The Revisions

An acoustic punk band from Portland, OR, the Revisions play smart but scrappy rock & roll, but their sound is defined by the thick strum of an acoustic guitar and the backbeat of a tiny drum kit rather than the blare of a Marshall amp. The Revisions came together through the intervention of their friend Justin Maurer, best known for his work with the band the Clorox Girls. In 2006, Maurer published a book of short stories, Don't Take Your Life, and did readings at a number of bookstores in the Pacific Northwest to help promote it. At one such reading, Maurer asked Douglas Burns, guitarist with the Portland band the Red Dons, to play a few acoustic numbers as part of the evening's entertainment. Bringing along his bandmates Hajji Husayn on bass and Derek Skokan on drums, Burns played a set of songs from his earlier bands the Observers and the Speds, and both Burns and his audience were surprised how well the material adapted to the acoustic format. Burns, Husayn, and Skokan began playing frequent acoustic gigs as the Revisions, highlighting his more introspective tunes (with Maurer sometimes sitting in on guitar), and in 2007 the band signed a deal with Dirtnap Records for their debut album, which was expected to be released in the summer of that year. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide