Avion Roe Opens Up About Pushing Boundaries + More
Words & Interview by Ashley Altus
Photos by Lori Gutman
After playing Warped Tour for three years in Dallas, four-piece band Avion Roe finally got their shot to play a couple weeks on the summer festival this past summer. Lead singer Evan Couture said the tour’s fast-paced schedule was exhilarating—even with the lack of sleep and endless sun drenched days. Avion Roe’s strong work ethic to play as many shows as possible and dreamlike music videos has certainly caught the attention of music fans everywhere.
Avion Roe played Dallas Warped Tour in 2011, 2012 and 2013. What surprised you about actually being a part of the tour this year?
I think the most surprising thing for me coming back is that there’s an energy of everyone working towards the same thing on this tour, and it hasn’t always been like that. That’s something Kevin Lyman has created. A mood and an energy that we all love music regardless of where you’re from, what you believe, what kind of music you’re playing, and it’s real. I’ve also been impressed of how many times we’ve actually sold out of our album. That surprised me, and all of us.
Can you describe the idea behind your music video “Sing Me to Sleep”?
The director, a good friend of mine, is a visionary. The concept behind the video is just beauty within. He’s the same director behind the PVRIS music videos. It’s kind of just like being in a dream-like world. I think we totally achieved that and it was beautiful. I’d love to get the chance to work with him again.
Avion Roe released its first album independently. What was different about the process releasing an album with a label?
It wasn’t really that different. For our previous release, we had a house in Denton, just north of Dallas, Texas, and we recorded and wrote the whole album there ourselves and put it out independently. With our new record, we had a house again and then we recorded it, showed it to a few labels, and Epitaph said, “We love it, we want to put it out.” So we cleaned it up a bit and put it out. But the writing and recording wasn’t much different from what we do.
What advice do you have for independent bands who are trying to get signed?
The best advice anyone has ever given me, and the advice I give to other bands is to write from the heart. Don’t try to write about what you think the world wants to hear, or what a label wants to hear. When you write what you know, it’ll be so much more genuine and honest, and that’s what works the best. The other side of that coin is, don’t stop playing music. Real musicians don’t care about a record label. They don’t care about money. All of my favorite bands would still be a band if they had zero dollars. We’d still be a band even if we weren’t on a record label. We love music. If we were doing this for money, we would have quit a long time ago. Just be true to yourself, write music, and people will notice.
Avion Roe was the first independent band to release a 3-D music video. How do you continue to push the envelope as a band?
I guess that’s been ingrained in us since the beginning of the band. It’s always been important to our band to change what it means to be Avion Roe, not just for your fans, but for ourselves too.
How do you think your sound has evolved through always pushing the boundaries in your music?
I think we’ve matured. So much has happen since the start of our band. One of us became a father, and it forced us all to grow up. We had to change the way we were living a little bit, our priorities, our ideals, and going through all that, we’ve gained a lot of wisdom and it changed the sound. I think we just take direction and let it grow. Our fans knows us better than we know ourselves and I believe that. I think they could tell you how we’ve changed and how we’ve grown. I think it’s a natural growth.
Avion Roe has supported a lot of bands on the road, but your band has never headlined. What would a headlining tour for Avion Roe look like?
I think it’s premature to think about. I haven’t even begun to think about it. It seems a while away. To naturally build our band, we need to do more support and spread the word. It’s fun to think about though. I think it’ll be beautiful chaos, a lot of imagery, that’s what I’d like to believe.
