You may know James “Jordan” Avila as the calm, tranquil Eddy coordinator who announces the bands every month. What you might not know about him is that he is also a talented musician with his own backing band. He and his band were on display Thursday night at the February edition of the Eddy.
The quiet Avila seemed to transform when he took the stage. Aside from the friendly banter in between songs, he became a fiendish rocker with fierce snarls, low grumbles, and delicate, sweet falsetto pitches to boot. The combination made for an eclectic musical experience for the night, taking us from high to low in a fashion that would make Thom Yorke proud.
The setlist consisted of solid indie pop rock with some grungy flavor interspersed in a melodic set of songs. It was like garage rock with a lightly polished sheen – enough to present an appealing musical package for the ears, with enough grit to keep the experience real.
“You don’t need to be cool, you can be lame,” said Avila. “It’s all the same.” From the way he performed out there, it seems that Mr. Avila has taken his own philosophy to heart.
Next up was Fullerton-based Set to Sea, a stark contrast in musical style to the previous act. The opening riff was an atmospheric, more densely-layered sound, and the vocalizations of the lead singer kept up with the epic intentions of the music. The powerful sounds of the band’s crescendos set off a car alarm in the nearby parking lot, prompting Jacob Maag to lightheartedly comment that, “Every time we play here, we end up breaking your school.”
Jacob Maag continued to front his band with emotional angst and reminded listeners of the honest wailings of Bono or Jon Foreman, even singing into the guitar pick-ups much like Foreman did. The band just released their EP and played a couple of songs from it. They worked in an instrumental track in the middle of the set as well, giving Maag a break from the maxed-out vocals and showcasing the band’s talent and skill.
Leda and the Swans came up next. The girls in the band — Biola students Linnea Lebreton, Angi Welsch, Sarah Bull, Taryn Faye, and Ashleigh Allardbrought — brought in gorgeous harmonies and lots of interesting instrumentation to the mix. Jordan Avila also helped play the electric guitar, and a few other guest musicians played along to the music with a trombone, flute, and lap steel. It was a great, mellow way to wrap up an evening of diverse music, and it was obvious that most of the people had come to watch the Swans gracefully glide their music through the night. All of this despite the fact that one of the singers, Linnea Lebreton had a sore throat; they compensated for it wonderfully.
