Echovalve

Ladies and Gents... Echovalve!

- how did you get to play together?

Simply enough, we all came from other bands/projects that we weren't really happy with and wanted to do something that we would love doing.
Echovalve was that "something" for every one of us. From the first practice together, we just knew this was it!

- how and why you decided to take part in Emergenza?

Our manager, Scarlett Lopez, heard a lot of great things about Emergenza. She entered us into the competition. We did it because we believed it to be a great opportunity for exposure as well as the potential awards if we were to do well.


- what the Emergenza experience means for you, and for your local up and coming music scene?

The Emergenza experience has created amazing opportunities for us and
the local scene in Atlanta. It has allowed all of the bands that performed to be seen by many people that would have never heard of them before. Every band has received a lot of exposure and has gained fans from performing in the festival.

- Did you expect to win the national final?

We actually did not expect to win the national final. The only thing we were wanting to achieve was to perform to the best of our talents and hope for the best outcome possible as a result of our performance.

- How do you feel about the Grand Final?

We feel that it is an opportunity of a lifetime. To be given the chance to play in front of that many people and have your music heard is absolutely amazing. In addition to playing in front of that many people, it will also happen in Germany. Three out of four of us have never traveled outside of the US. That again, is an opportunity of a lifetime

- how would you describe your music?

Riff driven aggressive hard rock. Not too hard but definitely not too soft.


- what about your relationship with your fans? Do you think their number has grown up since you have played in Emergenza?

We will never forget the love and support that our fans have shown us and continue to show us. It is because of them that we are here in the first place. We definitely believe that the number of Echovalve fans has increased.
This festival has given us the opportunity to be heard by so many people and as a result given the blessing of having more fans of our band and our music.

- More projects for the future?

We do have our full length debut album coming out in the very near future.


- Any special comment/thank you about Emergenza?

We would like to give a very big thank you to our manager, Scarlett Lopez. She has been and will always be an intricate part of Echovalve. She means the world to us. We would also like to thank every single one of the fans for their love and support. They have always been there for Echovalve, even when time have been rough. They definitely
keep this train moving for us. We would like to say thank you to all of the bands that we had the honor to play with during the United States performances. We wish them nothing but the best of luck in the future.

Echovalve would also like to show its appreciation and gratitude to all of the staff of The Emergenza Festival. The entire process from beginning to end was flawless like an well oiled machine. The Emergenza staff was incredibly professional and organized and every event was a huge success. The Emergenza Festival definitely has a bright future in the city of Atlanta.

- EMERGENZA

Local Band Spotlight: Echovalve

Those who listen to 99X have probably noticed the few select unsigned, local artists who have been inserted into the regular rotation—a move unheard of in modern FM radio. Although giving local bands airplay is great, unfortunately, 99X chooses only to expose local artists who play certain genres of music: Brit-pop (ex. Coldplay) and pop-rock (think Jet and the Vines). This choice has left local hard/alternative rock bands, bands that have represented and defined 99X, completely out of the loop. One of the bands left out: Atlanta’s Echovalve.

Echovalve brings to the table a hard-edged, aggressive style of rock that is in your face and offers no apologies. The quartet’s live show is filled with energy and fan participation, best demonstrated by a recent sold out show (the show was sold out days before) at the Hard Rock Café’s Velvet Underground with local heavyweights Lazyeye and Hybrid-L. For a crowd of over 200 people, Echovalve played a 45-minute set that included “Dirty Little Secret,” a song that won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The contest is no pushover, either. Included in the contest panel that declared Echovalve the winner was The Black Eyed Peas, Elton John, Blues Traveler, Carlos Santana, Sugar Ray, Foo Fighters, Cake, James Brown, and Ben Harper among others. Not bad for a band that has been together for less than 10 months.

“(Winning the contest) was really exciting,” says frontman Charlie Sheets. “I have known of this contest since high school, and winning it really opened some doors for us.”

The opportunities Sheets are referring to is a spot on the Southeastern segment of the 2005 Warped Tour. In addition, they are funding an East Coast tour of their own. Stops include Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and New York. Earlier this year, Echovalve played at New York’s world-renowned CBGB’s. In addition, they won a 96 Rock-sponsored battle of the bands competition in October that awarded them $2000, which went to the purchase of a tour trailer that will come in very handy now that they are launching a tour.

Echovalve's proactive push to get their music heard on a national level
has been aided by an ingenious grassroots marketing and promotional
campaign. Indus Promotions placed "Dirty Little Secret" on a Best
Unsigned Compilation CD which was distributed throughout the Northeast.
Dirty Little Secret was also recently named to the BandRadio.com's
Airwaves Volume II Compilation CD. Also, their song "Radiate" is a
finalist for the 4th annual Independent Music Awards. The band was
featured with other finalists for this award in the December issue of
AtlasPlugged-a newsletter that boasts a distribution to more than 65,000
industry professionals.

