Stephanie talked with Seattle, WA rockers Avoid as she discussed the bands name change, how the scene is in Seattle and much more! - Read it HERE

I don't want to say I found the band of the year for me in 2018 already because it is very early in the year but the Seattle band Avoid have put a permanent smile on my face after hearing some of tracks off the bands debut album ALONE on Revival Recordings.  The band blend and create a new and exciting sound to fans of rock, metal and anything in between.

Once know as Avoid The Void, the guys graduated and matured from those days and now grace us with some prominent powerful and diverse songs.  Then when you look deeper into songs you find reality driven lyrics like in the third single entitled HATE (ME). 

Music that will twist your head around and then calmly soothe your soul until the next trip down the heavy and dark road of excellence; as you can hear in END OF AN ERA.

BY MYSELF has a lot of fun guitar tones and sounds throughout the track but still is driving and heavy with a melody driven chorus.  What stood out for me is the different layers of vocal approaches which drives the song ino the next dimension. 

Then the last song I was able to get my hands on was a little track called 28 DAYS; this song sold me on this band is the reason why I am saying I could have found my 2018 breakout band of the year. 

Mixing metal attributes, clear as day melodic tones, vocals that will haunt you and instill love in your sould, guitar work that will leave you breathless; and just purely driving forces of chaos mixed with beauty sums up this song favorite. 

Before the guy's head out on the road in April with Dead Crown I was able to ask what, each member brings to the table to create the music for Avoid, along with the debut disc ALONE will be out.  Song meanings and what tour life entails for them. 

Stay in contact with AVOID:
FACEBOOK: AVOIDpnw
INSTAGRAM: WeAreAvoid

YOU GUYS WERE NAMED AVOID THE VOID PRIOR TO THIS NEW CHAPTER OF JUST AVOID.  WHY THE NAME CHANGES AND HOW HAVE YOU GUYS GROWN AS A BAND SINCE THE NAME CHANGE?
There were many little reasons that came into play when changing the name, but at the end of the day it comes down to we weren't Avoid The Void anymore.  Under the 5 years we were ATV, our sound had evolved a lot, we had gone through a couple members, and we just weren't where we wanted to be.  AVOID was our way of being a brand new entity in the music scene, with staying true to our roots.

WHO IS IN THE BAND AND WHAT DOES EACH MEMBER BRING INTO THE BAND ON A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL?
The band consists of me (Benny Scholl) the singer, our guitarists Nick Olson and Brandon Parker, our bass player Jason Daggett and our drummer David Dusseault.  Everyone brings so much to the table in their own way.  Nick is our primary song writer, and great with anything technology.  He is one of the hardest working people i've ever met.  His playing/ writing abilities are always evolving due to how much time he spends at it and it's incredible getting to work with him.  Brandon is an outstanding guitar player, and very well rounded on his knowledge.  He is great to bounce ideas off of and build plans with.  David is such a solid drummer and overall musician.  He actually used to teach high school drum line, and currently teaches drums on the side.  He's great with writing and his experience really helps us grow.  Jason is like the glue that holds everything together.  I've never met someone so easy to work with.  He's great with looking at all situations without a bias so everyone's opinions and thoughts are heard.  He also has an audio degree from the Art Institute and is one of the main reasons why we're able to self produce/ record everything we do.  Personally, I handle most of the business side of things and a lot of the merch/ social media/ things on the front end.  I work as our tour manager on the road and try to constantly push the limits of what we can do next on all ends.  It's a very cool dynamic so have so many driving members and we're very proud of what we're creating.

YOU JUST RELEASED A THIRD SINGLE IN HATE (ME) BEFORE WE LOOK INTO THAT SONG, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ALBUM IT'S COMING FROM:  WHEN DOES IT LOOK LIKE YOU WILL BE RELEASING THAT AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE BIGGEST GROWTH IN THE BAND THAT FANS WILL HEAR FROM THIS ALBUM?
We're hard at work to finish the last few songs on our upcoming album ALONE.  I can't speak much about an exact release date, but I can say you will see an album from AVOID in 2018.

HATE (ME) WAS QUOTED AS BEING YOUR MOST EMOTIONAL LYRICS TO DATE.  WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO UNLEASH THE EMOTION AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE GET OUT OF THIS SONG?
We really wanted to show all sides of us on this record.  Every song that we're going to put out is going to be a little different in its own way.  The big thing with "HATE (ME)", I wanted to show in the lyrics was honesty and vulnerability.  The overal theme of this song is all of the "bad thoughts" you tell yourself while dealing with mental illness.  We really just hope this song makes you feel something, and hopefully you can relate to it in one way or another.

