AVION SOAR INTO TOP 20
AS BAND READIES NEW RELEASE

FALL TOUR WITH EVERCLEAR BEGINS NOVEMBER 3

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Los Angeles, CA - October 5, 2004 - Southern California rockers Avion have a hit on their hands with their latest single, “Seven Days Without You.” The song, from the band’s forthcoming self-titled debut on Columbia/Red Ink records is currently #20 on Radio & Records Hot AC chart. Avion will be released on November 2.

Prior to signing with Columbia/Red Ink records, Avion had travelled to some 65 cities in an RV showing up at radio stations across America trying to get “Seven Days Without You” heard anyway they could. “We showed up with amps, PA, the works and put on a full concert in the radio station conference rooms,” recalls lead vocalist & guitarist Steve Bertrand. “It took a lot of people by surprise, but it worked and radio started playing the song. Las Vegas added it, Buffalo added it, Denver added it, St. Louis added it and it just snow balled after that.”

With “Seven Days Without You” receiving radio airplay and the new cd about to be released on November 2, the band will do what they do best…get in an RV and tour. Avion has nabbed the opening slot on the Everclear tour and will head out on a national tour beginning November 3 in Philadelphia, PA.

TOUR DATES

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Taking its name from the French word for "airplane," the Los Angeles based Avion are proving that the best way to success is old-fashioned hard work and a DIY attitude. Led by Steve Bertrand, former front man of the power-pop band The Tories, the band has set out to make it's mark with a keen sense of musical purpose and cultural vision.

After the amicable split of The Tories in 2002, Bertrand began writing for his yet to be defined follow up. Over the course of a year he wrote some 22 songs, taking them frequently to a singer-songwriter night (which he hosted) at the Malibu Inn in Los Angeles, testing them on local audiences. After a short time it became "very clear which 13 songs needed to be on the record." Also very clear was the fact that Bertrand wanted a band. "I didn't want to be the 'solo acoustic' guy," he admits. "I really missed the element of being in a group".

Scouting the LA area, Bertrand quickly found musicians that shared his sensibilities. Local drummer Jamie Wollam was enlisted first, followed by South Dakota transplant Joey Clement on bass. Josh Dunahoo on guitar and Ben Hazlett on guitar and keyboards came next, both originally hailing from Arkansas and New Mexico respectively. "Having written most of the songs on an acoustic, I didn¹t hear the finished versions until I played with the right guys," Bertrand says. "You hear the power of the song with the right band. That¹s what happened when we rehearsed for the first time. It was very cool."

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On the band's self-titled debut album, Avion have created 13 rich and vital new chapters in the ongoing evolution of pop music. Produced by Bertrand, with the bulk of recording done at his home studio, the album is a powerful collection of both truthful and emotionally purging songs. Stealthily gliding between the bombastic blast of album opener 'Would You Notice' to the orchestral verve of 'Love Is Here Again', Avion has few musical boundaries. "There¹s so many different flavors on the record. I had an older brother, so I grew up listening to the Cars and Cheap Trick. Their records would have a heavy song, and then a slow one. That¹s missing from records now" Bertrand muses. Avion's first single, 'Seven Days Without You', speaks to the sorrow of a love lost with passion, intensity and an undeniably moving melody. "The song really revolves around that universal feeling you have after losing someone, when you're calling everyone you know and trying to fill your day with anything to keep from going crazy and somehow numb that nagging sense of longing. He says about the inspiration for his music, "I could never afford therapy, so it's life, love, death, faith, anger, fear, it's all of those things." When asked about his favorite songs on the album, Steve demurs, saying, "It's like a pair of trousers. I have a different one every day."

Bertrand connected to his standards of pop music excellence at an early age. Growing up slightly south of the Canadian border in Newport, Vermont, Bertrand would tune into the local AM radio stations and listen to "whatever three minute pop songs were at the top of the charts." As a kid, his father took him to a Beach Boys concert where the young Bertrand experienced a transcendent musical apotheosis. "It was electrifying to me. When the lights came on, it hit me right there like a hammer over the head: That's what I was built to do!"

Following graduation from high school, Bertrand moved to Los Angeles to answer the calls of his own muses. After spending a couple of years "meandering around" getting acclimated, Bertrand founded the alt-rock band The Tories, who went on to sign with the legendary producer Phil Ramone. After two critically acclaimed albums fell victim to the demise of Ramone's short-lived N2K label, the Tories called it quits. "We were everybody's favorite band that nobody knew." he says. "Towards the end of the band, I fell into the TV world of theme songs, penning the music for Christina Applegate's 'Jesse' on NBC and several other network shows. It was a great bridge between The Tories and the start of Avion".

After completing the Avion record, the real work began. Having experienced first hand the struggle of breaking through with his former band, and witnessing the current state of the ever-changing music industry, Bertrand knew from the start that he wanted to take a very "hands on" approach and put this record out himself. Joining forces with his "friend/business associate", Chris Dickson, Bertrand co-founded The Console, a multi-media company designed to foster and support music, film and television projects that may fall through the cracks or never see the light of day at larger companies. It's first project… Avion.

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"We met with our manager, David Christensen, and all agreed the best way to reach the most people with this record was to focus on getting on the radio", recalls Bertrand. As anyone in the music industry knows, not a small task. "We had a shoe-string budget, nothing compared to the major labels, but we thought if we could find people that believed in the record, we could make it work." Hiring a small, but dedicated and passionate team of radio promoters, the band set out to conquer the charts. In true DIY fashion, after literally mailing hundreds of promotional albums to stations nationwide from Steve's living room, the band hopped in an RV and set out to see every radio station in the country. "We went to every station that would have us, and some that weren’t sure they wanted us", laughs Steve. The band knew they need to make an impression, instead of arriving in typical 'radio promo' fashion with an acoustic guitar and stripped down performance, they brought the whole show. "We showed up with amps, PA, the works and put on a full concert in the station conference rooms," remembers Steve. "It took a lot of people by surprise, but it worked and people started playing the record. Las Vegas added it, Buffalo added it, Denver added it, St Louis added it and it just snow balled." (As of this writing, October 2004, "Seven Days Without You" has hit #20 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart, without the benefit of major label support.)

Over the course of the group's 26,000 mile, 65-city sojourn into the wilds of DIY American radio promotion, Avion has become an incredibly tight and cohesive band. "There's a chemistry and a vibe that the five of us have together," Steve observes, with clear delight. "We did exactly what we set out to do, which was to tell a story without having to chase anybody and to show people that this was the real deal."

And the "real deal" it is. In late summer 2004, Columbia Records/Red Ink signed Avion in conjunction with the bands label, The Console, and will release their debut album nationwide November 2.

For further information contact
Ken Phillips Publicity Group
(323) 845-9997 Phone
kpgroup@yahoo.com
www.kenphillipsgroup.com