Currently, Echovalve is competing in a 99X-sponsored battle of the bands competition. Though you may not hear them on 99X’s regular rotation anytime soon, Echovalve is determined to be heard, regardless. For more information on how they faired in the contest and what’s next for the promising local act, visit www.echovalve.com.
- GSU Signal

ECHOVALVE ~ DIRTY LITTLE DIAMONDS.

I guess I work the lowest mineable strata in the music industry. Down here in the dirt where these kids pull themselves from the mire and strain for a sunshine that is little more than a promise. Smashing themselves against their instruments, they struggle to grow, to raise themselves from the soil, aspiring to fly. It’s a thread of a promise to which they all cling, and I get to dig amongst them, check their grasp, try to gain some measure of potential.

And sometimes, just sometimes, you chance to grasp a diamond.

Echovalve are one of those gems. With a maturity in their songwriting ability and more importantly in their performance, combined with the lively freshness of a band that have just found that key that brings them all together, Echovalve shine.

GULF104’s Homegrown Radio Show, Tallahassee’s premier* Local/unsigned Radio Music Show broke Echovalve’s “Dirty Little Secret” in the Tallahassee area. Having seen them perform live a week or so earlier, I expected a good response from our audience, but WOW. Email and telephone responses were immediate. Requests to play their music came in a torrent, and it wont stop.
Our footprint extends from the Gulf of Mexico to Southern portions of Georgia and Alabama. We play music from approximately fifty bands (rotated) on a two-hour show, once a week. Since first playing “Dirty Little Secret” we have played Echovalve every week; demand is that strong. They have been showcased as one of our top 3 most requested bands since they first hit the air.
Homegrown have had Echovalve in for a radio appearance, and live in-studio performance. They were electric, on fire, and pushed all the excitement of their stage act through our sweating microphones. Quick to respond, energetic and intelligent, the guys carried themselves like consummate professionals. – But that’s all radio shit.

Echovalve are a performance band. There is a coordination and cohesion to the members on-stage that just makes anyone who knows, smile. You should see them – the atmosphere and energy of an Echovalve show is like recharging a ni-cad battery from overhead transmission lines. It’s hot, it fries you, and you don’t forget it quickly.

And I await more, knowing that each release pulls them further from my stomping ground. Like I said – Diamonds. And diamonds don’t belong in the dirt, they’re stars, and the sky will be theirs.

Guess I’m a fan.

Bradley “Yuckmouth” K
Producer, Homegrown Radio Show.
WGLF FM Tallahassee, Fla.
- WGLF FM Tallahassee, Fla.

Dirty Little Secret is a killer song with an excellent hook! It's like candy, taste it once and you are hooked! Echovalve is a very exciting band that created excitement on the phones when the requests wouldn't stop. Be aware, the word is out, Echovalve is no longer a SECRET!

Thanks,
Scott Less
Program Director
WGLF - Gulf 104
Tallahassee, FL
850-201-3018 - Scott Less Program Director WGLF

This story was printed from redandblack.com.
Site URL: http://www.redandblack.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echovalve to rock Tate
BEST BETS
By MICHELLE FLOYD
Published , April 07, 2005, 06:00:01 AM EDT




The members of alternative hard rock band Echovalve felt so right about forming that they quit their other struggling Atlanta bands to continue on a more permanent path, even though it was originally started as a side project.

LOCAL BANDS LIVE

Featuring: Echovalve and Hybrid L
When: Friday afternoon from 12:30 to 3 (weather permitting)
Where: Tate Plaza
Upcoming Local Bands Live:
Eat the Sun and Blueline -- April 15
State of Man and Gurufist -- April 22


"We were not satisfied with what we were doing anymore," lead vocalist Charlie Sheets said. "So we just tried to write stuff that sounded good to us to challenge ourselves to write something new and fresh."

He said the bands he and guitarist/vocalist Jay Langston were in were headed in a radio-friendly direction, which was not where they wanted to go.

"We are old school hard rockers and wanted to start something we really liked for us," Sheets said. "We did not care if people did not dig our music."

However, while the group normally puts on an "entertaining" rock show "with a lot of energy," it plans to play acoustically at Tate, since the show is in the middle of the afternoon at school.

"People are not out to see a rock 'n' roll show, so we are not going to go scaring anybody with loud music, so more people can digest it," he said.

Even though its music is more "hard rock," he said the band has received a "good response" for its acoustic shows.

"Barring a couple of songs, we do a good job with it -- toning it down and doing melodies instead of rocking," he said. "It transfers really well. It is more intimate and makes people feel like they are just hanging out with us."

The band has been playing so many shows and working so much on getting itself "out there," that it has not had time to make a full length CD. It plans to set aside some time in May to make an album.

Meanwhile, Melodic hard rockers Hybrid L plan to release a CD by the end of April or the first week of May but want this third release to "capture the energy (the band) portrays live."

"With this one, we went in and spent a lot more time trying to capture that live feel," drummer Mike Carmel said. "And I listened to it, and it sounds like about what you can expect at a show."

"The music is very dynamic and responsive -- if you listen to it, you feel it. But it could go either way -- people are either going to really like it or not appreciate it," he said.

