Avitia of Avitia ready to roll with new band

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 21, 2008 9:33 AM PDT ∞

It was music that drew Tony Avitia to Southern California; it was the weather and geography that led him to North County.

The Oceanside resident, who leads his self-named band Avitia into Ocean House at Carlsbad Village on Thursday, said that after growing up in Houston and cutting his teeth as a professional musician there, he wanted to see whether he could carve out a spot for himself in Southern California's renowned music scene.

"I'd been in several bands before, and I was really interested in conquering some territory out here ---- getting to play all the venues I heard about: the Viper Room, the Whisky, the House of Blues," he said by phone from his Oceanside home last week.

As for landing in San Diego County rather than in Los Angeles, he said the lifestyle drew him south of the musical magnets he listed above.

"Beaches, mountains, snow, desert ---- you've got it all out here."

He arrived in Southern California in 1999, and in Oceanside in 2005. About the same time as his move to Oceanside, he started recording under his last name ---- leaving the Houston hip-hop band I-45, where he was one of two rappers in the band. (Interestingly, while a member of I-45, he toured with San Diego institution blink-182.) His first record, "Apartment 15," came out that year as a one-man band project. And while his second disc, the six-song "Oceanside Boulevard" (just released in February) was also a one-man studio effort, he said the positive response to that second release (both were issued on Above Ground Records) led him to form a full band.

"Initially, I had put out a record back in 2005 with Above Ground Records, and I was essentially the only person who was in the band. I would record just about everything ---- drums and bass and guitar ---- and I would do all the vocals.

"It wasn't until January of this year that I decided to put a band together. Our first gig was at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood ---- they called and asked us to do the show. At that point, I didn't have a band."

Avitia said he "scrambled" to put a band together for that show, and said he was lucky in finding a group of like-minded musicians for the band. And he said they're not just hired hands, but a real band, one with input into the upcoming third CD, set for a fall release.

"Initially, it was my project. Now, it's much more organic because we're writing music together.

"I like what I do, but I prefer having the dynamic of having a band together. The new album we're working on right now is about 85 percent complete, and everybody in the band has had a hand in it." (The rest of the band is Gabe Ramos and Brandon Turner on guitars, Warren Henderson on bass, drummer Ryan "Scruff" McDonough, Nicole Olson on keyboards and DJ Drips on the turntable.)

The band's MySpace page (myspace.com/avitia) describes their music as "Alternative/Ghettotech/Southern Rock." It's certainly not the hip-hop that Avitia played with I-45, but when asked to describe Avitia's sound, Tony Avitia came at it sideways.

"There are elements that are in there that you can tell," he said.

Pressed again to come up with a succinct definition of the band's style, he said, "We're all on the same page with where we want to go musically." (The second album and samples on their MySpace page sound like alternative-flavored power pop with lots and lots of guitar.)

As for the name, even though he admitted that it's a bit weird having the band named after one member, he said the name is established with two records, and it stands out.

"The name is going to stay the same because the name is kind of unique."

Avitia

When: 9 p.m. Thursday

Where: Ocean House at Carlsbad Village, 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad

Admission: Free

Info: (760) 729-4131 or oceanhousecarlsbad.com

Web: avitiamusic.com

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