8.03.2011
Ava Luna @ the Clocktower Gallery
9.10.2010
Ava Luna @ Piano’s; Trichotomy of Styles
The twisted soul, punk attitude, and divine harmonies of the band Ava Luna were welcome sounds @ Pianos. The seven-member band presented a very lively set full of soul/funk and a bass line groove that made dancing my only option. Carlos Hernandez, the lead singer, and ultimate contortionist, aptly put his falsetto into hard drive. His enthusiastic rendering of soul-ridden vocals brought to mind, Sam Cooke. The female trio’s sophisticated Doo-wop harmonies worked as passages alongside the synth, bass, and drums that had a scratchy, almost garage-band feel.
Ava Luna effectively created a trichotomy of styles into a soul-melding mash. Having only seen a few videos and hearing some tracks seeing the band live left me with a strong impression. I loved their energy, spirit, and intention. This was the conclusion of Patrick Duffy’s relaunch party for the music blog Pop Tart Sucks Toasted, which was taken down by Google’s Blogger in February earlier this year. Duffy’s taste and hard work have helped enumerable musicians gain much-deserved exposure.
Sorry, I only came out to see Ava Luna but the other bands
on the line-up were MiniBoone, Your Youth, and Bermuda Bonnie.
Ethan Bassford – Bass, Felicia Douglass – Vocals, Carlos Hernandez –
Vocals, Becca Kauffman – Vocals, Anna Sian – Vocals, Alex Smith – Drums,
Nathan Tompkins – Synthesizer.