo changes. (listen to this song via the youtube link below the review).

"Liberty Station" by Grande Revival is an excellent debut CD, which is full of great rock songs with strong influences from the years and I recommend every lover of Southern rock and blues rock to listen to this disc.

Carry Munter / New Underground Music (February 2022)
 

---

Renowned recording artists Craig Erickson and ‘Dirty’ Dave Osti recently teamed up as Grande Revival to record a hands-down, kick-ass album of guitar-centric blues-rock songs called Liberty Station. Penning five tracks each, Erickson and Osti take turns singing their songs, rocking the sound of dual guitars with Anthony James Tuco on bass, and Cosmo Benz on drums. Having two alpha powerhouse guitarists on each song makes for an amazing listen.

“Scars on the Road”, kicks the saloon-doors open as Dirty Dave fearlessly rips it up on guitar keeping the riffs infectious and the licks hotter than hell. Smothered generously with his whisky-soaked vocals, this one fully grabs my attention. The mellow groove Erickson weaves through “Cabin in the Country” pulls me right in. The tones he harvests from his guitar bring to mind those of Tommy Bolin’s “Wild Dogs”. Osti’s vocal styling topped with harmonizing guitars instill a huge Black Oak Arkansas vibe in title-track “Liberty Station”. This southern-rocker is ear-candy for the guitar-lovers soul and features guest guitarist Stavros Papadopoulos from Greece. “Gypsy Southern Highway”, another Osti song, immediately follows, breaking free of its gentle, melodic beginning and evolves into a phenomenal, fierce, hard-driving jam. “Sweet Comfort of Love” embraces the sounds of Seventies southern-rock in an Allman Brothers kind of way, as Erickson sings about searching for love. “Big River Moon” brings the album to its close in a grand way. Osti and Erickson sound great together.

Liberty Station is a terrific debut album from Grande Revival. I hope to hear more from these guitar masters in the future.

Phillip Smith / Philly Cheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews (January 2022)
 

---

Grande Revival is an American West Coast newcomer band consisting of "Dirty" Dave Osti and Craig Erickson (both guitar and vocals), Anthony James Tuco (bass) and Cosmo Benz (drums). With "Liberty Station" the four present their debut album on Grooveyard Records, an indie label that is completely dedicated to old-school rock, inspired by the guitar greats of the 70's, all true to the motto "Keep the rock alive". And that makes it clear what the listener can expect from this disc: classic, blues-based hard rock with melodic influences. The ten songs on the album are good, rocking home cooking without any ifs and buts, as it was often played in one way or another, mostly in the early 70's. This becomes particularly clear in the straight and energetic opener "Scars On The Road", which is followed by the somewhat calmer and more melodic "She's My Angel" with a nice old-school lead guitar. "Brave The Storm" comes quite close to the opener, but is arranged a bit calmer and in the slightly country-influenced "Cabin In The Country" slide elements flash up again and again. The title song "Liberty Station" and "Gypsy Southern Highway" have a balladesque touch, again embedded in the typical 70's guitar sound. With "Heal The Hurt" and "Good Time" two more fat Hard Rock tracks follow and with "Sweet Comfort Of Love" there are actually tender Southern feelings. It's true that Grande Revival's new album "Liberty Station" doesn't really hit Sounds Of South's actual target group, but the disc might still be of interest to our readers, not least because of the rock-solid musicality of the four band members. Maybe one or the other is still stuck with the rock sound of 50 years ago. Then the ten quite strong and partly bombastic-sounding songs on the disc will certainly be well received.

Jörg Schneider / Sounds Of The South (February 2022)
 

---

Rarely has a band been so aptly named. GRANDE REVIVAL fuels the sacred fire of a very Blues and Heavy Southern Rock with incredible liveliness and talent. On guitars, Dirty Dave Osti and Craig Erickson show a stunning panache by getting in tune with a timeless register. "Liberty Station" is timeless, inspired and pays a magnificent tribute to the guitar.

Based in the state of New York, the Grooveyard Records label aims to promote the guitar as long as it is Rock, Blues, Heavy and a bit Old School. It also has the particularity of coming out with nuggets, and this one is a very beautiful one. GRANDE REVIVAL is the work of two six-string gunners Dirty Dave Osti and Craig Erickson, and the combination of virtuosos results in a Southern Blues mixed with Hard and Rock.

Seasoned veteran and true guitar guerrilla, Dirty Dave Osti distills his riffs and solos with an intense, solid vision and unique vibrations. The Californian works wonders and impresses. And his fellow traveler, Craig Erickson, is no slouch either. The multi-instrumentalist from Iowa multiplies his musical acrobatics answering note for note and giving an additional flavor to GRANDE REVIVAL, which however is not lacking.

To support the duo, we find a shock rhythm composed of Anthony James Tuco on bass and Cosmo Benz on drums. And in a slightly vintage, fat and generous atmosphere, GRANDE REVIVAL's Southern Heavy Rock purrs and reaches without peaks from which a love for an electric and organic blues transpires. "Liberty Station" gives free rein to guitaristic expression and authenticity.

François Alaouret / ROCK ’N FORCE (December 2021)
 

---

---

ABOUT US | HOW TO ORDER | LINKS

---

COPYRIGHT © 2021 & BEYOND - GROOVEYARD RECORDS, INC. / WEBSITE DESIGN BY NYXIAN:DRIFT