Release "Bazaar Bazaar" TODAY on Volcom!
"It sounded like Sloan gone psych. No, it sounded like Led Zeppelin gone pop. No, that's not quite it either. Black Sabbath meets The Beatles? In fact it's none of those, but the truth lies somewhere in the middle of those comparisons.” - Jim Kopeny (Chicagoist, Donewaiting, Tankboy)
"Like Led Zeppelin psychedelic blues, Black Sabbath's bag of riffs and a love for all things rockin' from the '60s and '70s... The band's debut is a freewheelin' ode to most of what's great about rock'n'roll." - Aversion.com
"The North Carolina-based group has released a surprisingly strong debut with Bazaar Bazaar, a chugging pop-rock (with emphasis on the latter) effort in a space where ELO, Wolfmother and Sweet coalesce." - The Houston Press
“Led by a pair of guitarists who seem, by sheer force, to be powering their amplifiers rather than the other way around, Birds of Avalon make thunderous, precise rock with enough proggy smarts to keep you on your toes.” Steve Haruch for the Nashville Scene
“A band capable of delivering three-minute rock bliss and expansive psychedelic workouts with equal chops.” – Salt Lake Tribune
After a 7-year stint in a prison van with the double drum, frenetic rock n’ roll assault known as The Cherry Valence, guitarists Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler, felt a growing desire to move on. In a final whirlwind year that saw The Cherry Valence touring Europe multiple times, the couple, Kumar and Siler, got married and made the difficult decision to divorce their band.
Returning home hitched and band-less, they began late night clandestine meetings with neighbor and local crooner Craig Tilley (The Weather), where they hatched a plan to form Birds of Avalon and laid the foundation for what was to become the first batch of Birds Of Avalon songs. Still needing to round out their line up they snared their favorite area drummer Scott Nurkin (Dynamite Brothers) and soon added multi-instrumentalist and fanatical 4 tracker, David Mueller on bass.
With the release of their debut full length, Bazaar Bazaar, Birds Of Avalon have developed a unique psychedelic meets progressive sound that yields feelings that transcend the conventions of both. Skillfully channeling elements of a time in Rock since past, while maintaining their place in the lineage of North Carolinian independent rock heritage. Easily traversing an area between raw blues rock and atmospheric pysch-pop. Birds Of Avalon “can tear it up in a three-minute barn-burner or lure you into an extended psychedelic journey, wandering schizophrenically like a Brian May guitar solo,” so says Jens Lekman of Cincinnati City Beat.
Bazaar Bazaar is set for release on May 22nd on Volcom Entertainment and was recorded and produced by Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Let’s Active, Wilco), Greg Elkins and Brian Quast.
Watch Birds of Avalon shred HERE
BIRDS OF AVALON US Tour Dates:
w/The Fucking Champs!
5/23/2007 @ Caledonia Lounge - Athens, GA
5/24/2007 @ The EARL - East Atlanta, GA
5/25/2007 @ Bottletree Cafe - Birmingham, AL
5/26/2007 @ Hi Tone - Memphis, TN
5/27/2007 @ The Duck Room - St. Louis, MO
5/28/2007 @ The Picador - Iowa City, IA
5/29/2007 @ Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
5/30/2007 @ Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
5/31/2007 @ Sneaky Dee's - Toronto, ON
6/01/2007 @ La Sala Rosa - Montreal, QC
6/02/2007 @ Wallingford American Legion Hall - Wallingford, CT
6/03/2007 @ Great Scotts - Allston, MA
6/04/2007 @ The Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
6/05/2007 @ Studio B - Brooklyn, NY
6/06/2007 @ Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
6/07/2007 @ Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
6/08/2007 @ Satellite Ballroom - Charlottesville, VA
6/09/2007 @ The Poor House - Raleigh, NC
w/ Ted Leo!
8/05/2007 Covington KY @ Madison Theatre - The Sonic Muse Festival (Ted Leo, The Hold Steady, The Black Angels, and more)
8/06/2007 Nashville TN @ Exit In
8/07/2007 Birmingham AL @ Bottletree Lounge
8/08/2007 Roswell GA @ Whirlyball Atlanta (Chunklet Presents)
8/09/2007 Athens GA @ 40 Watt Club - Athens Popfest
8/10/2007 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
8/11/2007 Towson MD @ Recher Theater
8/12/2007 - SECRET NYC SHOW!!!!
+ more TBA soon!
Stream "Bazaar Bazaar" HERE!
"Bazaar Bazaar" Tracklist:
1. Bicentennial Baby
2. Horse Called Dust
3. Instant Coma
4. Set You Free
5. Wanderlust
6. Taking Trains
7. Superpower
8. Where’s My Blood?
9. Turn Gold
10. Think
11. Lost Pages From the Robot Repair Manual
For more information, visit:
www.birdsofavalon.com
www.myspace.com/birdsofavalon
www.volcoment.com
