Woodbridge, N.J. (Top40 Charts/ Framework Media Strategies) Voted Among Top Unsigned Acts In NY/NJ/PA, Prog-Rockers 'Audio Insight' Close Book On Jam-Packed SummerAUDIO INSIGHT USES SUMMER 2011 TO MAKE STRIDES IN SPREADING THEIR MUSIC TO NEW EARS
Emerging N.J.-based progressive rock band spends summer months performing songs from their acclaimed debut album Dimensions across the country
- Audio Insight is Anthony Celi (lead guitar/vocals), Mike Deverin (bass) and Dan Sullivan (drums and percussion).
A little less than 10 months ago, the self-trained progressive rock trio released their debut album Dimensions to a sold-out crowd at Butler, N.J.'s Architekt Music. Since then, nothing has stood in the band's way of achieving early success, and Summer 2011 can serve as a testament to Audio Insight's swift rise.
"Ever since I got their CD, I have been listening to it non-stop," The Aquarian's Brian Schantz says. "It has a refreshing sound, and the fact that it is a three piece blows my mind."
After being crowned one of New Jersey's regional winners in The BREAK Contest at the completion of a four-month long, battle-of-the-bands style competition amongst more than 400 acts, Audio Insight was awarded a slot to perform during the 2011 Bamboozle
Music Festival at the New Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.
"The guys (in Audio Insight) are very good students of music," says John D'Esposito, founder of the Bamboozle
Music Festival. "I can really appreciate guys who really focus."
On Friday, April 29th, the band graced the festival's BREAK Stage and played a five-song set to a growing and energized crowd. Included in the band's performance were four songs off of their debut album Dimensions, which is currently available on iTunes, as well as their cover of prog-rock kings Rush's legendary track 'The
Spirit of Radio'.
"We were pretty excited," Celi says. "When you're up there and just look around, there's thousands of people there. It was pretty awesome."
But the band's exciting summer didn't stop there.
Less than two months later on Saturday, July 23, Audio Insight found themselves on stage at Minnesota's Mall of America, ready to rock the world's largest indoor indie music festival sponsored by The Indie
Music Channel.
"I created the event because I have always felt that there needed to be more support for local and indie music,"
Christopher Ewing, Indie
Music Channel President and Founder, says. "There are a lot of really talented singers and bands out here whose music isn't getting enough radio play, if at all, mostly because they aren't signed to a big record deal with a major label. Whether these singers or bands have a record deal or not, they still have awesome music that deserves to be heard."
In the case of Audio Insight's selection to the festival, on occasion the best news you can receive comes at the unlikeliest of times.
"In late May-early June, we submitted our music for review through Reverbnation.com, but kept our focus on the summer shows we had coming up." Sullivan says. "All of a sudden we get a call from
Christopher Ewing asking us to play and we were really, really excited. This trip wasn't easy to pull together in such a short amount of time, but thanks to some luck and a few of our biggest supporters, we made it happen and shared with our new fans in Minnesota a little Jersey rock."
The event, in its inaugural year, offered visitors the chance to catch a lineup featuring an international collection of today's best unsigned artists rocking five different stages throughout the day. The only band from the Garden State, and the only set of hard-rockers on the bill, for Audio Insight the well over 2,000 mile trip was worth all 20 hours it took to get there.
"I can't think of any other unsigned artist in our area that can say they've played a show like that," Deverin says. "The experience was awesome, we got to see different parts of the country and we made a lot of new fans. I'd say it was a success for sure."
The band's last big performance of the summer came only days after returning from their trip to the Mall of America. On Wednesday, July 27, Audio Insight held their first headlining show, courtesy of Big Mountain Entertainment, at Maxwell's in Hoboken, N.J. The venue has previously welcomed big-names such as My Chemical Romance, Nirvana,
Senses Fail and The Smashing Pumpkins, as well as many others.
"We were pretty excited to play this show because this was the biggest show of the summer for us; the chance to headline," Celi says. "Big names have passed through Maxwell's, and to have a chance to be a part of that, to be up there with the great and in-tuned crowd we had, that to us was just very satisfying."
In addition to playing at these venues, Audio Insight's summer also included performances at High Velocity, The Saint, Starland Ballroom and The Stone Pony in New Jersey, as well as shows at Bar East, The
National Underground and Mazfest 2011 in New York.
"Playing in the tri-state area and sharing our music has been a dream come true," Deverin says. "From the staples here in New Jersey, to crossing the river and rocking New York, and now taking our first road trips out of the area, we're really trying to set this time aside for 'the big push'."
Since releasing their debut album Dimensions (available on iTunes) in November 2010, this trio of self-taught musicians has never looked back.
Voted by The Aquarian Weekly as one of the Top Unsigned Acts of 2011 in the tri-state area, Audio Insight has garnered features by commercial radio on WRAT 95.9 FM in New Jersey and WKVYN 99.3 FM in California, received college radio play courtesy of Garden State-based WSOU 89.5 FM, WPSC 88.7 FM and WRSU 88.7 FM, were featured on popular blog-talk radio program IndieOnAir! in
Chicago as well as California's THE LIST Magazine.
Their debut album was also noted as 'Album of the Month' by New England's NewEars.org in August.
In less than a few years, the band has morphed from live music newcomers to becoming very good at it.
Audio Insight formed while all three members were still in high school (Celi and Deverin went to Woodbridge High School, while Sullivan studied at St. Joseph's in Metuchen). Together since 2008, the band was brought together by their mutual affection for rock music.
"I met Anthony in high school," Sullivan says. "The first band we all liked was Rage Against the Machine. We started playing covers of their songs and really went from there."
Updates on a full Fall 2011 show schedule are pending.
For more information on the Audio Insight, log on to the band's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AudioInsight.
