Graduate is an alternative rock band that has a very origial style. While the music may be soft and smooth, it is very energetic. The band consists of three members: John Vavra (the singer/guitarist), Dave Scofield (the bassist), and Chris Campoli (the drummer). All three members live in Shelton, CT, and although Graduate has only existed since January of 2003, they have been playing music together since 2000. They all started their musical journies in an infamous punk band called Enthused, who sadly enough, never got to play a single show. But as the years went on, they still went on playing. One day finally, John got tired of punk rock music and decided to start playing the accoustic guitar after becoming a big fan of folk music. He started writing songs for about 3 months and then decided he did not want to be a solo artist. So then enters Dave, who wrote his bass lines for the songs and created a completely different feel to the music. For six months, John and Dave continued to write more songs and refused to play a show until the month of June, when they finally felt their music was good enough to share with the world. They received a huge surprize, however, when they realized how much the public enjoyed their music. One of these people was Chris, who at the time was involved with another band. After listening to the music of Graduate, he decided he wanted to be a part of it and joined only a few days after their first show. So now that the band was all set and together, they spent the next summer writing material for an upcoming cd, which they decided to title, "Songs I Wrote While Watching Television". "Songs..." is currently being recorded and worked on, but it is expected to be absolutely phenomenal, for that it will give the listeners much more than what they hear at the shows. They are trying their hardest to get it done as soon as possible, but they also don't want to rush, so they are expecting to release it in the winter of 2003.

Seperate Bios For The Members Of Graduate

John Vavra is the singer/guitarist of Graduate. He currently owns a 1954 Fender Stratocastor, an Ibanez Talmax Inter City accoustic guitar (But is in desperate need of buying a new one) and a Shure C608 microphone, but usually just uses whatever microphone is at the cafe or venue. He has been playing guitar since the 8th grade, but started playing the accoustic about a year after that. His musical influences include Ben Folds (Who is a humongous musical inspiration to John's music), Chris Martin (of Coldplay), Thom York (of Radiohead), Stephan Jenkins (of Third Eye Blind), Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco), Paul Simon, Ryan Adams, and Dave Matthews Band. John is also known as a big John Mayer fan, but does not want to be compared to him at all because of the large differences in their music. His top 3 CD's are "Rockin' The Suburbs" by Ben Folds, "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones, and "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" by Colplay. Some of John's favorite movies include The Shawshank Redemption, Bowling For Columbine, Analyze This, Identity, the classic disney movies (like The Lion King), and if RENT were a movie, it would definitely be his top movie. Right now, John's #1 goal has been accomplished, which was to get people to like his music. So if he had to set another goal for himself, it would be to gain tremendous cd sales once the cd is released.

Dave Scofield is the bassist of Graduate. He has taught himself bass for the past two years and has been in and out of punk and ska bands up until Graduate was formed. He currently uses an Ibanez GSR 100 with a 100w Carvin power amp...no need for upgrades any time soon (well, maybe, but let's be realistic, where am i supposed to get the money for that : / ). Dave's influences include any and all music with a good vibe, no matter what the genre. His top 4 favorite CDs are 1)Reel Big Fish: Why Do They Rock So Hard? 2)Ben Folds Five: Rockin' the Suburbs 3)Dave Matthews Band: Under the Table and Dreaming, and 4)Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head. Favorite movies include Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Mallrats, The Best of Will Ferrel, and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Dave's future plan is to go to college for a degree in Sound Engineering/Audio Technology, but he'd be fulfilled just to have everyone enjoy Graduate's music. P.S.- DANE COOK IS THE GREATEST COMEDIAN ALIVE!

Chris Campoli is the drummer/percussionist of Graduate. He has been playing the drums since the 8th grade and played in various band of various styles before playing with Graduate. Some of these bands were his past metal, funk, and punk bands (including Enthused, the punk band that consisted of all three members of Graduate). He currently plays his a custom Taye/Diamond drum set, Sabian AAX Cymbals (Alot of cymbals), and a little black cowbell. His musical influences include Dave Matthews Band, Mustard Plug, Our Lady Peace, and Jim Capolla. His top 3 CD's are "Naveed" by Our Lady Peace, "Before These Crowded Streets" by Dave Matthews Band, and "Kill 'Em All" by Metallica. Some of Chris's favorite movies include Analyze This, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Peter Pan, and Scarface. Chris #1 goal in life is become a navy pilot in the Air Force.