Hey,
Chris was interviewed by The Chicago Tribune this last week. Interesting stuff.
Check it out here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-chris-avgerin-0530may30,0,264673.story The online version is a little different from the print version in the city edition. It also had a photograph.
Or just read below:
Drummer tackles jazz and metal, and keeps his cool
By Andy Downing | Special to the Tribune
May 30, 2008
It's rare to hear a drummer list his influences as jazz legend Art Blakey and Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, but that's exactly whom Chris Avgerin names as his heroes (along with his older brother Billy) on his MySpace site.
"With jazz I really like the interaction among the players and the improvisation," Avgerin says. "With metal it's all about power and aggression."
Avgerin, who got his first drum set when he was in the 4th grade and was bashing out sloppy Nirvana covers with a group of neighborhood friends just two years later, now minds the kit for a trio of bands—Karl E.H. Seigfried's jazz collectives the New Quartet and Soul Power Trio (both of which perform at Velvet Lounge this Saturday) and metal quartet Blood of the Tyrant.
But despite the fact that each musical discipline requires its own technique (the drummer notes that he's much more of a listener when playing jazz), Avgerin insists that his mental approach to his instrument never changes. "I just get into performance mode, no matter who I'm playing with," says the drummer.
So he never gets fired up before taking the stage with Blood of the Tyrant? There's no extra adrenaline coursing through his veins?
"Not really," continues Avgerin sheepishly. "My friends will laugh because I'll be talking to them right before a show and then it's like, [deadpans] 'Well, I gotta go play now. See you later.' "
It's easy to believe that Avgerin is telling the truth; on the phone the drummer maintains a low-key demeanor that makes deadpan comedian Steven Wright seem lively by comparison.
"I'm really a quiet person," says Avgerin, a self-professed nerd. "I work in a music shop and sometimes [customers] are surprised to hear I play in a band."
Judging by tracks like "Into the South" and "The Gunslinger," both posted on Blood of the Tyrant's Myspace page, www.myspace.com/bloodofthetyrant, Avgerin isn't nearly as reserved when he takes his place behind the drum kit. But as to those hidden pools of aggression or frustration? They don't exist.
Drumming "isn't about attitude," insists Avgerin. It is, however, quite the workout. The Western Illinois graduate recalls one instance in college where he started the night performing at a Battle of the Bands before closing out the evening with a jazz combo. "I worked up a nice sweat" with the rock band, says the drummer. "Then an hour later I got my cool-down, playing soft jazz with this really mellow group."
Dianogah/Head of Skulls
The Hideout will feature performances Saturday night by a pair of fantastic ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Chicago bands. Dianogah, celebrating the release of its vowel-deficient record, "qhnnnl" (Southern), trumpets the likes of Big Black and the Minutemen and professes to sound like "chubby mammals wrestling."
Head of Skulls, a power trio featuring Pinebender singer/guitarist Chris Hansen (insert "Dateline NBC" joke here), only has one EP to its name (the self-released "Liquid Ball EP"), but the group has already won over a number of fans. In a posting on Phantom Manor's site, producer Mike Lust called the trio "the best new band in Chicago, hands down."
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The New Quartet/Soul Power Trio
Double the jazz goodness
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Rd.
Price: $10; 312-791-9050
Listen: www.myspace.com/newquartetchicago
and www.myspace.com/soulpowertrio
Dianogah/Head of Skulls
Big night
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave.
Price: $10; 773-281-4444
Listen: www.myspace.com/dianogahband
and www.myspace.com/headofskullssounds