The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

AVANTE GUARDEN walked away from last year’s Global Battle of the Bands heart broken and disappointed after not advancing to the third round. This time the rock band redeemed themselves with lively performances that won the judges and audiences members over. They are now the “Best Band in the Bahamas”.

Since last year Avante Guarden has been preparing for their comeback in the local competition. They have made a name for themselves over the past year, landing gig after gig at several restaurants and hang out spots on the island. They are currently building a following at Senor Frogs, where they perform every Saturday night.

The achievement has yet to sink in said Vallon Thompson, Avante Guarden guitarist.

“We were prepared to come out and win but of course actually winning is still surreal. When we won I did not even react until later. We worked hard, all the preparations were kind of taxing on a band with us having day jobs. So right now we are relieved,” he said.

The band knew what to expect and was prepared to give every performance their all.

“Our confidence was much higher. We had the experience and we have been playing together for a solid year so we are more cohesive. Last year we had just really started playing with the guys that are there now,” he said.

Avante Guarden competed against bands including Plati Dread, The Truth, New Entry, Kontact and Johnnie Christie and the Boats. The two Family Islands bands New Entry (Abaco) and Kontact (Inagua) were eliminated in the first round. In the second round The Truth and Plati Dread were eliminated leaving, Johnnie Christie and the Boats battling it out with Avante Guarden in the final round.

“I think our strength is in our live performance. We are all good musicians but that energy on stage is what really sets us apart and ultimately what I think gave us an edge,” Vallon said.

Preparation for the global competition is also underway, Vallon said. The band will be flown to Thailand to compete in the world finals of the competition.

The GBOB World Finals takes place on February 8 in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s very own “City of Music”.

The winner of World Finals will be awarded $100,000 worth of cash and band development packages, as well as a golden statuette for “Best New Band in the World”.

Ricardo Berris chairman of GBOB Bahamas said he believes the band has a great chance of dominating the global competition.

“We are now going into preparation gear to get all of the things in order for the band to go off. The band is excited, the band is confident. We think that they have a very great chance of capturing the award internationally. Johnnie Christie and the Boats were really close, so this was tight. It was neck and neck for both bands. I think it was anyone’s night. It could have been either band. But I think the opportunity is now in the hands of Avante Guarden to make a good name for themselves and show us what they can do,” he said.

Avante Guarden intends to release an album in the new year to promote while in Thailand.

“We are brain storming about what else we are going to do. But for now I can say we will bring more to our stage show and we will definitely do some of the songs that mix our hard rock sound with Junkanoo and rake and scrape. We always get a kick out of people’s reaction to that,” he said.

JayneDoh lead singer along with Vallon Thompson originally formed Avante Guarden in 2009. These dynamic hard rockers took on their home town as loud as they could.

As a guitarist and song writer, Vallon has been involved in music for about fifteen years. While he is very into rock music, Vallon said he also loves Jazz, Pop, Calypso, Metal, Country and Blues.

Although constantly surrounded by tradition Bahamian music such as Rake N Scrape and Junkanoo, JayneDoh said Vallon is drawn more into heavy metal.

The band members that complete Avante Guarden are Kingsley “Rev” Wilkinson on drums, Treco “Souse” Johnson on bass, Gary Francis taking up duties on guitar, JayneDoh and Vallon.