Payday loans online no credit check Avan Lava –– Restoring Your Faith in Pop Music

“Let me tell you about your new favorite band,” my low interest payday loans no credit check rock star friend/pseudo older bro said to me one day instead of “hello.”

“It’s members of Fischerspooner, Meowskers, and some NYU theater kids you probably know––”

“Interested…”

“Who have formed a new supergroup of sorts that sound like Daft Punk mixed with Prince.”

There was an 87% chance that I would become obsessed with this band. When we met up with his girlfriend at a bar, she was blaring the song “It’s Never Over” on the PA, which I immediately loved before the first chorus was even over.

“This is that band I told you about earlier, Avan Lava,” my bro told me while I was dancing and jotting down the name of the band into my phone.

Sometimes, I hate when he’s right.

When I got home, I immediately downloaded their EP Flex Fantasy and listened to it non-stop for weeks. The album included everything I loved about classic pop music, which is also everything I missed in current pop music––upbeat songs with catchy hooks sung AutoTune-free by frontman with an incredible range? Hallelujah, Music Gods! Their music was fresh yet familiar and, in my opinion, begged for elaborate ‘80s Michael Jackson era choreography.

When I saw them live, it only cemented my love this band. Not only did they have crazy choreography in their set like I’d hoped, they wore matching black-and-white outfits and kicked off their show by shooting two confetti guns into the audience. Their pitch-perfect and indefatigable lead singer TC Hennes was backed by the powerhouse vocal-and-dance double threat of Jo Lampert and Drew Citron. Drummer Ian Pai and band members Le Chev and Andrew Schneider locked in the groove, threw down some sick beats, and triggered some crazy lights that synced with their music. Everyone in the room was dancing and watching the intense performance on stage with equal fervor. When they shot more confetti into the crowd to end their phenomenal set, I was bummed it was over but totally didn’t mind that I was covered in confetti, sweat, and beer.

I have not stopped telling people to see this band for well over a year now (I have written 52 issues of This Week in Awesome and have recommended their music videos or their upcoming shows at least ten times) and was so excited that local and national press were starting to notice these saviors of pop and showmanship. I chatted with them one cold and windy afternoon, but my stupid phone stopped recording at one point, and the really moving part of the interview where they talk about how they are a band that just loves each other and want to perform together all the time was cut off, but it was really sweet, so I’m telling you now!

How did you all meet?

Le Chev: Ian and I met doing Fischerspooner together––that’s how I met Andrew too. We met [TC] at a show…

Jo: Well, Drew, [TC] and I went to college together, we went to undergrad at NYU Tisch together. We’re theater students. And Tom and I were in an acapella group called the ‘N Harmonics, a group of really intense soloists. So the three of us did a show together and that’s the show that they’re referencing.

TC: Ian came to see a show that me, Jo, and Drew were in, and he just called me, and we eventually started working together and formed the band.

You guys have this elaborate spectacle of a live show with the matching black and white outfits, a light-up shirt, confetti guns, crazy lights. What was your idea and inspiration behind that? How’d all that come about?

Le Chev: I’ll quote Jack Donaghy: “Dress for the job you want and not the job you have.” So we have a show for a stadium and not for a small venue.

[everyone applauds]

Le Chev: Like a boss!

So your influence behind the black and white and the choreography and everything and the lights?

TC: Well for the fashion and the dance styling I think it’s all rooted in classic pop, like the greats that we definitely are inspired by, like Prince, Madonna, Janet, MJ––just always looking fresh and clean and matching that with really tight choreography that is fun and energetic.

Drew: It kind of started tongue-and-cheek a little bit like “whoa there’s this crazy breakdown! We gotta put some like Britney Spears moves in there.” Why not?

TC: But then it ended up being the best part of the show for us––those breaks when we’re not even singing, just dancing our asses off.

Jo: The music lends itself so that people feel that it’s about to happen. They’re like, “OAHHGGHHHHH THEY’RE ABOUT TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW!” People who don’t know the music are still getting ready for the big breakdown.

In addition to a strong visual with your live show, your music videos have also been really great too. How did that come about? Were they the director’s vision or a collaboration between the band and directors?

Ian: “It’s Never Over” was mostly, we were working with this director, Spencer Dennis, and a choreographer friend of ours, Vanessa Walters, and that was a real collaboration. It was our first video, and there were a lot of favors, scrambling, and last-minute stuff. But you know, the “Sisters” video was our friends Weston Auburn and Dan Gutt. They came to us with a treatment that was I think how all of us envisioned the song anyway, but they really got it. They were really responsible for putting that one together. They knew us well enough to capture the spirit of the band. We couldn’t have been happier with the way that came out.

