The Tribune

By FARAH

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THE AWARD winning local rock band Avante Guarden leaves the country today (Feb 5) to travel to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where they will compete in the Global Battle of the Bands competition. It the biggest performance of their musical careers which will take place in Thailand’s very own “City of Music”.

It has been several months since capturing the title at the local Battle of the Bands competition, where they were named Best Band in the Bahamas.

Since 2012, Avante Guarden has been preparing for a comeback since falling short on their first try. They have made a name for themselves over the past year, landing gig after gig at several restaurants and spots in Nassau. They are currently building a following at Senor Frogs, where they perform every Saturday night.

All of their preparation will be put to test during the global competition this Saturday. Fans of the band will be able to view a live stream of their performance from a link on GBOB Bahamas’ Facebook page. It starts at 6am.

If named winner of GBOB which takes place on February 8, Avante Guarden 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”.

“We are expecting the band to go over there and win. I actually made a joke and told the band that we are going to leave them in Thailand if they do not come back with it. We are up against 22 countries but we stand an extremely great chance of taking home the world title and bringing that home to the Bahamas for the first time,” said Ricardo Berris, chairman of GBOB Bahamas.

Avante Guarden’s participation alone in the global event can open up doors. Over the past weeks they have doubled up on practice sessions to ensure they are fully prepared for the competition.

Most of the songs performed at GBOB Bahamas, including “The Difference”, “The Fade”, “Enter The Garden”, and “Cross The Waters,” will also be performed during the competition in Thailand.

“There’s lots of preparation that takes place in a situation like this. We are going there to win and in the event, God forbid we don’t, there is an opportunity to connect with people from all around the world. The band has prepared themselves from a public relations perspective. They have information, their press kit, EP kits and so forth available to exchange and share with other countries that will be there. That is a lot of persons to exchange your work with so that is a great opportunity,” he said.

Avante Guarden sought counsel from members of Stinkin’ Wayz, GBOB Bahamas’ 2012 winners, who emerged third in the international competition.

“I see Colyn Mcdonald (Stinkin’ Wayz member) as a great friend and mentor. He has been giving us advice and helping us prepare the recordings of our songs to take with us to Thailand,” said Vallon Thompson, band member.

“We obviously want to win but we are just excited about taking our music to the world,” Vallon said.

JayneDoh, lead singer, along with Vallon Thompson, originally formed Avante Guarden in 2009.

These dynamic hard rockers took on their home town the best way they knew how, 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 traditional 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 on guitar, JayneDoh and Vallon.