by Ernie Thomas
Emulating his heroes, most notably Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, is what
set Dyer, Indiana’s Phil Avalos on his musical journey in the early 1990s.
“I’ve always loved music, but I was never in a band or anything growing
up,” said the 27-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist. “I was always too
involved in sports to think about music at that time.”
Hearing Nirvana’s Nevermind album was like a cold slap in the face for
the jock turned rocker. “Hearing Nirvana really affected me,” he said. “I
loved (Cobain’s) music and it opened my eyes, not necessarily to just the
‘grunge scene’, but to the whole college music scene.”
Avalos soon got hooked on the music of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and
Teenage Fan Club. He “felt the music calling” and bought a guitar. He jumped
immediately into writing songs. “I never even picked up a guitar until
1991,” he said, “and then suddenly I couldn’t put it down.”
In 1995, Avalos put together the first incarnation of Sometimes Seven,
which proved to be an evolving ensemble of three to four players in which
only he has remained a constant factor. For a most of last year, Avalos was
the band’s only member.
“Yes, there’s been a lot of changes with this band,” he admits, “but I
think I’ve finally found the right line up. Drummer Tony Carone (from
Tinley Park) was actually in the band before. He was our second drummer and
first started playing with me in 1996.”
“Bassist Jay Fielder (from Chicago) is the new guy. “I met Jay through
an online web board just after the band had broken up for a while. I kept
seeing his name up on the board, so I knew he was serious about music and
about wanting to play. When I decided to get a band situation together again
last November, I got a hold of Jay.”
After coaxing Carone back into the fold again, Sometimes Seven was back
in action. The three are now concentrating on bookings shows and getting the
band into the public eye. “We’ve booked dates in Michigan, Indiana and
Illinois,” said Avalos, who handles the band’s day to day business, along
with doing all of the songwriting.
Meanwhile, amid playing phone tag with club owners and booking agents,
Avalos is hard at work writing material for the next Sometimes Seven CD.
Aided by a collective of various players, Avalos has previously released
three discs under the Sometimes Seven name – The Green Disc (1995), Static
From The Blender (1997) and somehow you just don’t get it (2000). The first
disc was a four song EP and the others were full length projects. All were
released on Avalos’s own imprint, Round Circle Records.
Avalos’s music was also featured on a national compilation disc by
Microcosm Records. “That was a promotional CD put out by a fanzine
publication that showcased four bands from different parts of the country, us
being one of them,” he explained.
“Our last CD really got a lot of attention,” he said. “We charted with
CMJ (College Media Journal) and got a lot of play on college stations all
over the country with the songs ‘Pretty Up’ and ‘Apple Of My Eye’, so I’m
hoping maybe we can get with a bigger label that can take things to the next
level.”
“Bubble gum pop,” is how Avalos describes his music. “It’s got a real
‘80s pop feel. Not new wave-ish, more like say Rick Springfield, only a
little heavier. It’s fun music... fun to play and fun to listen to. ”