Nasa: I am really fascinated by the music video for the song “Sisters,” especially in the beginning because in the video you think that they’re sisters, and then they end up loving each other––that was really cool. Was that the inspiration behind the song or how did that come about? That angle––it’s not your typical love story.

TC: Sometimes when we’re writing and we’re just going with it. Words just come out and then they start to find their own meaning. I think the meaning of the song, I relate to it as a gay person. But then as “Sisters” was happening, I was like, “that’s cool if it’s from the perspective of a man talking about these two women that have similar love issues, just like anyone does.” So we just started writing about these two women and just started to think about what that unrequited love would be like for this person who is fighting for this person.

Ian: They weren’t supposed to be sisters––they were just like girlfriends, you know. Like sis-TAHS, you know.

TC: It wasn’t supposed to be an incestuous video but…

Drew: Before the video I always thought of it more like an “Always be My Baby” plot line. It’s very nostalgic, like sneaking out after dark at camp. I always thought of them as adolescent characters.

Jo: Camp always came up. I agree––they’re like camp sisters.

Drew: I think the video captures that for sure.

TC: The one lyric that always comes up is “love at nineteen”. I know what you’re saying, I still have in my head that kind of camp nostalgia thing too, like being on the canoe and shit, but in reality they are adults.

Jo: No totally, that’s why the video works so aptly, because they’re on this beach, and it is sort of like when you go away and you’re not there. It’s not real, and everything happens so fast––a week feels like a year––and then it’s over. Things go back to normal.

TC: You know its cool too, like after the fact I realize Crystal, the lead girl was the only person that wasn’t Puerto Rican. She flew down from New York––she works at L magazine––she’s not an actor or anything, and you see her and she is like the “other” too. She’s on this magical island and she’s all by herself and it’s really sad and really beautiful.

Who would you say are your musical influences, and who are your visual influences for your band?

Le Chev: The visual stuff is kind of what we were talking about before with like the super classic pop imagery. We even watched them yesterday, it’s like MJ and Janet, and they have “Rhythm Nation” and “Scream” the video, and they have those two and I’m like maybe this is kind of like, what we’re doing. So that’s cool, I think there is probably a lot more for imagery but that just happened yesterday.

For music, there is Prince and for me it really started with Daft Punk, and that just turned into a lot of other things. Daft Punk is a really good gateway into dance music for everyone because it’s so pop. Actually what somebody pointed out to me about Daft Punk which is so cool is that all their stuff sounds like rock. You can even see it on a frequency analyzer, whenever dance music is really big in the States it sounds like rock ‘n’ roll. It’s never really like the club spectrum. It’s all tight mids which is a weird brain exercise. They are a huge influence.

Ian: That’s actually kind of what started us. When Le Chev and I were on an overnight bus ride to Rio and we started swapping music, it was a long ride and very scary. I don’t know, Daft Punk was as mainstream in the States, I don’t think the Kanye stuff came out yet. I was like “I love these guys!” And he was the same way, we started swapping a lot of the other music we were really into and we were both like, “We have to do something together!” We were in Fischerspooner together at this point but we wanted to do something on our own, something different, something a little more pop in a way. I mean Fischerspooner is pop, but it’s different.

Jo: I feel like from our perspective, we’re still learning what the influences are. I personally haven’t written any of the music. I am just inspired by what is being brought to the table to then perform it live. For me, Tom’s voice evokes Prince, George Michael, Michael Jackson, and things that are so timeless in a voice that can do so many things, so many different styles. The fact that he is classically trained in music theater and that he can sing crazy notes that Jeff Buckley sang––to me, that’s the influence. I get to hear their influences, and I get to watch him do that. That, for me, is how I relate to what that’s about.

Drew: I started writing with them, but I definitely bring to the live show, pretty exclusively. But doing it live, I guess there is a certain throwback 90’s look that we bring out.

Jo: Sometimes I think of Eve, I don’t know why.

Nasa: Eve 6?

Jo: No EVE. I was watching the “Tambourine” video and… We’re presenting, we’re performing a style that’s being brought to us in a very specific way. and that’s kind of cool. I’ve never really thought that much about it but… If I was writing music, that would be a whole different conversation probably. It’s really amazing to get to take it on.

Drew: I’d say Mary J. Blige is what I aspire to.

