Hey y'all, fun country/rock band Tuesday at the WOW, $10, check 'em out ...

Matt


CONCERT PREVIEW

A band that defies usual descriptions
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard
Published: Friday, January 19, 2007


Maybe people think the Avett Brothers are a bluegrass band because the three
members often play fast-paced tunes and their instruments of choice are
upright bass, banjo and acoustic guitar.
Maybe it's that harmonizing falsetto, or how they tune their strings. Maybe
it's just that they're from the South.
But you can't call them bluegrass and tell the whole truth. You'd also have
to label them punk, rock, blues or country, none of which works alone as a
descriptor.
So many young bands like to think of themselves as having invented a new
type of music. The problem with most of that avant garde, cutting edge,
"groundbreaking" music is that it's no fun to listen to.
(I can be avant garde, too. Here, listen to this recording of the percussion
I invented: It's me hitting myself on the head with a PVC pipe with a train
going by in the distance.)
At age 25, 30 and 35, what these three musicians have is a unique style that
is listenable and accessible.
Scott and Seth Avett and Bob Crawford, from all the way down in North
Carolina, certainly don't think they are bluegrass artists. On the band's
MySpace.com page, it cites grunge, rock, rock 'n' roll, metal, hard rock,
blues, Piedmont blues, jazz, calypso, real classic country, country-western
and folk as influences.
Notably, bluegrass is nowhere on the list.
Big labels show reluctance
When Crawford, 35, was tagged by the group's indie label, Ramseur Records,
to field a recent phone interview, he didn't go so far as to say the band
has invented a new kind of music. But he did say they think genres are
irrelevant in today's music market.
"My personal opinion of genres," Crawford said, "is you should walk into a
record store and everything should be in alphabetical order. Since the
advent of the Internet, genres have gone out the window.
"It's getting to the point where we all listen to everything. The average
person has more of a diversity of music; no one fits in a box. If they ever
did, they don't now."
The Avett Brothers eschew genres in favor of creating their own sound, but
that poses a problem with record labels. The band has showcased for major
labels and heard representatives' clich<142> excuse: They just wouldn't know
how to market the band.
The band knows how to market itself. It's easy. Just get the music in front
of as many people as possible. Those people tend to become fans.
Crawford said their boosters come from everywhere: punk rock kids, people in
their early 30s and late 20s who bring their parents and kids to shows and
country music lovers - people he'd never expect to see at a rock show.
Last August, the Avett Brothers came through Eugene and played Sam Bond's
Garage. Crawford remembers it being a small crowd.
"It's fun because it's like starting out again," Crawford said, noting that
the band has been members' full-time job for three years. "There's something
great about it being the first time for everybody.
"We saw tremendous growth in the last year. We saw tremendous growth,
unexpectedly. It felt real good to see that."
Aside from their obvious talent, Crawford credits Seth and Scott Avett's
work ethic for the band's continuing success.
"There are artists who get up at 7 a.m. as opposed to artists who get up at
noon," he said. "I know a lot of talented people who the world won't know
they are talented."
Both Avett brothers had been in other rock bands, but when those fell apart,
they decided a new direction was in order. Since 2001, they have focused on
writing songs and playing acoustic music.
They've since put out four albums and two live discs. The band's most recent
project is an EP called "The Gleam."
Crawford joined in 2002 as a temporary bass player for a tour. He's since
won a permanent spot in the band and has started to contribute to the
songwriting.
All three members have solo projects, too.
"When we very first started touring in 2002, we would go to all sorts of
different places," Crawford said. "We just do what we do and we do real
well.
"We don't worry about what type of venue we're in. We're just really happy
when people accept it and enjoy it."
Lyrics get right to the point
Bob Dylan sang "It Ain't Me." The Avett Brothers have "Pretend Love," from
the 2006 release "Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions."
"Don't you know I've a gift/ And I've wrapped it in truth/ Your birthday's
tomorrow/ But the gift's not for you," Seth and Scott Avett sing in harmony.
"But if I came with a present/ I would bring you a clue/ In hopes that you'd
finally/ See that your feelings for me will never be returned."
Ouch.
Neither song is mean, just blunt. Girls love that. Best way into a young
woman's heart is to tell her you'll never love her, no matter how hard she
tries to make you.
Speaking of young people, the University of Oregon Cultural Forum is
producing the show at the WOW Hall at 11:30 a.m. Monday that will offer
those hanging around the Erb Memorial Union Fishbowl a free sneak preview of
the Avett Brothers' skilled mania.
Lyrically, the Avett Brothers are not the next Dylan. The songs are sparse
and often easy to learn and sing along with.
Media reviews of live shows on the East Coast routinely report that audience
members sing along - sometimes drowning out the brothers' vocals as the
Avetts float on their backs, still strumming their banjo and guitar as
packed halls of people pass them around.
When asked what his role in the band is, Crawford said sometimes it's his
job to keep the songs going.
"I just try to be as flexible as possible. We're all real comfortable right
now."
The band's live shows vary with members' moods, Crawford said, but they
always put a lot of energy into it.
"There could be a night we come out and play 90 percent ballads. It gets to
be very emotional and we just ride that emotion.
"It's been considered energe- tic, like you might be at church sometimes,
caught up the emotion. It can get to be fever pitch."
The Avett style has been called new-grass, and journalists have tried to
come up with other names, such as neo-grunge. But Crawford said he believes
we are entering the "age of not needing to describe things," with how easy
it is to just hear the music on the Internet and decide for yourself.
"When you attach words to something, whatever you are talking about, it
lessens it," Crawford, said. "If you tried to describe the sensation of
eating ice cream to someone who has never had it before, you couldn't do
it."
You can call Serena Markstrom at 338-2371 or e-mail her at
smarkstrom@....
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CONCERT PREVIEW
The Avett Brothers
What: A really fun band
With: Hillstomp
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave.
Tickets: $7 advance for students, $10 at the door for general public
Free sneak peek live: 11:30 a.m. Monday, Erb Memorial Union Fishbowl, 1222
E. 13th Ave.
Free sneak peek on the Web: www.registerguard.com/avettbrothers.php