AvA Tom DeLonge – Guitar/Vocals David Kennedy – Guitar Matt Wachter – Bass Atom Willard - Drums “Now that this is the future, it can’t just be different, it has to be better. I want to change how music is made, I want to change how music is marketed, I want to change how music is delivered – and I’m gonna do it,” declared guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge. Bold words from an equally bold musician. But not surprising given his musical track record. Fans and critics alike won’t be surprised when he actually pulls it off. Angels & Airwaves, commonly known as AvA, set out to be a cutting-edge band, and their third studio album will be no exception. The album, entitled LOVE, will be available on February 14, 2010. For Free. The band believes that they can forge corporate/brand partnerships for funding their album’s marketing and distribution costs, allowing them to deliver the album for free to fans around the world. They’ve spent two years making the album and polishing the concept. “It’s a leap of faith, but we believe that this is the future,” said DeLonge. “The possibilities are endless. This can put an end to the way things were done and create the way things will be in the music business.” The band is quick to acknowledge that other artists have put out free albums, and there is certainly free music to be found on the internet. So while not revolutionary from a pricing standpoint, the concept is a byproduct of the band’s deep belief that music should be available to the fans for free. Further to that, AvA feels the corporate funding element makes their model unique. “It’s about breaking down barriers of doing business the same old way,” said DeLonge. “Our decision came from a place of angst – we were fed up and disappointed with record labels who wouldn’t provide the most basic financial support, while a major corporation would offer millions to license :30 seconds of one song for a commercial. That told us something was really off, and that we as artists could make money a different way, and actually create a better model for ourselves and the fans.” Band History Angels & Airwaves was founded in the wake of Tom DeLonge’s break-up with massive punk supergroup blink-182. “After blink-182 broke up, I was looking for a new outlet and a new family amongst a lot of unanswered questions. To go searching for the new and correct path in life was quite a marathon,” said DeLonge. But what he found was something bigger than the correct path, in many ways he found his purpose as a musician. In the wake of the break-up, DeLonge gathered a group of friends and like-minded musicians to start a band, with a musical spirit that was quite different from any of their previous efforts. The band has a vision for their music which is not just a listening experience but something that involves videos and films paired with music to engage both imagery and sound for a unique, unparalleled experience. Contrary to his typical punk hijinx and off-color humor on-stage with blink, DeLonge gives great thought and depth to the meaning of Ava, saying “Everything leading up to and with the formation of the band were all life changing events. But it was the truth, the message behind this band, that inevitably made me practice what I was preaching. If you can just see yourself differently in the world around you, then the world around you will change, and possibly the world itself.” AvA consists of DeLonge on guitar/vocals, and he is joined by guitarist David Kennedy, drummer Atom Willard, and bassist Matt Wachter. Kennedy had been playing with Over My Dead Body, Hazen Street and Box Car Racer, while Willard had been with The Offspring and Rocket From The Crypt. Wachter had played with 30 Seconds To Mars but joined the band in 2007. The band has released two studio albums We Don’t Need to Whisper and I-Empire, both of which rocketed into the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top 200 charts. To date, AvA has sold more than 2 million albums worldwide. Both albums had Top 5 singles that were major radio hits and were mainstays at modern rock stations like KROQ in Los Angeles. The songs were widely seen as a reflection of pop culture and used liberally in TV shows such as Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The Hills and Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground. Critics heaped praise on AvA from the beginning. Billboard said “Its potential is a force to be reckoned with.” The New York Post commented that “the songs are every bit the anthems he wants them to be.” And UK super music magazine Kerrang! said “the results are some stunning moments of perfection.”