Like some twelve-legged perpetual-motion-machine, Ventura, California's Army of Freshmen are six guys that can't stop: writing songs, booking shows, touring, selling merchandise, interacting with fans on instant messenger and email, networking, writing more songs, and selling close to 10,000 copies of their self-titled debut album. Looking back on four years of playing in Southern California and the rest of the country - they've played in 37 U.S. states-the sextet only wants more: more tours, more songs, more time with their fans.
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"We've slept on floors and couches all across the country, and each time we go back to a city, more people come out to see us," says AOF singer Chris Jay. "And when we get home, we have emails asking us when we're coming back. It's rad to see that kind of response."
They've seen a lot of response in a short time; the band has been in and out of the van since 1999, released its debut CD in 2001, snagged endorsements from Ernie Ball and Ultimate Support, did dates on the Warped Tour for the past four years, and inked a deal with the Japanese record company Sonic Label along with playing in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan as part of Summer Sonic 2003 Festival alongside Radiohead, The Strokes and more.
It's a long way from the humble origins of the band, which started when a New Jersey teenager took his dreams and his songs to the West Coast. After a year of woodshedding in Ventura - writing over 500 songs, he assembled his friends and formed the band. The other members - keyboardists Dan Clark and Owen Bucey, drummer Mike Rini, bassist Kai Dodson and guitarist Aaron Goldberg - provided the live spark. When they get in front of a crowd, all six guys go off. It's the moment they live for, being onstage, playing their songs.
According to Cincinnati CityBeat, of all places, those songs are "sweet Pop/Rock that bounces with New Wave keyboards and enveloping harmonies, sounding like Weezer on a Jolt Cola bender." The band needs the caffeine: typical of their work ethic was their three-month run on the Ernie Ball MotoCross tour in 2001.
The band traveled across the country in an RV, built the stage they played on each day, played, broke down the stage, then drove all night to the next venue. It's typical of their work effort, which finds them running their own street team, IMing and emailing fans every day, maintaining their mailing list of over 8,000 kids, handling merch, and booking tours.
"We work hard because we know the fans appreciate it," the singer says. "We don't mean anything without them."
