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Article in progress. A biography of Scott Avett. Terms to search: scott avett, scott avett painting, the avett brothers

Scott Avett

Scott Yancey Avett, born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1976, is one of the lead singers and founding members of the folk-rock band, The Avett Brothers. Avett primarily plays the banjo but also plays harmonica, drums, acoustic guitar and electric guitar for the band based out of Concord, North Carolina. Avett is also an accomplished artist and printmaker. He owns his own gallery in Concord, NC and has had his work displayed in the Envoy Gallery in New York City.1

Background and Education

Scott is the son of Susie and Jim Avett of Concord, NC. He is the middle of three children. Bonnie, the oldest, was born in 1973, and Seth, the youngest, was born in 1980. He was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1976. His father owns a welding business in Concord and his mother teaches school.8 Avett enrolled at East Carolina University with the hopes of majoring in radio broadcasting with an art minor.2 However, inspired by mentor, Leland Wallin, Avett decided to pursue other interests and he earned a bachelor's degree in communications in 1999 as well as a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting the following year.3 In 2003, Scott Avett was married to his wife, Sarah, who gave birth to a baby girl, Eleanor, in late October 2008.6

Artwork

Avett began to paint seriously in 1999 under the direction of professor and mentor, Leland Wallin.1 In 2002, Scott opened an art gallery in Concord, North Carolina.2 Avett paints many self-portraits that he says reveal and represent “states of emotions in [his] life.”2 Avett has also developed a unique methodology in his portraits by using a narrative approach. He creates individual characters who, in later works, are the subject of various events involving multiple figure paintings.2 Avett’s unique portraits are much like a story book. In addition to oil-on-canvas portraits, Avett is also an accomplished printmaker. He returns to ECU in order to create special prints in celebration of events relating to his band, The Avett Brothers.3 Scott specializes in creating relief prints, a skill that he acquired at ECU under the direction of professor Michael Elhbeck.7 These prints are renown among the fans of The Avett Brothers both for their sentimental and artistic value. Scott’s artwork was featured at the Envoy Gallery in New York City from July 31 through the 29 of August in 2008.2

The Avett Brothers

Seth and Scott Avett were involved in their respective bands during their college years. Scott was playing with Nemo in Greenville and Seth was involved with the Charlotte-based band, Margo (Scott classified Margo’s music as “melodic rock”).4 The Brothers decided to merge the bands while maintaining the name “Nemo” in 1998.5 While the Avetts' rock band “Nemo” was still in operation, Scott Avett started experimenting with acoustic music with some old friends at night. After a few street performances, and small incorporations of his rock background to help fine tune the sound, Scott’s brother Seth joined in and they called the get-togethers “The Back Porch Project” or “Nemo Downstairs.” The brothers began writing originals and in 2000, with the help of John Twomey (Nemo guitarist), put together a self titled LP labeled The Avett Bros.. Soon after, in 2001, the band “Nemo” broke up and Scott and Seth continued with the not-so-traditional acoustic music they had been working on.5 In early 2002 The Avett Brothers, with help from new stand-up bass player Bob Crawford, recorded their first full album as a band titled Country Was. The band soon went on tour to promote the new album, and in late 2002 began preparations for a follow-up. After recording a live record of originals and a few covers titled Live at the Double Door Inn, the brothers settled down to compile a new full length album. In 2003, the Avett Brothers were introduced to Dolph Ramseur, the owner of Ramseur Records, an independent record label in Concord, NC.3 After 70 hours in the studio, the band put the final touches on their 2003 release called A Carolina Jubilee. The new album encompassed not only the band's intensity, but also its refined sound. In 2004 The Avett Brothers released their next album, titled Mignonette, and made their musical intentions fully clear. The new CD included new harmonies, introspective lyrics, and a sense of dedication that pushed the band to new heights. The band released another live recording in 2005, Live, Vol. 2. This combination of live shows features many fan-favorites. Following another sold-out New Year's Eve show at The Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Avetts completed a multi-state tour with Alt-country band, BR5-49 in January. They released Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions in early 2006 to much acclaim. Their next album, The Gleam, was released in September 2006. The album features just Seth and Scott Avett with a more toned down sound compared to Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions. On Friday, May 12, 2007, The Avett Brothers made their national television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. They performed 'Paranoia in B Flat Major' from the album Emotionalism The band released Emotionalism on May 15, 2007. It debuted at No.1 on Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart, #134 spot on the Billboard Top 200 and #13 on the Independent Artist Chart. The Avett Brothers won the Americana Music Association Duo/Group of the Year and 2007 New/Emerging Artist of the Year awards on November 1, 2007. They went on to sell out two nights at Asheville NC's Orange Peel (total capacity: 942) and one night at the NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center (capacity: 2,100) on Dec 28, 29 and 31st respectively. On January 8, 2008, the band debuted a video for the song "Paranoia in B-flat Major." On February 1, 2008, The Avett Brothers' song "If It's the Beaches" from The Gleam was featured on the NBC drama Friday Night Lights. On April 25, 2008 at the MerleFest music festival, The Avett Brothers announced that their newest EP, The Second Gleam, would be released on July 22, 2008. July 26, 2008 marked one of the biggest shows, both figuratively and literally, the Avett Brothers have ever played. It was described as a "homecoming show" in celebration of their release of The Second Gleam EP. They sold out Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary, North Carolina (capacity: 7,000), playing with no opener for nearly two-and-a-half hours. On December 15, 2008 the The Avett Brothers announced that they would be opening for Dave Matthews Band for a portion of their spring tour 2009 at select locations across the southern United States from Virginia to Arizona. The Avett Brothers will also open for Widespread Panic at select locations in 2009. As of February 2009, The Avett Brothers have sold over 150,000 albums.3

Resources

1- Scottavett.com 2- Salisbury 3- Ecu 4- http://hilltop.mhc.edu/042604/avettebros.asp 5- http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=1032 6- http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A261310 7- 7 – prints http://ramseurrecords.blogspot.com/2008/12/relief-prints-by-scott-avett-my.html 8- Jimavett.com

--Projectpat11 (talk) 15:33, 16 March 2009 (UTC)