FIRST THINGS FIRST: BRYCE AVARY/THE ROCKET SUMMER
For his first major-label album, Do You Feel, Texas-bred Bryce Avary -- a.k.a. The Rocket Summer -- has hooked up with Island Records.
The 24-year-old pop-rock singer and multi-instrumentalist, who is on the road in September with The Academy Is …, recently reflected on some other musical firsts in his life.
FIRST ROCK STAR POSTER ON HIS BEDROOM WALL:
"It might have been Silverchair. I was 13, and they were 15 and [really popular], and that was every kid's dream. I definitely looked up to them."
HIS FIRST GUITAR:
"My Dad bought me a Hondo, a remake of a Fender Strat, when I was in sixth grade. It was red and white. I never got rid of it -- I still have it. My Dad always told me, 'You don't want to get rid of it -- trust me.' But every day I would say, 'I need $70 bucks; I need to sell this so I can get $40 for it.' But he would say, 'You don't need to do that.' So I didn’t do that, and I'm very grateful I didn't."
FIRST MUSIC HERO OR INFLUENCE HE MET:
"I've met a lot of my heroes. When I was in seventh grade, that was the first real rock concert I went to. I saw the Toadies in Dallas at this dirty club, and I got to meet them, and that was really cool. They weren't necessarily heroes of mine.
"But I did get to play Foosball with [Weezer's] Rivers Cuomo about five years ago, and he didn't say one word to me, and we played for, like, 30 minutes. . . . I would say stuff to him, but he wouldn't respond to me."
-- Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior
The Rocket Summer on tour with The Academy Is … (schedule subject to change):
* Sept. 5: Rave Eagles Club -- Milwaukee
* Sept. 6: Val Air Ballroom -- West Des Moines, Iowa
* Sept. 7: Myth -- Maplewood, Minn.
* Sept. 8: Sokol Auditorium -- Omaha, Neb.
* Sept. 11: Gothic Theatre -- Englewood, Colo.
* Sept. 12: In the Venue -- Salt Lake City
* Sept. 13: Big Easy Excursions -- Keystone, Colo.
* Sept. 15: Crystal Ballroom -- Portland, Ore.
* Sept. 16: Showbox at the Market -- Seattle
* Sept. 18: Empire Events Center -- Sacramento
* Sept. 19: Warfield Theatre -- San Francisco
* Sept. 20: Wiltern -- Los Angeles
* Sept. 21: House of Blues -- Anaheim, Calif.
* Sept. 23: Jillian’s Las Vegas -- Las Vegas
* Sept. 25: Marquee Theatre -- Tempe, Ariz.
* Sept. 26: Rialto Theatre -- Tucson, Ariz.