Introducing… Waterloo Revival
Hot new duo Waterloo Revival has been heating up country radio airwaves, fairs and festivals this summer with their scorching single “Bad For You.” Made up of George Birge and Cody Cooper, the duo also made their Grand Ole Opry debut earlier this month.
The pair, who became friends in middle school, began creating music together as a hobby but their undeniable talents pushed Waterloo Revival to pursue a creative path full time. Since relocating to Nashville to hone their craft, the Texas natives have embarked on a quest to spread their native roots and Austin’s iconic music scene across the rest of the country.
We caught up with Waterloo Revival to get to know them a bit. Check out our Q&A and the exclusive premiere of ‘Meet Waterloo Revival’ below.
You’ve been friends since you were young. Has music always been a part of your friendship?
George: “Growing up in a city like Austin, with such a strong pulse for music, there were tons of outlets to get involved in music. Cody was already a guitar player by the time we met in middle school”
Cody: “And George had already been recognized as a great singer with a distinct voice. Even when we first met back in 6th grade, we were both already looking for a way to start playing and writing, and that shared love of music has always been a strong aspect of our friendship. We formed our first band in 8th grade and played shows all through high school. We still can’t believe that not only are we fortunate enough to be starting a career in music, but that we each have our best friend as our partner.”
When did you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in country music?
George: “I think we knew the second we played our first concert and saw the connection we could make with so many different people trough our music, that we wanted to pursue a career in music. It was something that we always saw more as a dream than a realistic goal until just over a year ago, and we still can’t believe it’s what we get to do everyday now.”
How would you describe your music to fans?
Cody: “We both feel like our music really captures our personalities, especially since we put so much of our experiences and emotions into our songwriting. If we had to choose one word to describe our music, it would be ‘us’ and that’s something we constantly work to stay true to.”
Who are some of your influences?
Cody: “We both grew up in Texas, with tons of exposure to George Strait and Willie Nelson. There’s a sincerity to their songs and musicianship that we both picked up on. George grew up listening to all the 90’s country greats like Garth Brooks, Radney Foster, and Toby Keith, and I was heavily influenced by southern rock groups like the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. We both are huge radio junkies and listened to Top 40 radio from all genres, so there’s definitely elements of 90’s pop and R&B blended in with the country influences we grew up on.”
What’s the story behind the song “Bad For You?”
George: “Bad for you is a song all about temptation. It’s about that person who knows how to get you into trouble, but you can’t help yourself from being with. It’s our favorite song to play live right now because of how much fun it is. We wrote the song with two of our favorite songwriters and were instantly hooked by the funk-inspired guitar riff. We started singing out some ideas over the guitar part and eventually ‘I’ve got it bad for you’ came out. We all paused for a moment and were like ‘…well how bad do you have it?’ The rest of the song came together in less than an hour.”
Tell us about your experience shooting the “Bad For You” video.
George: “Shooting the video was so much fun. It was our first music video shoot so we had no idea what to expect. We love the plot that was chosen and had an awesome time acting it out. At the end of the day we’d probably eaten a year’s worth of fruit and pie, had driven an awesome ’68 Firebird, and had a blast with everybody in the crew.”
Cody: “We couldn’t be happier with the final product, and think it fits the song perfectly.”
What’s next for you two – Are you currently working on an EP or Album?
George: “We’re either in the studio or writing on any free day we get, and are really excited about the music we’ve put together. We’ve got a group of songs we’ve put together over the past year that really capture our personality and can’t wait to share it with our fans.”
What’s on your country music “bucket list” as an artist?
Cody: “One huge bucket list item that we were fortunate enough to check off this past week is playing the Grand Ole Opry. Being able to play on a stage with so much history and influence on the country music format was really profound to us. It’s a stage we grew up seeing as the ultimate ride of passage in a musicians career, and setting foot in the circle for the first time together was really surreal.”
George: “As far as future goals go, we’ve always told each other our top priority is putting out music that has staying power. Songs that not only will we proud of 10 or 20 years from now, but will also have the substance to still be relevant and appreciated by our fans.”
If you could tour with any artist, who would it be and why?
George: “We’ve been fortunate enough to play shows with a lot of our favorite artists over the past year, and have been surprised not at how awesome performers they are, but also by what great dudes they are in person.”
Cody: “We love the way Thomas Rhett’s music is pushing boundaries right now, and it’s some of our favorite music to listen to right now. Another artist who’s putting out some of our favorite new music, and is always a blast to perform with is Brett Eldredge. Touring with Brett or Thomas would be a blast for us.”
Get to know Waterloo Revival more in the video below.
Fans can keep up with Waterloo Revival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Pick up their single, “Bad For You,” HERE.