TC: The girls being in the band change it completely. The energy they bring and their vocals are so freakin’ sick. They are also solo artists, and we just happen to be fortunate enough for them to be in the band. They inspire me to sing too, because without them being there I couldn’t go off and do other things, they just hold it down.

Have you guys been approached for any like weird opportunities, in terms of gigs or brands or anything like that?

Le Chev Last time we went to SXSW some guy came up to us after we played at Stubb’s last year and was like, “Hey, I rented a house and it’s got a pool. You guys gotta play there.”

Jo: I would love to do a show in a pool! We have to do that!

Le Chev: It felt like a mistake or like a porno party or something. So that was a weird offer, the weirdest offer I’ve gotten from someone.

Jo: I feel like the W hotel thing was weird, I mean I wasn’t there in Singapore but, it was like, fly to Singapore play a night with Mark Ronson in this crazy looking hotel then fly to Bali, have a DJ set. I think this band affords opportunities to do so many things because, you know, Ian, Le Chev, and also Drew [are] also [DJs] in their own right. I think there are a lot of opportunities yet to come that are going to be a little nuts.

Le Chev: That was the craziest offer that has gone down so far. They were opening a new W hotel and were like, “Why don’t you guys just all fly out and play one show in Singapore?” It was cool.

TC: Then we played a hippie palace in Bali.

Jo:Then we played a hippie show in Wassaic.

Le Chev: Wassaic was a different level.

Jo: Yeah Wassaic was out in the stars, that was also amazing though. We’ve gotten to do some really cool things. I really just feel so lucky.

So, I am assuming you guys were like super well received out there?

Le Chev: Singapore was fun but it was really like, “uhh…” They had flown in a lot of like very upscale people––a lot of rich people––to see this place, and they had like a whole night of things, it was mostly event kind of people. It was fine to perform there. We had a good time, but we were busting our asses. It was a lot of working to get people into it. But then in Bali…

TC: Yeah they were super serious, everyone was in like $5000 dresses.

Ian: The outfits were insane.

TC: But everyone who was running the event was great to us and loved us.

Ian: But was also a cultural thing I mean, I have a friend who lives there, and even when Mark Ronson was DJing, the crowd was pretty stiff. My friend was like, “this is about as crazy as it gets.” She was pretty pissed off because she’s lived in New York, and she knows what it’s like to get crazy. She was like, “look at this!?” You know, people were just kind of like not really, I don’t know, I guess it’s just not their thing.

Le Chev: People had like McQueen heels on, like if somebody’s wearing a hundred thousand dollars worth of clothes…

Ian: It was like going to the Oscars. People were wearing like jewelry [worth] $100,000-$300,000, whatever. People were wearing crowns.

Le Chev: I tried to buy beer from at a street cart. Singapore is also very expensive, and a beer was like $15. 15 bucks for a can of beer! And I’m all like, “Oh, I have a card” and they’re like, “You no have chip?” and I’m like, “What do you mean, a chip?” They’re like, “Idiot, whatever.”

Ian: “No beer for you, get out of here!”

Nasa: What’s a hippie palace like?

TC: A lot of candles…

Drew: Oh my god, it was the coolest. Okay, this place originated in Venice Beach, California, and this is their Bali location. It’s basically a vintage Japanese motorcycle and custom surf shop, venue, billiards hall, and restaurant. Every beautiful person in Bali was there. Everyone is getting high and laying on mats…

Ian: [At] the front of the stage there are a bunch of mats on the ground, and we’re kind of looking at it like “Oh that’s kind of weird.” So we start playing, and these guys come in and lay down on the mat, and we’re like “What the fuck is going on?” Some people try to dance, and the guys lying there just tell them to go in the back, and they just sort of lie there. It was weird and so casual.

Drew: Shout out, the place was called Deus ex Machina.

Ian: Nobody knew what we were talking about––trying to go to “Deuce” and they’re like “Deuce?”

Have you guys toured much?

Ian: No, not that much. We’re hoping to. We went SXSW last year, and we’re going to go again this year. And we played in DC and upstate in Wassaic. Yeah, I think we’re probably going to do a bunch of touring this year. We’re starting that.

Jo: Gay pride. Yeah, a gay pride tour. All the gay prides haha. That’s my goal.

Ian: Yeah, we’re going to start leading up to the release of the full length, which will hopefully happen within the next calendar year. So yeah, we’re going to start putting on a lot of shows out of town and try and build up audience a bit.

Have you guys been well received in the cities you’ve played in so far?

