ALYSON AVENUEALYSON AVENUE
ALYSON AVENUE is probably the best independent AOR band around these days. Of course there are many ones out there, but this band really blew me away with their new 4-track CDR. The songs on that CDR are superb pure AOR like THE STORM, HUGO, 80s HEART, STARSHIP... In other words, this is pure 80s AOR! The band has a female lead vocalist who has a very strong voice comparable to the singers of HEART and WITNESS. It's time to get to know this Swedish AOR sensation a little better and therefore I asked them some questions to answer.
Please introduce us your band,
when did you form ALYSON AVENUE and did any of you play in bands
before ALYSON AVENUE?
Alyson Avenue formed in 1989. Niclas, Roger and Thomas got
together and became the first version Alyson Avenue. Our lead
singer Anette joined the band some time after that and she
certainly was an inspiration to all of
us. After a few studio recordings and local gigs we became quite
popular in our area. Naturally, over the years, our music grew
and developed into a more sophisticated style. But then, a few
years later, we split up. After two years of silence we got
together again. Now we also got to know Jarmo, our guitarist, who
made our music grew even more. We've just finished the recording
of our new CDR. There are four brand new songs on this CDR and we
feel that we're right back on track. The best thing about Alyson
is the friendship. We have always been the greatest friends and
supported each other. Humour is also a well known ingredient in
our lives. In the past we have all played in different bands.
Everything from heavy metal to pop music.
Can you tell us all about your
recordings?
We have recorded in different studios during our time as a band
and now we have found the place that is right for us. "Rocky
Road Studios" is a modern and cosy place where we can really
focus on the music. Even the coffee taste great here... Our
latest recording was actually done in a little different way.
Normally we enter the recording studio well prepared. This means
that we have rehearsed the songs over and over again to reduce
the studio cost. What also happens is that the feeling may be
lost, resulting in a flat production without "spirit".
This time, however, we decided to record our songs a little less
prepared to keep the joy and happiness of the music. We think we
managed to do just that this time.
Where can people get something from your band?
If you visit our web page http://listen.to/alysonavenue you'll find some MP3 soundbytes. As we
are an unsigned band there hasn't been any official release of
our music yet. Hopefully that will change in a near future.
Your music is 80s
typed AOR, which bands influenced you? And what do you consider
the best albums of all times, and what was your first and last
album you bought?
Well, we could go on for hours on this one. We are influenced by
bands that really got the feeling for strong melodies and
harmonies. Bon Jovi, TOTO, Heart, Rainbow, Robin Beck... The list
is a mile long. A few of the greatest albums ever are :
Toto - The seventh one
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Rainbow - Bent out of shape
Dream Theatre - Images and words
Rick Springfield - Living in oz
Talking about the first albums in our collections really bring
back memories... Different albums from Slade, ABBA, Sweet and
Thin Lizzy where our first albums. What's quite amazing is the
fact that these albums are still going strong. Some of our latest
additions to the CD collection are Metallica, JadedHeartIV and
Dream Theatre "Metropolis2".
I think your music is fantastic, have you
been aware this kind of music now is becoming pretty popular here
in Europe and Japan, have you got any contacts with the European
AOR labels?
We have received positive reactions from a few labels but there
still hasn't been any deal yet. We had a great laugh when a minor
heavy metal label begged us not to send any more songs. We
think they have to hear our latest recording as well, so we will
send them a CDR. When talking about what's popular or not, we
would like to think it's time for the eighties to come back
musically. The way we look at it, the nineties contributed with
almost nothing worth mentioning. The eighties however was a great
decade for all music. Strong melodies where the most
important thing and isn't that just what it is all about?
Are you popular in
your area?
The AOR genre isn't very popular in Sweden nowadays and it hasn't
been for the past decade. Anyway we get many positive reactions
from different people and we are well known especially among
musicians. As we now have had a two year long siesta it's about
time to wake everybody up again.
What are the plans
for the next coming months? Any new songs written and if so,
please tell us all about them?
We feel it's time to get ourselves heard everywhere, so first of
all we need to contact the radio stations and record labels. In
parallel with that we will of course continue writing new
material. Niclas is our songwriter, and he is always busy working
with new material. The most important things for us are strong
harmonies and strong vocals. One new song he's working on right
now is called "Call out my name" and it's a kind of
semi ballad. This song is great and hopefully we will record it
soon.
Finally, do you
have anything to add to our readers?
We have met a lot of people via the Internet and we would like to
thank everyone for the support we've been getting. Please visit
our web page http://listen.to/alysonavenue to check us out.