For the most part, the members of Audiovent are good guys.
Lead singer, Jason Boyd doesn’t eat red meat and instead of scarfing down 20 pounds of McDonalds’, like alt-rockers Phantom Planet, the band prefers to eat hale and hearty.
To prove it, when asked if he could be any fruit, he said, “I’d be a tomato because not a lot of people think it’s a fruit.”
A lot of people do, however, think this quartet is destined to crest in the sea of the multi-platinum success of their big brothers Incubus. Boyd, Ben Einziger (guitarist) and Paul Fried (bassist) are brothers of Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger of Incubus respectively. Jamin Wilcox’s (drummer), father was a member of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia.
But Audiovent refused to use the connections and clout of their big brothers to get recognized; instead, through years of garage jam sessions and touring up and down the California coast, they landed a deal with Atlantic Records in 2001.
Audiovent is not a new band.
They’ve been playing local gigs around their hometown of Calabasas, Cal., (also home to Golden State rockers Hoobastank and Linkin Park) for a decade.
Audiovent is not a nu-metal band.
In fact, mentioning the name causes Boyd’s supple voice to swell.
“Nu-metal lacks passion and realism,” Boyd said. “It’s so contrived. But I appreciate anyone who goes after their dream.”
Through experience and time the band members have learned that dreams can evolve.
Boyd, Einziger and Fried have known each other since they attended A.E. Wright Middle School. Until Wilcox, joined the band, grunge rock was their central influence. Wilcox introduced the quartet to funk music, Led Zeppelin and Queen.
Today, Audiovent’s apparent affinity for classic rock and R&B filters through their debut album “Dirty Sexy Knights In Paris (DSKIP)” like an illegal alien through the Immigration Service.
Boyd is pertinacious about changing the rock music scene today, which he said is flooded with rock-rap wanabes and rage inducing bands.
“We’re doing what comes naturally and we make sure we’re having a good time,” Boyd said. “We don’t want people to be angry. We want people to be cool. Hendrix and Zeppelin were like that.”
Although Audiovent’s sound is hard melodic rock, Boyd said the focus is really on the writing process.
“It’s all about the songs,” Boyd said. “A good song is going to be remembered for years and years. I hope a lot of our songs are like that.”
The first single released from “DSKIP”, “The Energy,” is being played on mainstream, active, modern, heritage and alternative rock radio formats. The video for “The Energy” can also be seen on MTV.
Production credits go to Gavin Mackillop, who produced the Goo Goo Dolls and ProTools engineer, John Porter, who produced The Smiths, but the writing credits go to the band members.
“We wrote everything,” Boyd said. “I can’t pick one song that’s my favorite. I’m in love with the whole album.”
During the time the band recorded the album Boyd was breaking up with his live-in love of two years. “The Energy” and “Underwater Silence” are inspired by Boyd’s break up.
“It’s a little peek into my thoughts and all of our creative abilities,” Boyd said. “This album is like my own ballad.”
But time nurses wounds and in the case of Audiovent it also gets you better tour transportation.
They’ve been touring for seven months and in September they finally traded in their cramped equipment-outfitted van for a tour bus.
Yet the demanding touring schedule and the occasionally dull audience, which Boyd said can be cured with a sip of Red Bull, hasn’t slowed down this high-energy band.
“It’s been awesome,” Boyd said. “We’ve been growing and so has our fan base. Sure, we’ve had shows where crowds were hard to please, but as long as we’re having fun (it doesn’t matter).”
Audiovent and Theory of a Deadman will open for Saliva tonight at the New Daisy Theatre.
