Special to The Appalachian

The Booda Velvets have played Boone in the past and say they are excited to come back and make this a regular touring stop on their schedule.

Booda Velvets: Unique sound,
finally starting to make it

Kevin DeLury - Entertainment Beat

In this world of generic, everyman’s rock, it’s rare to come upon a band that has something innovative to bring to the musical front.
Those searching for a refreshing brand of music should look no further than The Booda Velvets.

The New York quartet will be returning to Boone as part of a national tour to support their latest release, “Headrush.”

The Booda Velvets are not easy to describe. All of the members hail from varied musical backgrounds, including alternative, punk, jazz and classic rock. Their sound has been compared to a mixture of bands such as U2, Radiohead and Tool.

While their music may take certain elements from those bands, The Booda Velvets have crafted it into a sound that is very much their own. It is a style that cannot be defined by any cut-and-dry category available at present. This musical ambiguity, while genuinely innovative, takes a toll.

“It’s sometimes a blessing and a curse,” says lead vocalist Dan Cromie of the band’s defiance of categorization. “People can’t say what we are. We get a lot of different comparisons, and that’s great, but sometimes it’s hard to fit into a particular genre and play into a scene.”

After six years of tireless effort, The Booda Velvets are beginning to catch the attention of mainstream audiences. Their music can now be heard on such shows as MTV’s “Road Rules” and “The Osbournes.”
The band has even licensed use of songs for The Discovery Channel, as well as upcoming films.

Recently, Tower Records featured “Headrush” in the “Emerging Artists Premiere” section of every store across the nation.

Endorsement deals have also begun to enter the picture. After hearing the band at a music conference in Philadelphia, a representative from Puma sneakers offered them a deal and now showcases the band’s music on the Puma Web site, in addition to providing them with free merchandise.

“They really liked it,” said Cromie. “They gave us a call and asked us what our shoe sizes were.”

In response to the Sept. 11 tragedy in their hometown, The Booda Velvets featured their music on the benefit compilation “Bands for America.” They even went a step further and played a benefit show at the NYC club The Knitting Factory. Cromie himself delivered the money made from that show to a local fire station that lost half of their crew.

“It was awesome to be a part of that and try to do something,” said Cromie.

This success comes only after a great amount of hardship. After producing three EPs and gaining a local following, their music caught the attention of indie label Gotham Records.

“Gotham came out to one of our shows,” said Cromie. “We really clicked with them. They seemed to have the right infrastructure.”

After signing with Gotham, the band launched out on tour, performing at Murphy’s twice along the way.

“We had so much fun playing in Boone,” said Cromie. “It’s got a lot happening there. We met a lot of great people. It’s definitely going to be a regular stop for us.”

This time around, the band will be performing three shows over the course of two days in Boone.

Their first show will be April 8 at Murphy’s Restaurant and Pub.
That show will be followed by an in-store acoustic performance April 9 at 4 p.m. at Grapevine Records. The band will then go on to play a set at 10:30 p.m. that evening at Geno’s Sports Restaurant and Lounge.

For further information on those shows, call Murphy’s at 264-5117 and Geno’s at 264-1000.

To learn more about The Booda Velvets, or hear music off their new album, visit the band’s Web site at: www.boodavelvets.com.

Special to The Appalachian

Banana de Terra, left to right: Jimmie Griffith, guitar and vocals, Joel Lancaster, drums, and Jordan Meyer, bass guitar. The band recently won the Battle of the Bands out of four total competitors.

Banana de Terra sweeps Battle of the Bands

Kevin DeLury - Entertainment Beat

The third annual Battle of the Bands saw four competitors, all equally as talented as they were diverse. In the end though, only one band walked away with first place: Banana da Terra.

The trio, consisting of Appalachian State University students Jimmie Griffith on guitar and vocals, bassist Jordan Meyer and drummer Joel Lancaster, won over the audience and judges alike with their unique style of jazz fused with world music.

The members describe their sound as a combination of jazz and a style of music known as musica popular Brasilia, or MPB.

“It was the music for the people,” says Griffith of MPB. “It was a mixture of bossa nova, samba, plus some jazz. That’s where the majority of our sound comes from.”

The unusual combination makes for an appealing sound and is furthered by Griffith’s vocals. On all songs, he sings in Portuguese.

A Brazilian native, Griffith has been attending Appalachian State for the past two years. After meeting Meyer and Lancaster, the three began to jam and have been playing as Banana da Terra for the past six months.

The formation of the band took a very handpicked lineup. Since the style of music wasn’t one most Appalachian students were accustomed to, Griffith had to help Meyer and Lancaster in getting a feel for MPB.

“I was the only one here raised listening to that kind of music,” says Griffith. “For them, they got it pretty well and fast too. I was very impressed.”

Banana da Terra, meaning “Banana of the Earth,” is not only an actual banana, but also pays homage to Griffith’s upbringing.

“It was inspired by an underground club that used to play very cultural music in Brazil,” said Griffith. “They had to close down because they played not-mainstream music, so it’s a tribute to them.”

Although the band has no CDs for sale yet, audiences can still catch their amazing stage shows throughout the following two months.

The band’s next show is Thursday at 9 p.m. at Beanstalk Specialty Coffees on King Street. Banana da Terra will also be performing at the Earth Day Fest on April 22 at the Duck Pond.

To find out more on Banana da Terra, visit their Web site at: www.geocities.com/Banana-da-Terra.