The Tribune

By LESH

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

THEY have picked an uncommon genre for the Bahamas, but Bahamian Rock Band Avante Guarden is determined to entertain their audiences wherever they are. Still trying to make a name for themselves in the country, Avante Guarden is currently building a following at Se�or Frogs, where they perform every Saturday night.

It all started at last year’s Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) event, when Se�or Frogs manger at the time, Gricelle Richmond, approached members of the band backstage during the second round of the competition. Lisa “JayneDoh” Bullard, lead vocalist of the band, said Ms Richmond extended an invitation to the group to play at Senor Frogs on a regular basis, and they have been there ever since.

“We usually play every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday but with the season being slow right now we were reduced to Saturdays only, for now at least. We get amazing compliments from both staff and patrons alike. We rock the hell out of the Senor Frogs stage and anyone who has seen us there knows it. We love what we do,” said JayneDoh.

Supporters of Avante Guarden will be able to see the band rock on at this year’s GBOB for the second time around on November 30 at the Botanical Gardens.

At GBOB, six Bahamian bands will gather on one night, at one venue, for one showdown of original live music. Most of the participants in this year’s competition are returning contenders including; Avante Guarden, Plati Dread, The Truth and New Entry. The new comers are Kontact and Johnnie Christie and the Boats.

The winning band will be flown to Thailand in January 2014 to represent the Bahamas and compete in the GBOB World Finals.
JayneDoh said they are all looking forward to performing on the amazing GBOB stage in front of the large crowd.

“This will be our second time competing in GBOB Bahamas and we are entering again because last year was a blast; it opened a door of opportunity for us and we believe that it will do so again,” said JayneDoh.

Speaking on the band’s history, JayneDoh said she, along with Vallon Thompson on guitar, originally formed the band in 2009. These dynamic hard rockers took on their home town the best way they knew how an, 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.

“He is heavily influenced by artists such as Queen, Van Halen and Metallica and spends much of his time teaching himself this genre. Vallon began writing and producing original works and experimented with many ideas in an effort to fine tune his sound. All he was missing was the voice to put to his music,” said JayneDoh.

That voice came in the form of JayneDoh. While she was born in the Bahamas, JayneDoh said she was raised in New York City, where she became influenced by all the music the city had to offer.

She grew up listening to artists such as Run DMC, Madonna, Gloria Estefan and Prince. However, JayneDoh said after watching the pop culture movie “Billie Jean,” she fell head over heels for the movie’s theme song entitled “Invincible” by Pat Benatar. This is where she instantly realised that she wanted to be a rocker.

With the idea of the band in mind, all that was needed was a name and more members. The name Avante Guarden has a three part meaning, said JayneDoh.

“Avante taken from the word avant means experimental and innovating. Guarden is a combination of the word garden meaning to cultivate or grow and guardian meaning to protect,” said JayneDoh.

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.