In this era of manufactured pop and vitriolic rap metal, it will please many to know that intelligent lyrics and strong melodies still have a home in the songs of NAVIN (rhymes with “clean-shaven”). The LA-based band’s catchy tunes and standout live performances have helped them gain a fervent following that continues to grow as they make their way up and down the state of California and beyond. NAVIN officially gives its date of birth as the winter of 1998, but the band’s conception can be traced as far back as 1981, when singer/guitarist Derek Dressler met drummer Brendan Reid in kindergarten. Almost immediately, there was talk of forming a band, but it would be 17 years and several false starts before Derek and Brendan would complete their lineup. Along the way, Dressler and Reid attended college on opposite ends of the country – Derek at UC Berkeley, and Brendan at Berklee College of Music. Unbeknownst to Brendan, Navin’s future bass player Chris Hyland, and its soon-to-be lead guitarist Jim Daley were both attending Berklee at the same time. Chris, who majored in Music Production and Engineering, had been writing songs influenced by "way too many people" and performing them in Boston clubs with his band, KNEELING ON RICE. Jim, a film scoring major, drank beers in the video store where he worked. "The owners were cool about it." It would take three years and 3,000 miles, however, before the Berklee graduates would meet each other for the first time. Brendan and Derek got Navin up and running in early 1997, but the sound didn’t really take shape until late 1998, when new L.A. residents Daley and Hyland joined the band. Chris remembers, "I had listened to tapes of any non-metal, non-country band in L.A. that needed keyboards, guitar or bass...and that's a lot of tapes. The ink from NAVIN's label came off on my hands but their tape was tops.” With their lineup now intact, the new and improved NAVIN began a series of Saturday night gigs at LA's famed Dragonfly. Their well-attended shows, as well as their hit-you-over-the-head demo, have generated the buzz the music industry is now witnessing. Recently, NAVIN has been playing packed showcases and receiving critical notices in HITS MAGAZINE, MUSIC CONNECTION, CAMPUS CIRCLE, and various other publications and e-zines. Their recent West Coast tour confirmed what everyone in L.A. already knows. The future for this band looks very bright indeed.