Artist description Call it rock music stew: start with a heapin' helping of rock/funk bass, add a secret combination of hard rock and slightly psychadelic guitar playing; throw in a batch of jammin' drums (with more than a pinch of backbeat), and top it off with a healthy dose of bluesy vocals. Stir (or better yet, shake) vigorously; simmer til ready and serve hot. OK, the stew analogy has been a bit overused, but it applies: everyone brings something different but has a consistent vision of the sound. Urban Avatar is a marriage of styles: rock, funk, prog (no, its not an evil word), jazz and blues. With the recent addition of Ella on vocals, the sound is getting more lush and bluesy without losing the edge its always had. UA continues to play tunes that are varied, complex, funky, rockin'...let us know if any other adjectives come to mind.

Music Style funky progressive hard rock

Musical Influences Too many to list...but here's a few just in case: Rush, Chili Peppers, Zeppelin, P-Funk, Allman's, Sabbath, Hendrix, GD, Bela Fleck...the list goes on...

Similar Artists We've heard a lot of names thrown out...we think we sound like us. You will too.

Artist History Gregg Snider (bass, vocals, percussion, assorted strangenesses) and Colin Day (guitar, vocals, Theramin, Electribe, digital graphics) have known each other since high school, and have played in various incarnations of the Avatar since then (in case you're counting, that's almost 15 years). Song writing is generally split down the middle: the funkier, angrier songs are Gregg's (see what happens when you let the bass player write?), while the more rock-n-roll material and ethereal lyrics are Colin's. In the fall of 1998, Dan Hughes was brought in on drums and percussion...things have never been the same since. His upbeat, jam-oriented style has smoothed out the sound and given a whole new backbeat to the music. Until June of '99, Diane Powers laid down the thick, powerful keyboards and strong vocals; she can be heard on all tracks on "Songs From the Blue Room." This winter, a new singer was brought in complete the sound: Ella McGee. Her straight-up, bluesy sound and take-no-prisoners approach to singing propels the music forward and lends a fantastic harmony to the often gothic (not Goth, mind you) backup vocals.

Group Members Ella McGee - vocals; Gregg Snider - bass, percussion, vocals; Colin Day - guitar, Theramin, Electribe, vocals; Dan Hughes - drums, percussion; Diane Powers - keyboards, vocals

Instruments Electric and acoustic guitar and bass; drums; assorted percussion (guira, timbales, claves, you name it); mandolin; keyboards

Albums Songs From the Blue Room (1999) - 5 song EP CD; Bozohead (1995) - 4 song demo casette in a previous incarnation (as Bits of Spot)

Location Waltham, MA - USA

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