YOU JUST SIGNED WITH REVIVAL RECORDINGS.  HOW DID THAT ALL COME ABOUT AND WHAT DID THEY BRING TO THE TABLE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE WITH THEM?
We're so excited for our future with Revival.  I actually met Shawn (President/ owner of Revival) and Aaryn (A&R at Revival) on tour with Alesana last February.  Soon after that run, Aaryn started managing us and a couple months later we were in talks with Shawn about signing a deal.  We love that Revival really cares about their artists.  They have outstanding connections in the industry and we truly felt like they would have our best interests in mind,  and to this day we feel the same way.  We've seen so much growth in our little time on the label, I can't say a bad word about them.

I HEARD THE SONG "BY MYSELF" AND THAT WAS THE SONG THAT REALLY DREW ME TO YOUR BAND.  CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE INSIGHT ON THAT TRACK AND YOUR FEELINGS OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT?
I'm so glad you enjoyed that one!  That is definitely a band favorite, and personally I think my favorite song off the upcoming album.  That track is supposed to be a song you turn up with your friends and have a good sing along.  I'm really proud of the finished product and have high hopes that it will be a fan favorite.

BEING FROM SEATTLE AND THE MUSIC SCENE THERE HOW DID THAT INFLUENCE YOU GUYS AND WHAT AVOID BRINGS TO THE TABLE?
There is so much talent in the Seattle music scene it's insane.  The big thing it did and still does is make us want to get better.  With so many good bands doing their own thing, it made us not want to be like anyone else, so we're constantly perfecting the songs and stepping up our live show so we can keep up with everyone else from here thats killing it. 

WHO ARE YOU MOST INFLUENCED BY MUSICALLY AS A BAND OR A PERFORMER AND IF YOU COULD MEET THOSE PEOPLE OR PERSON WHAT WOULD BE THE ONE QUESTION YOU WOULD WANT MOST ANSWERED TO HELP YOU IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS?
Oh boy... that's a loaded question, haha.  I only say that because we're inspired by so much it's really hard to pin point where it all stems from.  If I had to break down our top 5 inspirations I'd say Slipknot, Foo Fighters, Papa Roach, Periphery, and Underoath.  I think we'd ask them about their writing process, and how they've managed to stay relevant in their long careers. 

YOU'RE HEADING OUT ON THE ROAD WITH DEAD CROWN IN APRIL.  WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO ON THIS TOUR AND HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT YOUR SET LIST AND WHAT CAN FANS LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING OR SEEING?
We can't wait for this run.  We've actually toured with Dead Crown before back when we were ATV and had an absolute blast with them.  They're some of our best friends in the world so we're just really looking forward to the quality hangs.  We'll definitely be playing all of the singles at these shows, and maybe a couple new ones, so you'll have to come and see for yourself ;)

HOW IMPORTANT TO YOU IS A SOLID LIVE SHOW AND WHAT IS YOUR GO TO STAGE WEAR ON TOURS?
The live show is everything to this band.  We are 100% a live band.  We want people to leave our shows entertained, even if you don't like heavy music.  We try and bring a very high energy and inviting performance so there's a little something for everyone.  Go to stage wear for me would be black jeans, white shoes, and some random pop star shirt like Usher or Prince or NASCAR related shirts, something ridiculous, haha.

I ALWAYS ASK THIS QUESTION DUE TO THE FACT I'M A FITNESS BUFF BUT I JUST WANTED TO KNOW HOW YOU GUYS STAY FIT AND HEALTHY ON THE ROAD?
We try and live fairly healthy on the road.  We haven't gotten into the routine of working out when we're on tour, but we definitely use Planet Fitness for the showers haha.  We just try and not eat too much fast food, and instead of just sitting around waiting to load in and what not we like to bring footballs and soccer balls so we can play catch and little scrimmage matches.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD SO FANS OR NEW COMERS CAN GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BETTER?
We're the most approachable people in the world, and we love meeting new people!  Shoot us a message if you want to get to know us.  And if you like the music or anything, you can pick up all of our merch at Avoid.MerchNew.com and be on the lookout for lots of touring!

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