By Jeff Powalisz
In Boston, making it as a band takes time and patience. In the competitive atmosphere of the city, where various clubs and music halls host enthusiastic up-and-coming groups of different styles, making the jump to a leading band is not always possible.
For Averi, a rock/pop Boston-based band created in 1998, it took two years for their first album to come out, and five to become a notable band in the Boston music scene. For this Boston group of five, which has made two albums thus far, it was worth the wait.
“We’ve been successful at what we’ve done so far and we’ve only been real serious since our first album [“At Wit’s End”], ‘Direction of Motion,’ came out in 2002,” said Michael Currier, 26, saxophone player. “Until then, we asked ourselves ‘can we do this?’ When we did that album, we knew we’d be doing it for real.”
The band, which also consists of lead singer/guitarist Chad Perrone, 23, bass guitarist Chris Tilden, 26, drummer and Suffolk University graduate Matt Lydon, 26, and guitarist Stuart Berk, 26, have made their mark in recent months and in the past year, especially with a sold-out show at the Paradise Rock Club in January of 2003.
With notoreity that continues to increase, Averi will perform at afterHOURS on Friday at 10 p.m.
“Aside from huge shows at places like the Paradise, colleges and prep schools are our favorites places to play,” Currier said. “We know they want us there, and when we get there they know all the words and they’ve been spreading the discs and file sharing. We love hanging out after too and getting to know everybody.”
“At Wit’s End,” a shorter album consisting of five songs, was a lighter, more pop-oriented album that was released in 2000. Unlike the first album, which only used an acoustic guitar, “Direction of Motion” had a heavier rock sound with electric guitars, more bass, and with 10 tracks, was the turning point for the band. Along with five recorded tracks that did not appear on the album, it’s a strong sound that has connected with fans across the city for years now.
“We’ve had a couple of distinct changes in our play,” Currier said.
“But we’ll always retain our own sound. Our songs are influenced by the way Chad writes them and then the rest of the band will add a little bit and play with it,” Currier said.
Currier noted that the band has a signature song on each album, which never fail with their audiences.
“On our first album, ‘Despondent’ is a song we haven’t been able to get rid of. We still play it every once and a while because people really want to hear it. On the second album, ‘The Bones Underneath’ is the song that defines our album,” Currier said.
If anything else, and forgetting the aggressive Boston music scene and the high aspirations the band has, it’s all about having a good time for Averi as well as the connections the five musicians have made as a group.
“The number one key for us has a lot to do with our chemistry,” Currier said.
The band’s sound has been compared to Vertical Horizon, early Live, and Toad the Wet Sprocket.
“We’re more like brothers than anything else. We’re always having a good time and we’ll hang out after practice. We knew that was our first key and that we could do this if we like each other and we can stay together regardless of our show size.”
Averi can look back to the fall of 1999, where they had their first show at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge’s Central Square in front of a crowd of 50. Family and friends cheer ed them on, word spread, CDs were sold, and before they knew it, they were opening for The Goo Goo Dolls, Lisa Marie Presley, Matchbox 20, and SR-71, and a show is lined up with Eve 6 next month.
“I think our sold-out show at the Paradise was a key moment for the band but also opening for the Goo Goo Dolls at the Hampton Beach Casino last summer,” Currier said. “The show was sold out with 2300 people before we were even added to the bill. Whether they knew us or not, they were screaming for us the second we went on stage and the energy there was just amazing.”
Averi plans on being back in the studio by the end of this summer to start recording their next album. They are currently working on 17 to 18 songs and plan to have at least 25 to work from by the time they begin their studio work. In the meantime, with newly acquired management and a booking agent, they continue to bask in the glory of rising through the aggressive ranks of Boston.