The band's music is "a hybrid of many different influences" since everybody comes from extremely

different backgrounds from Bluegrass and Blues to Alternative and "dashes of '60s and '70s styles," which is how the band's name came to be.

"It stands for 'hybrid logic,'" he said. "(Our sound is) a melting pot of music that comes out as modern rock, but it is not the everyday cookie cutter band that is on Clear Channel now."

The band is sponsored by Jagermeister, so the band will have Jagermeister gear, including free shirts and hats, to give out at the show.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Red and Black Publishing CO., INC

http://www.redandblack.com/vnews/display.v?TARGET=printable&article_id=42548141eeea6
- Red and Black

REVIEW: Atlanta rock band Echovalve hits hard at Big Daddy's

Michelle Harris
Staff Writer
March 29, 2005

Rock band Echovalve performed in front of a large crowd at Floyd's in Tallahassee. This group is Atlanta-based and consists of a lead singer, drummer and two guitarists.
Michelle Harris


Big Daddy's, a nightclub in Tallahassee, is one of those "hole in the wall" clubs. The last band I saw there was an Atlanta-based band called Echovalve.

Now if you listen to the Mic and Mere show on Thursday nights from 8-10 p.m. on WPLH 103.1 FM, you probably hear me talk about them a lot. If you haven't heard of them, you should definitely check them out.

In concert, Echovalve as a whole, pour everything they have into their performance. Charlie, the singer, has a voice that is truly unique. He puts himself out there with David Draiman of Disturbed, one of the best rock vocalists out there. The guitarist, Jay, is an extraordinary musician. This guy can play and the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Dixie, the bassist, is an accomplished guitarist as well. He keeps the band and audience on their toes.

At their show on March 17 at Chubby's in Tallahassee, Jay was having trouble with his equipment so the band had to stop playing for a little while. Dixie entertained the crowd by playing bass in his boxers. Billy, the drummer, is the backbone of the group. This guy keeps the beat in his bare feet.

On stage, these guys give out this energy that after seeing them live once you will definitely crave. I am willing to admit that I am addicted.

http://www.thestalliononline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/29/4249b0c047d4f
- The Stallion Newspaper

The local band Echovalve has won the Rock category of the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for their song "Dirty Little Secret." The song was chosen by the international committee which consisted of performers such as the Black Eyed Peas, Elton John, Carlos Santana, Foo Fighters, Cake, and more. The band will be playing the Velvet Underground this Saturday with Lazyeye and Hybrid-L.
www.echovalve.com

http://www.atlantamusicguide.com/newsletter030305.htm - AtlantaMusicGuide.com

Echovalve has a 'Dirty Little Secret'
Atlanta-based band will play Tsunami Benefit Concert

by Amy Tratenberg
April 18, 2005
This past February, artists such as the Black Eyed Peas, Elton John, Blues Traveler, Carlos Santana, Foo Fighters, James Brown and Ben Harper got together to judge the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Thousands entered, and only one band took the prestigious top spot -- an unsigned Atlanta-based band called Echovalve. This aggressive, alternative rock band will be at Floyd's Music Store on Friday, headlining its benefit concert for the victims of December's tsunami.
Echovalve began in 2004 when lead vocalist Charlie Sheets made a call to guitarist and former minor league baseball player and Pittsburgh Pirates draftee, Jay Langston. Both Sheets and Langston, however, were already playing in their own local bands. After just two writing sessions together, they decided to find more members to complete their side project.
Sheets and Langston invited guitarist Dave Klanac and drummer Billy Nielsen, both of whom had played in Sheets and Langston's own bands at one point. Within two weeks, the guys had written enough material to begin playing live shows and had created a sound that blended their energetic flare for heavy rock.
Sheets, Langston, Klanac and Nielsen loved this new band so much that the quartet quit its individual bands so it could dedicate itself solely to Echovalve.
Without a bassist, Echovalve held auditions for the fifth spot and found Jamie Scanlin, an experienced student. He instantly knew they had something once he heard its original material.
Ever since Echovalve began recording its demo and booking shows, the band has encountered much success in such little time. After winning the John Lennon award, many opportunities arose, such as a spot on the Southeastern segment of the 2005 Warped Tour and dates opening for rock band Chevelle. Not only has Echovalve played at New York's infamous club, CBGB's, but it won 96Rock's Battle of the Bands in October, and also funded its own east coast tour.
Indus Promotions placed Echovalve's prize-winning song, "Dirty Little Secret," on a best unsigned compilation CD. It was distributed throughout the Northwest and, as a result, BandRadio.com recently added the song to its Airwaves Volume II compilation CD. Also, its song "Radiate" was a top finalist for the fourth annual Independent Music Awards.
"Echovalve brings to the table a hard-edged, aggressive style of rock that is in your face and offers no apologies," GSUSignal.com said. "The quartet's live show is filled with energy and fan participation, best demonstrated by a recent sold out performance (the show was sold out days before) at the Hard Rock Cafe’s Velvet Underground with local heavyweights Lazyeye and Hybrid-L."

http://www.fsunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/18/42602abb64fc2 - FSView Newspaper