On the bus

On the bus

CHRIS FRIES / Satellite Correspondent The members of Theodress Avery film a music video to accompany their song, "Hold On," which they recorded Sunday aboard the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

A day recording provides winners more chances to shine

By QUINN COOPER Satellite Correspondent
3/16/2007

To get on the bus, you've got to be the best. And Theodress Avery proved its value at the third annual Satellite Battle of the Bands.

As part of the prize package, the band, made up of Metro Christian Academy students Zach Annett, Jordan Crawley and Eli Anderson and home-schooled Schuyler Anderson, got to spend the day aboard the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus recording a song and shooting a music video.

The bus is a mobile recording studio that travels across the country, stopping at high schools, colleges, music festivals, concerts and various other events. After stopping in Tulsa for the battle, the bus will head to Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest music festival.

Avery chose to record its song "Hold On" Sunday aboard the bus.

"It's a song about when things get tough, not giving up," said vocalist/guitarist Crawley.

The song came to life for the band at the battle when Crawley's guitar pedals stopped working during "Hold On."

"It really embodied the message of the song," said Crawley. "I kept going and building off of the energy of the other guys even though things weren't going right."

In addition to recording a song on the bus, the guys got some great advice on technical aspects of recording.

"Being around this

much cool audio and video equipment is really cool and an awesome opportunity," said Annett.

Avery's members originally recorded their songs by themselves, but thought "it was really cool to get to record with somebody who went to school for this stuff and knows exactly what they're doing," said Crawley.

"After this, our recordings will be better and we'll finish our EP," said Annett.

Even after winning the Battle of the Bands and throughout their day on the John Lennon tour bus, the guys in Theodress Avery remained funny and approachable.

They proved their might onstage, and they benefited even more from the experience of recording on the bus. Look for the music video soon at www.jlsc.com, and be on the lookout for the band's forthcoming EP.

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Quinn Cooper 581-8336
Bishop Kelley junior
satellite@tulsaworld.com

By QUINN COOPER Satellite Correspondent