AVERLY releases debut single "Patient"

AVERLY is an American band based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Formed by producer Jon Class (Josh Garrels, THE WLDLFE) and singer/songwriter Jonny Carroll, the indie-pop band unveiled their debut single “Patient” on December 7th.

“The song “Patient” is largely in regard to my personal tendency to wind up and burn out when I feel like the track towards my goals isn’t moving fast enough. I realized that if I didn’t learn how to fall in love with the process, there was ultimately no point in doing what I was doing,” explains Carroll.

Inspired by the likes of Noah Gunderson, Passenger, Ben Howard & LANY, the duo is designing their unique sound through heartfelt records with the intention of delivering a message of hope.

“Patient” is now available on major streaming platforms.

Introduce the band. What’s your story?

AVERLY is comprised of producer Jon Class (Josh Garrels, THE WLDLFE) and artist Jonny Carroll (The Willow EP, Leaving On The Light).

Jonny: Jon and I met through our mutual friend Joshua Powell -- a fellow Indianapolis-based touring artist. Jon’s done all of Joshua’s records, as well as the records of a number of other Indy local artists and bands. I always liked his style and approach to production and so I had reached out to him to discuss working together. First day in the studio felt like we were long time friends, and it’s been that way ever since.

At what point did you know you had to form a band?

Jonny: Forming the band was an idea that we both kind of had while working on this song, “Patient”, but neither of us voiced it until we finished the production. I was at a point in my solo career where I had just taken a pretty extensive break to kind of sort things out and take care of some health difficulties I was having, and although I was excited about this song, I wasn’t really sure what was next. By our third consecutive day in the studio, we both felt like we had poured a significant amount of ourselves into the track, and decided to toy with the idea of making it a new band. About a month later, we got together to talk about it and did just that.

What made you want to name your band AVERLY? What's the inspiration behind it?

Jonny: By nature, I’m a very nostalgic person. We were trying to come up with a name that met a lot of criteria we felt were important; one word, phonetically pleasing, has a strong sense of identity, and lends itself well to a feeling…. Looking for inspiration, I went to an old photo album of a trip that my family and I took to Scotland in the fall of 2013. At that time of my life I was the advent of my realizing that if I wanted to pursue a career in music, I needed to have the courage just to start -- even if that meant small. That was the beginning of it for me, and my family has always been really supportive. I came across a memory of a flat we stayed at in Edinburgh just outside of Waverley station and I liked the name “Waverley” because it instilled a certain degree of charm and, by association, a childlike naivete in me. But Jon and I both agreed it made us think of mid 2000s Disney Channel sitcoms. We adapted it into AVERLY, and it just stuck.

You are about to release your debut single "Patient", what's the story behind it?

Jonny: I spent the majority of my mid twenties touring around the US and UK playing poppy folk songs to small clubs and dive bars, aiming to make a name for myself. The nature of breaking into the music industry as an artist is a complex and often nonlinear one and I found myself getting burnt out on it, though still holding steady to that dream of being able to thrive in it. I put a halt on my career as I knew it and packed up my guitar to live in my 2003 Honda Odyssey in New York City for a little while and figure some things out. During my time there, I was just busking in the subways for cash and working on developing a new approach to songwriting. The song “Patient” is largely in regard to my personal tendency to wind up and burn out when I feel like the track towards my goals isn’t moving fast enough. I realized that if I didn’t learn how to fall in love with the process, there was ultimately no point in doing what I was doing. I was too future-focused to live presently. This song is a reminder to myself that good things -- be it love, career path, or whatever else, take time.

Could you describe us the songwriting/production process? When did you start working on this song?

Jonny: This song started during one of those busking sessions in NYC in October 2017. I was experimenting with using a loop pedal through my acoustic guitar and stumbled upon this brilliant sound by layering 12 fret harmonics in an open tuning and reversing the loop. It created this swirly, atmospheric pad effect that I then wrote the song on top of. I took it to Jon and we built the rest of the song from it. We were both very interested in delving into the realm of left-field indie pop while still maintaining some ghost like traces of my background as an indie folk artist -- a lot of the percussion samples used in the front end of the track were made by me hitting different parts of my mahogany parlor acoustic guitar. I think we both fell in love with the juxtaposition of having something that organic as the foundation, and then using some vintage synthesizers and a plethora of other collected sounds to tell a story and generate a sense of chaos in the post-chorus drops.

What made you want to pick this particular song as your debut single?

Jonny: I was working on a few other songs at the time, but when I finished writing “Patient” I felt that it was the first complete manifestation of a new style for me, and ultimately a great starting point to build a new sound around.

Jon, you are a producer. What equipments and softwares do you usually use? What advices would you give to young producers?

