| URL : www.isgoodmusic.com/paulavion(andparavion) |
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| Profile Type : Band ( Featured ) |
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| PAUL AVION (AND PAR AVION) |
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Los Angeles, CA, CA |
| Currently [ Offline ] |
Active/Local |
| Member of the IsGoodMusic Network. |
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About
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If ELO, Devendra Banhart and Bob Marley were placed into an orbiting centrifuge and blended into The White Album, it might sound a little like this: R U With Me, Paul Avion's first nationally released album.
New Orleans to L.A., to Paris, to the slums of Africa ....
In 2009, SPIN.com named Paul Avion second in its "8 Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen," but if Avion hasn't been better known until now, it's probably because his life reads like a restless diary.
Moving from his hometown of New Orleans to L.A.'s Silver Lake music scene in 2005, he recorded a number of songs in varying styles with fellow New Orleans native Ben Mumphrey (producer of Frank Black's Devil's Workshop and the Breeders' Mountain Battles).
The result was Menage a Trois, a collection of songs that received consistent airplay on L.A.'s KXLU, KCRW and other stations.
Chasing a fascination with European club culture, Avion made an escape to France, washing dishes and immersing himself in Paris' indie club scene. Emerging from clouds of billowing underground smoke, he saved the polaroid as backdrop for his 2007 EP, Pop Music United, named after a small European DJ collective. The EP featured Tanya Haden (sister of Petra Haden, now wed to Jack Black), as well as other local musicians.
The limited release EP received favorable press in America's College Music Magazine ("cute pop-rock that sounds like Hellogoodbye with a little bit of The Flaming Lips"), Unsigned Magazine ("pop-rock from a guy with an expansive mind, who uses his music to explore make-believe realities. ... what can you expect from a guy who at the time of this interview was reading Quantum Electrodynamics?"), West Coast Performer Magazine ("ridiculously catchy tales of lovers rummaging through European cities"), Popchild in Barcelona ("10"), and Decode Magazine in the UK ("will make this winter bright with summer pop").
Perhaps the most telling review came from Glasswerk in the UK, which said: "Harks back to the days when pop music was expansive and relaxing," adding, rather cryptically: "Avion gives off the impression that he is just about managing to stay a yard ahead of burdening worry."
Whatever the reasons, Avion hasn't stopped traveling, blending with the locals, and making music.
Returning to L.A., he recorded "Stand Up, Be a Man" (featured in PBS' Roadtrip Nation, Fuel TV's The Daily Habit and AMC's Hollywood Icon) and "Fibromyalgia," apparently dedicated to friend and local musician Annie Hardy, of the L.A. nu-grunge band, Giant Drag.
College News wrote: "Fun yet complex indie pop for adventurous music fans. … Avion proves he is on par with other indie singers of our day with better connection to his lyrics."
2010 was perhaps Avion's most unexpected year.
Reporting from the African slums for SPIN Earth, Avion lived and worked at a school for disabled children in Kenya's largest slum. The result was the video series, "Avion in Africa," parts of which can be seen at www.paulavion.com.
The other result is R U With Me, Avion's first full-length album, showcasing his mercurial energy that spans musical topography as well as geography, with just a twist of revolution.
Whatever the reason for his wanderlust, Avion clearly wants to bring his listeners along, from the Postal Service-meets-Africa energy of "Mombasa Island" to the Pretty In Pink-esque "Stand Up, Be A Man."
As he sings in "Stop Joseph Kony (Can't Turn Out the Light)" (written about the African warlord, responsible for abducting 30,000 children),
"Tell those missionaries, we're on a mission."
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Activity
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On September 14, 2010, 11:09 pm
Uploaded a new Photo Gallery
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On September 14, 2010, 11:03 pm
Update the "About" Section
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On March 18, 2010, 7:36 pm
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On March 18, 2010, 7:34 pm
Uploaded a new Photo Gallery Profile Pic
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On February 7, 2010, 12:10 pm
Update the "About" Section
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On February 7, 2010, 12:10 pm
Update the "About" Section
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On February 7, 2010, 12:07 pm
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On February 7, 2010, 12:05 pm
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