Bio of Avril Lavigne
Anything but ordinary.  That's putting it mildly when describing Avril Lavigne.  A skater-punk, a dynamic spirit, a true wild child.  One of those rare creatures who started wowing people with her voice and charater at aroung age 2.  A small town kid who couldn't sit in class but had the confidence and detemination to take it off, virtualy on her own, to home her songwritting skills in New Youk City and Los Angeles.  A startlingly up-front and outrageous 17-year-olf with everything it takes to reach stardon-completely on her own terms.  "I'm just coing out and I'm going to be clearly myself-I write what I feel, I never worry about wht others think." Avril avows.  "I'm gonna dress what's me, I'm gonna act what's me, and I'm gonna sing what's me."

Avril does exactly that on her debut cd, Let Go, flaunting sassy vocals, a crystal clear voice with real girl-lyrical style.  "Anything but Ordinary" is a rockin' ode to individuality, while guitar driven first single, "Complicated", is a simple song that kicks pretenders to the curb.  The string inflected, "I'm With You", reaches out for connection to reflect Avril's more mellower side, but tracks like "Losing Grip" and "Unwanted" courageously confront rejection and betrayal with all the heavyness such subjects demand.  Then theere's "My World" and the metaphoric "Mobile", which perfectly articulate the Avril experience.  "I have this awesome opportunity to fullfil my dream.  I am all over the place, flying here and there, going through different stuff everyday," she explains.  "This is my lifestyle, but I wouldn't want a normal life or I'd get bored."

Apparently Avril was born for such insanity.  A middle child who "always wanted to be the center of attention", she was bound to bust out of Napanee, Ontario, population 5,000.  "I always knew this is what I had to do," she says.  "I remeber when I was realy young, standing on my bed like it was a stage, singing off the top of my lungs and visualizing thousands of people surrounding me."  She segued from her bedroom singing, well, whenever and wherever she could-starting in church singing gospep music, and onto festivals, then singing counrty music at fairs and talent contests-until she was discovered by Arista Records.

On a writting trip to NYC, Avril caught the attention of Antonio "LA" Reid, who snapped her up and signed her to Arista.  At 16, she moved to Manhattan and begin to work on her debut cd.  Avril plunged into the creative process.  "I love writting," she explains.  "When I get upset and I need to get it all out of me I got to my guitar.  Sometimes I feel like my guitar is my therapist."

Although Avril virtually lived in the studio during that New York stint, her efforts didn't pay off at first.  "I started working with these really talented people, but I just wasn't feeling it; the songs weren't representative to me," she admits.  "Then they starsed talking about having people write for me, but I had to write myself.  I had to do my music.  It was a real stressful time, but I never considered giving up."  Instead she flipped coasts, Los Angeles gave Avril the fresh start she needed.

It was there she hooked up with producer/songwritter Clif Magness, and "I was like 'Yeah I've found my guy,'" she enthusis.  "We totally clicked cuz he just let me be the guide; he really understood me and let me do my thing."  The songs for Let Go just began pouring out, with Magness as the helm as well as up-and-coming production team the Matrix.  Soon after Avril hooked up with Nettwerk Management who've steered the careers of Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Coldplay, Barenaked Ladies, and Sum 41.

Avril couldn't happier with the way the album turned out  "In this past year I've really grown as a writter. 'Complicated' wasn't written about anyone in particular.  It is basically about life, people being fake and releationships."  As to one of her favorite tracks, "Losing Grip", she says, "That is definatly one of my ex-boys-he didn't give me what I needed emotionally."  Avril laughs, "It doesn't matter now, and plus I got a good song out of it."

Now that her album is done, Avril can't wait to get out and play.  She jokes, pointion out that touring with her own sk8er punk band of rocker boys probably won't be all that different from her childhood, "I was a tomboy and I guess I still am.  I played hockey during the fall/winter and baseball in the summer.  I just love playing with the boys.

But Avrils music if capable of reaching the girls and the guys, and more than a few adventurous adults-and she's chomping at the bit to bring it to 'em.  "I can't wait to be out there; I want to rock the world!  I want people to know that my music is real and honest-it came from my heart.  I was just being true to myself."

Avril's real, all right.  And ordinary?  Anything but.
Quotes:
"I mean, the way she dresses-would you walk around street in a fuckin' bra?  I'm not trying to dis anyone, but with me, the clothes I wear onstage are the clothes I would wear to school or go shopping.  I'm gonna go up on stage and dress different  Britany Spears goes up onstage and dresses like a showgirl.  She's not being herself up there cuz she's dancin' like a ho.  Is she a ho?  She says she's a virgin  Y'know, it's just not clickin'.  She's doing one thing and saying another think, y'know?  It's definatly not what I'm going to do."
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