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2012 Band Of The Year
Fans voted and the band chosen to be MLE’s band of the year was Avion Roe! The band has earned the #1 spot on MLE Top Lists that will be up in January and will also be featured and promoted on Majestic Lion Entertainment all of 2013! Avion Roe is a very talented rock band from Dallas, TX. Evan Lester’s deep and easy-to-relate-to lyrics are brought to life with the powerful instrumentals of Jordan Modro, Sean Humphrey, and Josh Cutlip. We got the chance to talk with lead singer and song-writer, Evan Lester, about the band’s past, present, and future. Click here to see the band of the year page.
BM: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with me. How are you doing today?
Evan: I’m happy to be doing it. I’m doing great, thank you.
BM: You have only been together as a band since the beginning of 2011 but have already had some major accomplishments such as playing on the Vans Warped Tour, having songs on MTV, and going on a national tour with Madina Lake and Me Talk Pretty. Looking back, did you ever think those things would happen so quickly for Avion Roe?
Evan: No, not at all. We’ve poured every part of our lives into this band and we’ve been so fortunate to see that it hasn’t gone unnoticed and that our music affects people. I think what it all came down to is that people are ready for a band like us, an honest band with passionate, relatable songs. No one could’ve predicted the support from MTV, that still feels unreal, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the love we’ve received from our fans.
BM: I love the song and music video to “Who I Am”. What was the meaning behind the song and music video?
Evan: Thank you. The song is about how you search your entire life to figure out who you want to be and how you want to be perceived or remembered and how some people make judgements and label you in a second. The story to the video is that I’m trapped in a room that represents an obstacle in life, my friends all try different tactics to help me get out of the room but I don’t listen to them. At the end I destroy the music in my life (which is represented by burning the piano) but I play the music through the fire and face myself and my fears. At the end of the video it is my fears that are left alone in the room. The video is meant to have a positive message from a dark perspective.
BM: What about the song and music video to “The Difference Between Us”?
Evan: The Difference Between Us was written last minute so our record would have a slow song, but despite being somewhat of an after thought I fell in love with it. It’s my favorite song on the album, which is really why we shot the video for it. The story for the video preaches self acceptance. A girl feeling ugly in her own skin looks at herself in mirrors but can’t really see herself, she finds someone who is more beaten than her and it shows her that beauty is so much deeper than skin and bones. She is selfless and gives part of herself to the the wounded man and finds herself stronger than ever.
BM: What would you say has been the biggest challenge for Avion Roe thus far?
Evan: I suppose managing our expectations, we want to change the world with our band but we have to take it one day at a time. There’s no such thing as ‘over-night’ success, but we wouldn’t want that anyway. We want to earn and feel like we deserve our achievements and that has always helped us keep expectations realistic.
BM: How have you been getting your music out there for people to hear?
Evan: Our first tour (and our first show) was the 2011 Vans Warped Tour, it was such a great way to jumpstart our fan base and reach people who would understand what we’re doing. And to follow that up the internet has been such a great way to stay in touch with all of our fans. MTV, Purevolume, Facebook, YouTube and word of mouth are how people hear of us.
BM: What has the feedback been like?
Evan: We couldn’t have asked for a better response. We wrote a record that meant something to us, not what we thought people wanted to hear, and to have people relate to it on the level that they have is so fulfilling.
BM: Have you had any crazy moments/experiences while on tour?
Evan: Haha. Sure, a few. In truth the ‘craziest’ moments for me are when we meet a fan who has clearly fallen in love with the music, someone who can relate to it as if they feel it was written about them.
AVION ROE - WHO I AM