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WAKING ASHLAND
By: Nevra Azerkan



The first time I learned about Waking Ashland was in February of 2004 when Jonathan handed me their demo outside of an MxPx concert at the Hollywood Palladium. Consequently, I ran into them about 20 minutes later inside of the Denny's that was across the street. They were a group of nice guys, so on the way home I listened to the demo and was truly surprised at the uniqueness of their music. Their blend of soothing piano rock and guitar driven songs with distinct lyrics was phenomenal (two months later I arranged for them to play a show at the college I was attending).

Rarely when you listen to a band do you know immediately that they are something big, but the first thought that came to my mind when I listened to the surging piano rhythms in "I Am For You" and "The Politics of Life" was, "Why aren't these guys signed yet?" I later learned they had major label interest (well yeah, who would be stupid enough to pass this band up?) and were taking their time in deciding who was right for them.

After releasing the I Am For You EP   independently (over 10,000 copies sold) and signing with Tooth & Nail Records their debut album Composure is now available for all to hear. Composure brings back the favorite "I Am For You" and "Long Shot" both from the I Am For You EP. The rest of the 11 tracks are nothing, but pure Waking Ashland with mellow and upbeat songs that will keep you going through the day.

Waking Ashland consists of Jonathan Jones (lead vocals/piano/keyboards), Ryan Lallier (guitar/vocals), Andrew Grosse (bass/vocals), and Thomas Lee (drums/percussion). They've done the Warped Tour twice and have toured with acts such as Spitafield and Jack's Mannequin (the side project of Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate).

The San Diego based band, has already shot a video for their first single "I Am For You" and will be on tour with Action Action, Spitafield and Gatsby's American Dream from July 13, 2005 through August 1, 2005

The former Do-It-Yourself band is not only talented and hardworking, but they are also quite the philosophers (if you couldn't already tell by listening to their lyrics). "The constant touring stems from our philosophy that real bands are created on the road, not in the studio," Jones says. With that said, Waking Ashland is undoubtedly a real band.

For more information, visit the band's official website at [http://www.wakingashland.com] or to download free mp3's go to [http://www.purevolume.com/wakingashland]


 
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