My.Abandoned.Faith

My.Abandoned.Faith was born in the early part of 2003 when the paths of Eddy Chavez and Oscar Bernal happened to cross. The two met when Oscar transferred to the optical-lens factory that Eddy worked at. The two almost immediately formed a band after long abstentions from the music scene in order to make a living. They were now at a place in time where they could devote their free time to making music.
Eddy C grew up in the rough neighborhoods of Simi Valley outside of Los Angeles, CA. He began playing drums at 13 to escape from the realities of living in a poor Mexican part of town, where dealing with gangs and drugs were part of everyday life. Becoming quite the drummer, influenced by the progressive styles of greats such as Buddy Rich or Steve Smith, he found himself playing in multiple garage bands throughout high school. Eventually however, dealing with deadbeat band members and drug addictions drove Eddy to move from his home in

Simi Valley, and join the Navy. Now living in Yorktown, VA Eddy got back into drumming after years of not playing a single beat. After going through a divorce several years ago in Chicago, he used the tax return from that ending marriage to buy a decent set of drums. “I dropped my wife, and picked up a drum set,” says Eddy with an evil grin on his face, “it was the ultimate revenge.”

With his passion for drumming rekindled, Eddy joined a local cover band, Birth Cry just to get back into playing live. It was at this time when Oscar moved to Yorktown and convinced Eddy to drop the cover band, and begin looking for a new guitarist/vocalist to start making some original music.

Born in Lima, Peru, Oscar’s earliest musical efforts began at age 5 when he started taking lessons on the piano. After only a year of lessons, Oscar dropped the piano to focus on the swinging beats of Latin percussion. He played the drums, congas, and double bass throughout his childhood, performing Flamenco, Salsa, and Santana covers with his older brother and Uncle. This rich childhood period was short lived as political pressures threatened his tight-knit family’s well-being.

Being part of the Peruvian Democratic Party, Oscar’s father soon came under attack from the Sendero Luminoso (the Luminous Path,) a terrorist group wanting regime control over Peru. After repeated threats to him and his family, a near-death escape from a car bombing attempt convinced him to flea Peru seeking refuge in Canada.

Oscar’s family moved all over Canada and the U.S. finally settling down in Miami, FL. It was here Oscar was able to concentrate on music, focusing solely on the bass. He played in many bands while in Miami, including Pull Out, a touring ska band which lives on, with a few new members, to this day.

With the powerhouse rhythm section of Eddy and Oscar now in place, the two searched for a front-man guitarist/vocalist who would fit the jazz and metal influenced grooves they had developed. The two interviewed and auditioned several candidates, but it wasn’t until they performed live at a local bar just playing rhythm jams, that they caught the eye of front-man Eric Moss.

Moss had loosely known Eddy and Oscar from work, and it was his band at the time, called VOV, that organized the show. Eddy and Oscar had asked if they could open up for them, and the rest was history. Impressed with what he heard, Eric started practicing with the two, enjoying his creative freedom as guitarist and singer. Shortly after that show, VOV broke-up and Eric devoted all his time to writing songs for their three-piece. Now called Modern.American.Family, the three performed at numerous clubs and events averaging over 9 shows a month.

Born in Fayette, AL, Eric brought a southern grunge feel reminiscent of the early 90’s Seattle scene to the trio. Seemingly an unlikely pairing with the more progressive and edgier rhythms that Eddy and Oscar were accustomed to, Eric somehow managed to bring it all together, cranking out a ton of diverse material in a very short period of time. “The songs just worked,” says Moss, a man of few words who saves his verbal prowess for the powerful and intensely emotional lyrics he writes. “Eric’s lyrics are so deep and personal, I sometimes think he’ll lose it one day on stage,” Oscar half-jokingly comments. Indeed Moss’ lyrics are deep and personal, ranging from dealing with the loss of his best friend to cancer, to growing up as the son of a Southern Baptist preacher and dealing with family members’ alcoholism and abuse. Few singers captivate emotion in lyric or song as aptly as Eric does.

The three played for the remainder of 2003 and half way through 2004 compiling over 20 songs and putting in countless hours on the road and in the studio cutting three different demos to help book more shows. As the summer of 2004 came to an end, Eric expressed his wish to give up playing guitar for the band and focus entirely on singing and being the front-man. Taking the music more seriou