Jon: Ok so I think I can answer all of this in one fell swoop. I use protools and then a myriad of different pieces of gear and equipment. But, and this is my advice to producers starting out, don't get caught up in all of that first. Get a computer, a DAW (protools, logic, garageband etc.) and just learn it. Get in there and do as much as you can with exactly what you have. I've heard tons of records from young producers who went into some million dollar studio, but had no clue what to do with it, and they sound AWFUL. Learn how to get cool stuff with what you have, then when you get better gear, it'll only sweeten the good thing you're already doing!

Jonny, you released two EPs as a solo artist. How did this experience as a solo artist teach you and how does it impact the creativity you have right now in AVERLY?

Jonny: I had the privilege of working with Jake Rye on my earlier projects, and that was probably one of the biggest and most valuable artist development experiences I could get. Jake is a phenomenal producer based in Adrian, MI and has made quite the name for himself; first in the commercial CCM scene, and more recently with what is happening in the explosively successful indie Michigan scene. He taught me the standard of how to be prepared for the studio, and everything that entails. Aside from that, just the skill sets I’ve acquired over the years out of necessity, such as tour booking, project management, and marketing strategy, are all proving to be helpful as we take this new project forward. As far as how it now all impacts the creativity I pour into AVERLY, I think Jon and I both have a unique and cool thing going on, in that we both love what’s happening inside the indie pop genre right now, but we’re also both coming at it through different musical lenses and it seems like people are really connecting with it because of that.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Jonny: Honestly, I am inspired from all across the board. As far as musical inspiration goes, I am the kind of music consumer who finds an artist I love and listen to them exclusively until I know the songs and production front to back, can assimilate it, and then make some small piece of it my own. Some artists I’ve done this with over the course of the past few years are: Noah Gunderson, Passenger, Ben Howard, Bear’s Den, Ryan McMulllan LANY, Ben Rector, LAUV… Right now I’m really into the band Nightly and Jon Bellion’s new record. Can’t get enough of those.

You are from Indianapolis. How would you describe this city? How's the music scene in Indianapolis?

Jonny: So, fun fact, I’m currently based in Indy and have lived here a little bit before but I’m mostly from Michigan. I love it here, though. Jon has been in the area a lot longer I know so maybe he would be more equipped to answer this, but ultimately what brought me back here was the uncanny sense of community around the arts scene in Indianapolis. I feel like there are so many talented poets, artists, sculptors, songwriters, and everything else here just shaping and encouraging one another. Spend a weekend in Fountain Square and you’ll see what I mean; Indy is a midwestern hub that is pregnant with authentic creativity and passion.

What do you want to accomplish as a band?

Jon: Hitting some big stride with huge tours and lots of streaming doesn't sound terrible haha! But in all seriousness, I want to make something we think is GREAT. I really do believe that this music will connect with some people, and that's where I want to be. Does everyone have to love it? No, but I'd sure like for some too! That includes shows, that includes getting it into the hands of as many people as possible, but ultimately I wanna create something I believe is inherently good and connect with people.

2018 is slowly coming to an end. What are the things you are the most proud of?

Jonny: Personally, I’m proud of the work I’ve done this past year to take care of myself and with that, what it has done for my creative expression. Jon has worked on so many incredible records this year for other artists, as well as touring with Josh Garrels. Truly, we are most proud of what is happening with AVERLY. We have some exciting things up our sleeves for what’s coming next.

What can you tell us about your upcoming music?

Jonny: Over the course of 2019 we plan on releasing a string of singles that will eventually be packaged as an EP. Our aim is to hopefully start looking at some tour dates beginning next summer as well as releasing some official music videos for these songs. We are both very community-centric people, so we really want to build a sense of community around AVERLY where our fans feel acknowledged, appreciated, and invited to be a part of our story.

In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?

Jon: I think this is a question all of us could easily answer, but none of us really want to start ourselves. But humility, selflessness... I think that's a good place to start, and applying it to your own life first. I think if people would stop wagging a finger at other before getting their own lives in order would be a lot more efficient. You gotta make your bed before you change the world, right?

What's your purpose?

Jonny: Without getting too abstract, I like to think of ‘purpose’ and ‘calling’ as two different facets of how to live. Your calling is what you do -- it’s the work that you were designed for that will help make the world a kinder, more conscious and compassionate place to live. Jon and I both have an urgent sense of calling in our creative spaces; making art that connects and resonates with people, inspiring togetherness. Unity is a big driving factor in what we do. As far as purpose goes, I think everyone’s the same, and should be made a priority: treating people with radical kindness and taking initiative to be less focused on ‘self’ and more focused on building up and putting courage in the people around you. Neither of us have perfected this, but it’s a mentality we’ve both agreed is the ethos of AVERLY.

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VirginieDecember 7, 2018