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Out pop band Avan Lava incorporates punk energy in live shows
Avan Lava members say they love energetic fans who get into their shows. (Photo courtesy the band)
By WESLEY DELLA VOLLA
Avan Lava is Brooklyn’s best-kept pop secret and famous for its high energy and inclusive live shows. At its core are a trio of singer TC and producers/musicians Le Chev and Ian Pai, but if you’re lucky enough to have seen one of their shows — such as their D.C. date at Living Social earlier this month — you know the band live is a robust group of six that includes musicians, vocalists and technicians Andrew Schneider (The Wooster Group), Drew Citron and Jo Lampert. The Blade caught up with Avan Lava after a recent photo shoot to talk about their queer-friendly live show.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Avan Lava is a party band and your live show is the main focus of what you do. Why is it important to you to have your parties so inclusive?
LE CHEV: It’s the motto of the project and how we all came together. Love will prevail. If everyone comes together, then everything will be fine. Seriously, the project being so inclusive is the most important part of it. It really shows in the music and the overall direction. The fundamental rule of the band is “if it’s good, go for it.” That carries over to everything.
BLADE: I’ve heard from fans who’ve seen you live say you have a punk rock edge to your energy. Does that rebellious nature inspire you?
IAN: We have a punk energy and that is something we all believe in. We would rather go hard and get crazy than be perfect and in total control. Being in control when you’re doing a show isn’t fun, I don’t think. It’s more fun to watch people lose themselves.
LE CHEV: We are going for the maximum sexiness and reckless abandon is always the most sexy.
JO: I think that’s why at the end of any Avan Lava show you will see at least one set of exes making out.
BLADE: What has most surprised you about your audiences?
LE CHEV: The most exciting thing for us is that people really consider it like an event and not just a show. People really prep for the evening, get their look on and really plan for this to be the night they go hard.
IAN: I love the people who show up in gym clothes. They show up like they’re gonna work out, they are right up front and you can’t get near them. They start dancing before we start playing and go hard until we’re done.
TC: It feels like out audience is in the same kind of head space, no matter who they are.
JO: They have a lot of stamina, you know by the time you are ready to pop off the last confetti cannons, you know they are still wanting it and ready for it.
BLADE: So TC, how has that inclusive environment helped you become more comfortable with you who you are and influenced you as a person?
TC: In the beginning we weren’t too sure what we were trying to do and I think because our audience was so inclusive it informed what we became. They made our true selves come through because it felt like it was that kind of party. For me personally I stopped thinking about what was cool and what was fun. And it turns out that being gay is really, really fun and it gets even more fun the older you get, because you care less about what people think.
BLADE: Being as open as you are with sexuality, have you experienced any throwback from that? Do you think moving forward it will hinder or not be an issue as you become more successful?
TC: For me it has not been an issue or helped so far.
IAN: I mean I think it totally held us back. We would/should have had five or six Grammys this year. I overheard someone on the committee say that we were a little too open and we should be more tidy and conservative.
JO: I think for us we don’t want to be pigeonholed as a gay band. Sexuality doesn’t come become before the music. It’s about being open and happy.
The D.C. Front Runners held the 14th annual 5K Pride Run at Congressional Cemetery on Saturday, June 6.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Books
‘Mighty Real’ explores history of LGBTQ music
From Judas Priest to Whitney, something for every taste
‘Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000’
By Barry Walters
c.2026, Viking
$35/496 pages
Step, step, tap, back step.
Shimmy in a circle, left hand waving over your head, shake your tail feathers, repeat to the beat. Once there was a time when you could do any dance in your sleep, but it’s been a while. So read “Mighty Real” by Barry Walters, and see if your toes don’t tap.
Fifty-seven years after Stonewall, and here we are: LGBTQ musicians still face scrutiny for their sexuality because, says Walters, music isn’t created for gay listeners. No problem: LGBTQ artists and writers have often penned lyrics carefully in order to say what can’t be said, “coding” songs for gay audiences that straight (and ignorant) listeners can dance to and enjoy with apparent obliviousness.
Walters offers “just a few” examples.
Lou Reed sang about trans people in the late ‘60s and offered a rallying song for the Gay Liberation Front in 1972, the latter of which felt like a message to a then-11-year-old Walters. Janis Joplin claimed she was straight, but she had several girlfriends. Motown singers often offered sometimes-ambiguous lyrics.
John Lennon’s hand placement on the back cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band made Walters begin to understand that he was different from other boys.
David Bowie is on his list, of course, as is Bette Midler, Elton John, Donna Summer, and Queen. You’ll find Judas Priest here, Green Day, and punk music. The Village People are included in this book, also Grace Jones, Duran Duran, and Cher, Whitney, Melissa, Latifah, and the lyrics from several blockbuster movies.
Two of Prince’s band members were lesbians, and they heavily influenced his albums. Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out” cemented her position in LGBTQ culture, and Michael Jackson’s inclusion here takes much careful consideration.
Read about Olivia Newton-John and the B52s. And then there’s Sylvester, for whom Walters has a soft spot in his heart. Sylvester’s death still makes Walters cry.
In his preface, author and music writer Barry Walters points out that music is what you make it and that it’s interpreted differently by each individual. To that end, this book naturally consists of preferential history and personal opinions about singers, bands, albums, and songs.
Agree or disagree. That’s where much of the appeal lies in “Mighty Real.”
Here, Walters wraps his memories around his choices, giving readers room for their own views, memories, and list making. Music-loving readers might also be surprised to note who’s not on Walters’ list – there aren’t many country performers here, for example, and the overall list focuses entirely on music from roughly 1968 to the year 2000, mostly on the kinds of songs you’ll want at the club or party. Again, discuss, and curate your own playlist.
This is a hefty book, but the chapters are browse-able and generally short enough to read in under five minutes. It’s nostalgic, yet also serious in the history it presents. This is the kind of book you want to leave near your album collection, or wherever you get your tunes. But finding “Mighty Real” is your first step.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performed “Soul Divas” at the Lincoln Theatre over the weekend. The show featured songs popularized by Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston and more.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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