MORE MUSIC IN HAMPTON ROADS
LESS THAN a year old, the Virginia Beach-based pop-punk band Averman already has toured once - and its dream is to do it again.
Its five members, all in their early 20s, are Ryan Loftis on bass, Raleigh Ogden on guitar, Tony Agrios on drums, Bryan Tobin on vocals and Matt Muscara on guitar.
Except for Muscara, who moved to Hampton Roads from Orange County, Calif., the guys have been playing together since they were around 13. The band formed in November 2007.
"We met and began hanging out in middle school, but we didn't start playing together until our ninth grade year in high school," Loftis said. That school was Kellam High in Virginia Beach.
The band had its first gig shortly after forming and has already been on a three-week tour that took them through New Orleans, Las Vegas and Orange County.
"We booked our tour through MySpace.... It really helps out bands," Loftis said. "We had some shows where we had 150 kids, then there were some shows where there was like two."
Averman has released a four-song demo and will head into a Harrisonburg studio to record a 10-song album, "Pog Nation," with help from friend Thomas Leahy, when he returns to James Madison University soon. This is how Loftis, with help from Agrios, answered our questions:
What's the best and worst thing about the Hampton Roads music scene?
There's a lot of really good bands, but there's too much violence - among the audience, that is. People just out to start trouble. Also, we're not down with shows costing more than $5, but we know it's getting harder and harder for venues to run shows for less than $10.
How much original music does the band perform?
All original with a couple of covers in a set just to have fun (including songs from Limp Bizkit, Saves the Day, Gin Blossoms).
If the band was signed to a record deal, how would it spend the advance?
A new van - R.I.P. VANTHRAX. More merchandise, rollerblades and water skis.
What's your dream for the band?
We just want to be able to tour and put out as many CDs as we can.
Patty Jenkins, (757) 446-2298, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com
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