Ian: Yeah, I’ve been in a lot of bands and this one is kind of a no-brainer, people just come. It’s pretty funny actually watching people who’ve never heard us before lose their shit completely. SXSW was insane. There were people who I thought were like literally going to have sex. I mean it was a guy and two girls. It’s good when we get a little embarrassed.

Le Chev: It was that pool party guy!

Do you have any rituals before or after shows?

Drew: Putting on Jo’s fake eyelashes.

Jo: Oh my god, if I didn’t have Drew there would be no such thing as anything hair, costume, or make-up. Because I am not a girl, and Drew really adds that feminine touch that I lack. I’m like, “Drew, can you help me with the eyeliner, the eyelashes, and the hair and the other thing and the thing and the thing in the back.”

Drew: There is a lot of work putting on the outfits.

Jo: Yeah, lots of small spaces with a lot of big personalities.

Jo: Can I talk about my favorite thing that is not necessarily a ritual? So, we arrive at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for our Halloween show and I was out of town and I came back specifically for this show. In the hallway is this 500-pound raft, and they’re like “ Oh, you’re going to be pulling that on stage, and [TC] is going to surf on it through the audience.” It’s things like that. I think the ritual is realizing that there will be ten other things new that are happening in each show and putting that in on the spot.

Ian: Almost every show we are trying something new to see if it works. The CO2 has been definitely a ritual, stuffing the confetti guns, we always have to do that, and hopefully not having an accident.

Nasa: What are your epic fails?

TC: I almost died on the raft. I was literally like an inch away from losing my life. This little woman––she is my angel!––she grabbed the raft at the last second with her two hands and pushed me back up. I am looking at her like “you can do it!” and she saved me. Luckily, the raft went back to the stage.

Jo: Everyone’s like “Get this off of us!” The raft is so heavy, it’s not like some weightless raft. I can’t believe you fit it through the door!

TC: We thought that the balloon reindeer would lift it up, through the land.

Balloon reindeer?

Jo: it was a Christmas-themed Halloween party. It was Cheryween! She throws these amazing events, and this was her Halloween party and––

TC: We decided to wear the most embarrassing outfits possible.

Ian: They looked great though.

Jo: We dressed in tutus, and we were the Nutcracker. We came out of a present.

TC: I was wearing a dance belt and decided to stuff a sock down there. And that sock was just going all over the place! Everyone is just like, “what’s wrong with his dick?” I’m like, “It’s detachable!”

Jo: The biggest mishap that could occur is probably a computer thing. In Wassaic, people who went on before us were talking about the mist and how it affects computers and lights. There’s a lot to depend on, as far as technology, always seems like it fails and somehow it really doesn’t in this capacity. Really we’ve done pretty well!

Ian: We’ve had a couple times.

Andrew: That’s really a ritual, is just last-minute “oh shit!” troubleshooting. Everything that could ever go wrong at every show, it’s just like, “we barely got that off!”

Ian: We have a lot of stuff running off a couple computers, and if one thing is off in the chain, then a bunch of stuff won’t work. We don’t really have a great way to test everything because we’re always changing things. So for a lot of shows the [girls and TC] are getting the look together, and we’re dealing with getting all the technical stuff to go off, and we’re usually just standing up there looking at each other like, “Nope, nope, no that’s not working. Okay, try this.” And then we’re trying to download stuff, and it’s a nightmare sometimes. I mean, sometimes we show up not knowing if it’s going to work or not––up to the last minute, [in] soundcheck just typing away, thinking “I think it’s going to work…” Most of the time, it works. There’s been a couple of times when we’re supposed to be this big chaotic moment, and we wait and wait, and nothing happens, so we just keep going.

Le Chev: We recently got these huge tanks of gas, and they just like rocket up big plumes of smoke, and we haven’t really had them work great yet. The first time we did it, and we messed up and didn’t realize that we had written a bunch of extra cues for them, so they are just going off and it’s so loud. There are these cchhhttt! chhttt! chhhttt! sounds the whole song! It’s smoke clouds like right at me and I’m just trying to play.

Drew: It hurts your bare skin!

Jo: it’s like burning freeze.

Ian: That’s the technical term.

What do you have coming up next?

Le Chev: We are planning our SXSW stuff. We have a music video for “Feels Good.”

Jo: It’s like found footage. Candids, behind-the-scenes.

Ian: It’s a good tour video in a way.

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Story by Rebecca An
Photos by Clay Standley and Max Schneller

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