| The
Reivers - A Short History of a Band
 The
Reivers were a unique band in a number of ways. First, there
was a certain musical chemistry among the musicians that permeated
all their songs. You could hear in the music that they really
enjoyed what they were doing and clicked as a band. There
was a refreshing lack of pretension in the sound they created
on album and in performances. These were people you felt you
could walk up to on the street and talk to. Second, they put
to good use unusual vocal arrangements. The interplay of John
Croslin's and Kim Longacre's voices on songs such as "Freight
Train Rain", and "Blue Eyes" with Kim singing melody lines-
in effect, using her voice as an instrument, was dynamic.
The
Reivers' first incarnation, Zeitgeist, originated in Austin,
TX with a lineup that included: John Croslin- main
songwriter, vocalist, guitars; Kim Longacre- vocals,
guitars; Kelly Bell- bass; and Joey Shuffield-
drums. Shuffield left the band during rehearsals and was replaced
by Garrett Williams. By the time their first
self-titled E.P. was released on db Records in 1984, Cindy
Toth had replaced Bell as bass player. This new lineup
would remain consistent throughout the remainder of the Reivers'
existence. Releasing the full-length album "Translate Slowly"
the next year, they began to build a sizeable audience. In
mid-1987 they were forced to change their name by a new age
band which claimed the copyright. Choosing the name "The Reivers"
(pronounced Reever, meaning Thieves or Raiders- from the Scottish
"Reiffar") from the title of a William Faulkner novel, they
continued recording. "Translate Slowly" was later reissued
with the new name on cd with additional tracks.
Their
second album also came out in 1987. Called "Saturday", it
showed a marked maturity in the sound and songwriting. 1989
saw the release "End of the Day". "Pop Beloved", which would
prove to be The Reivers' final album, came out in 1991. They
played their final show at Austin's Cannibal Club later in
the year. The road during the band's career had been a rocky
one. In the Austin Chronicle article found in the articles
section of this site, Ken Lieck writes:
"The
record business troubles that plagued Zeitgeist/The Reivers
from day one are legend in themselves.... what is mostly important
is that circumstances led the group to an early breakup and
Croslin far from the urge to start another band."
Record
company troubles always seemed to be a problem for Zeitgeist/The
Reivers. From another Ken Lieck Austin Chronicle article (vol.
15, issue 32):
 "As
Zeitgeist, the quartet had built up a good following through
an indie album and touring, but on the eve of releasing their
first major label album, Capitol Records did a name search
and found that the German word had already been trademarked
by a New Age ensemble. Front man John Croslin recalls that
the crystal-wearers "weren't flexible at all" and so the band
ended up with the new name, leaving their fan base baffled.
"We could've changed it to `Zeitghost' or something, but we
didn't," says Croslin. "We all regretted the name change later,
but it's what we voted on." Keeping in mind that the band
was having other problems, including record company apathy,
leading to their giving up the ghost (ouch) in 1991, Croslin
adds that the name change "wasn't the crushing blow, but at
the time it was another bad thing." Considering that when
R.E.M. released their hit album Green, a band called Green
received a good deal of press by promptly putting out an EP
titled R.E.M., one can only wonder how much smoother the transition
would have been if the Reivers had simply titled their first
album 'Zeitgeist.' "
After the
breakup of the band, Croslin turned his hand to producing and
engineering projects by other bands. The short lived ABC show
"Cupid" (created by previous Austinite Rob Thomas) featured
a character named after John called "Crazy Judge Croslin". In
2006, he co-founded a new band called Fire Marshals of Bethlehem,
which he left a couple of years later (amicably). The other
Reivers have also been involved in various musical projects
since the breakup of the group (see the Discography),
as well as working day jobs. In 2008, the Reivers reunited for
a few shows in their hometown of Austin, TX and by the end of
the year had added a keyboard player and rechristened themselves
under the new name Right Or Happy, with intentions to record
and perform.
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