For Zack Feinberg and the New Orleans-based band The Revivalists, the rise to success has been slow and steady.
The rock group formed in 2007 and is now touring to promote its new album, “Men Against Mountains.” One of the tour’s stops will be at the Varsity Theatre on Thursday at 8 p.m., where the band will be bringing its Big Easy sound to the Red Stick.
However, The Revivalists didn’t have an easy start in the city they call home. In August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the New Orleans area, many were forced to leave their homes. Feinberg said he and his current bandmates were no exception.
Feinburg said he had to immediately evacuate for Katrina after moving into his Tulane University dorm room.
“I didn’t even sleep in the room,” Feinberg said.
A stranger gave him a ride to Houston, and Feinberg moved to his temporary home.
Feinberg attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, until he could return to Tulane. He said it was there that he learned the craft of music, and he gained experience by taking a variety of classes and playing with fellow students.
After he returned to New Orleans for school, Feinberg said he met his drummer Andrew Campanelli at a music clinic at local bar Tipitina’s. The band formed from there by eventually adding David Shaw, Ed Williams, George Gekas, Rob Ingraham and Michael Girardot.
The band released an EP in 2008, and from there, The Revivalists received success and critical acclaim that gradually pushed them into the entertainment spotlight.
“The success that we’ve seen has been slow, steady and incremental,” Feinberg said.
For the members, being musicians did not become a full-time job until 2012 when the band hired a professional booking agency.
Feinberg said he places great importance on the band’s live shows, which serve as platforms to release new music and gauge audience reception.
“I think we’re having a really good time playing songs live and seeing people’s receptions now that the music’s out there and they’re more familiar with it,” Feinberg said.
To reach fans outside the concert setting, The Revivalists release live sessions of their music via YouTube, with Feinberg mixing the uploads.
“It’s kind of like if we would have made our latest record on a much cheaper budget with much less time,” Feinberg said.
The band plans to release every song from its latest record, “Men Amongst Mountains,” on its YouTube channel. Feinberg said he sees YouTube as a learning tool since he’s learned to mix the videos himself.
Feinberg said the band’s new record is not a huge departure from its two previous albums. Its last album, “City of Sound,” was recorded in 2010, and Feinberg said the band members have matured as artists through three years of touring. He said the biggest difference is how much experience the members have gained through recording EPs and albums.
Today, The Revivalists tour around the world but still keep roots in southern Louisiana.
Feinberg said he is excited to play at the Baton Rouge venue, adding that the Varsity boasts a younger crowd than New Orleans, and its college demographic lends to a high-energy dynamic at the show.
The Revivalists have played at the Varsity before, and Feinberg said the memory is a fond one.
“The last shows at the Varsity I just recall being really great,” Feinberg said.