Independent Artist Of The Week: Made Avail

This weeks Independent Artist Of The Week is a band called Made Avail. I recently discovered these guys and I am a fan of what they do, so I am passing the music along! Below is some info about them from their Facebook page.

"The first thing we do when we get to a show, we look around for the people we know. It’s so important for us to invest in the people who support the band, because it’s their passion that drives what we do," explains guitarist Luke Buishas. "After that, we huddle up with the band and close friends, and make sure that everyone’s head is clear to play. Then we pray for the show and the people in the

 crowd."

This backstage ritual has its roots in a 15 year friendship, stretching back to a small church in Illinois, when the pastor’s wife introduced a 9-year-old Luke to Tyler, the new kid in the church. "I’ll never forget, she stepped away, and there was Tyler, with his hair parted down the middle and his little sad face on. We’ve been friends ever since."

Five years later, after discovering guitars and amplifiers, the duo took a crack at winning the youth group’s talent show with a cover of Blink 182’s "Stay Together for the Kids." Despite a talking to from the youth pastor (for playing a "secular" song) and Tyler fronting the group while wearing a very un-cool sweater, they won the talent show. "The next time we hung out, Luke and I were talking about how much fun we had," Tyler says. "I told him we should start a band. That was nine years ago, and we haven’t looked back since."

The duo have been through a spectrum of experiences that only do two things to friendships: destroy them or make them unbreakable. As the band continues it’s heavy touring schedule (averaging more than 100 shows a year), there has been plenty of time to forge permanent bonds with Made Avail’s rhythm section, with Kent manning the drums and Jon holding down bass duties.

Together, they’ve embarked on a series of adventures known only to boys in bands. Narrowly avoiding arrest in New York after a botched concert contract, driving cross country with 11 people in a van built for four, attempting to play Warped Tour after an accidental overdose of cough syrup left Tyler in a near-comatose state, surviving almost exclusively off of Taco Bell, rocking Mohawks and torn jeans and dreams that just won’t die.

"You hear a lot about the ’touring drama’ element of bands," says Luke. "That just doesn’t happen in Made Avail. None of us have biological brothers, so we’re each other’s brothers. This band is a family that values integrity, which extends out to the fans."

"When I look out from stage, I see a dream come true," says Tyler. "The passion of these kids is what fuels are dream," adds Luke. "That’s why we work so hard to write the best songs that we can for them to hear. We believe that music can encourage kids to be their true selves. And they start becoming who they really are, it’s that path that leads to God."

And that’s why, despite the lack of money and long nights on the interstate, the cheap food and crashing on hotel floors, despite calling a van "home" and carrying gear in all weather conditions, the dream survives, and the brotherhood stays strong." - Made Avail Facebook 

page. 

Now check out Made Avail's music video for their song "Right Direction". Comment and let me know what you think of these guys!