THE BAND

 

BRYCE AVARY : the rocket summer        Bryce Avary is the sole creator of The Rocket Summer's music. Bryce writes, sings, and plays every instrument for each song on all the records. Instruments that Bryce utilizes are guitars, drums & percussion, piano, bass, harmonica, synthesizers, organs, and more. Bryce began getting really into music during his early middle school years, when he played in drumline. During live shows, Bryce switches around playing all the instruments; meanwhile, there is a full Rocket Summer band providing the full sound, made up of good friends and skilled musicians.

 

SETH BREWTON : guitar        Seth has been a part of The Rocket Summer since the very beginning. He used to help sell merchandise, shoot confetti, and drive the van. A little later, he played guitar on "Movie Stars and Super Models," when Bryce would take the mic and dance while singing. When TRS officially become a full touring band, Seth continued as the guitarist for the whole show. He also sings backup vocals, and occasionally plays the tamborine and the keyboard. When Bryce does small performances on radio stations, Seth joins him to play guitar and sing backup vocals while Bryce plays the piano. Seth likes biking and owls!

 

NICK ARANDA : bass        Nick began playing bass with The Rocket Summer in the fall of 2009, on the long awaited first tour back after the recording of a new album. He grew up in Lancaster, California but has recently lived in Nashville, TN. He was in the band Dizmas - say hi!!

 

JUSTIN LEU : drums        Justin's first tour with The Rocket Summer was in the fall of 2009 on 'The Cheap Date Tour.' He's from Dallas, Texas but just met the band recently during the drum auditions. Justin is a fan of The Rocket Summer... he loves Calendar Days and went to see TRS play at Trees in Dallas in 2002!

 

TARA AVARY : business manager, merchandise        Tara and Bryce were married in January 2005. Since then, she has worked as the business and merchandise manager, taking care of everything merchandise related, from designing to inventory to selling. She also helps with taking photos and videos while Bryce is in the studio recording. Sometimes, Tara plays bass during "This Is Me," which is pretty exciting! Make sure you say "HI" and pick out a t-shirt!  :-)

 

KEVIN RIFE : guitar tech        Kevin is currently working as the guitar tech for The Rocket Summer. He's from Mechanicsburg, PA and is interested in everything sound/media related... thanks for making the band sound good!

 

STUART AND BROWNIE : tour managers        Stuart and his little dog Brownie have been tour managers for The Rocket Summer since the headlining tour in the fall of 2008. They keep everything really sharp and organized.

 

 

 

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FORMER TOURING MUSICIANS

 

 

ROB AVSHARIAN : drums + keyboard        Rob is a multi-instrumentalist! He played with The Rocket Summer since before the first nation-wide tour, throughout summer 2004. Rob played drums for most of the show, except during "Mean Thoughts and Cheap Shots" when he switched with Bryce and played the keyboard. You might have noticed a random little picture of a guy on his drumset -- that is Andy Warhol! Rob grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but he currently lives in Denton, Texas. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a jazz studies degree. He has played in many bands in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, including Bobgoblin, Chomsky, and his current band, The Adventures Of Jet. He currently does freelance drumming. Rob is vegan and drives a Subaru. "Viola!"

 

BRETT BOWDEN : bass        Brett is also a friend of Bryce's from middle school. He started touring with The Rocket Summer in the spring of 2004 on the east coast tour with Relient K. This is when the live TRS became a "full band." He played up until the end of the "Move Your Feet to the Beat!" tour in summer 2004. Brett says he always likes touring with The Rocket Summer because the guys are extremely close friends. For about a year after The Rocket Summer, Brett played and toured with Yellow Second from Denver, Colorado. He is also part of Rondo, of course. Now he's living in Texas with his wife and son.

 

JARED BYERS : drums        Jared began touring with The Rocket Summer in Spring 2005. He is from Nashville, and plays drums for his band Bleach. His current band is Royal Empire Music. He also used to play drums for Relient K! At home, Jared raises bees in beehives and steals their honey. One bee in his lifetime only produces one tablespoon of honey, so the beekeepers are very busy. The honey business is called "The Royal Honey Empire" - pins and t-shirts coming soon! Jared stopped touring after the summer 2005 tour. We really miss him!

 

JED BARNETT : bass        Jed began touring with The Rocket Summer in the Spring of 2005, on the 'A Family Affair' Militia Group tour. He is Bryce's friend from middle school. Jed has played in a few bands before, Brinkley and Rondo (with Seth and Brett) -- but The Rocket Summer was his first experience playing all around the country! Jed enjoys playing table tennis and fishing in Lake Texoma. He thinks Japanese Misso Soup is the most delicious soup ever. He also LOVES weimeraners! Jed finished touring with The Rocket Summer in 2006, because he decided to go back to school and become a chiropractor. He's gonna be good at it!        » feature video: Jed is happy!

 

TOMMY QUINN : drums        Tommy began playing drums with The Rocket Summer during the west coast tour with Hellogoodbye in summer 2005. He and the rest of TRS have been friends since middle school. Tommy and Bryce were in the band Charlie-27 together in middle school. Tommy likes baseball, history, psychology, and Kurt Vonnegut. At the end of 2008, Tommy went back to Texas to earn his degree. He'll be married in January, 2010. We miss you!!

 

MATT BERGELAND : bass        Matt began touring with The Rocket Summer in October 2005 as the videographer and tech assistant. He filmed hours and hours of concert/post-concert footage that will hopefully make it to a DVD one day! In March 2007, Matt became the full-time bass player. He also sings backup vocals!

 

 

 

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FORMER TOUR MANAGERS & CREW

 

 

BRENT OKULEY : tour manager, sound engineer        Brent was The Rocket Summer's most long-lasting tour manager. He began tour managing the band in May, 2007 and was with them on every tour including two trips to the UK until July 2008. Brent also doubled as the front of house engineer, mixing the sound at shows to make The Rocket Summer sound as good as they possibly could. In the past, Brent has worked with bands such as The Wedding, Lovedrug, Copeland, and Demon Hunter, and currently he tour manages for Underoath. He is originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania and now resides in Nashville. Miss you Brent!

 

RYAN GRAVES : road assistant        Ryan is Bryce & the gang's hometown friend from Texas. He started touring with TRS in July 2007, during the Do You Feel headlining tour. He continued to travel with the band all throughout the summer and fall, during the Warped Tour and Sleeping With Giants tour, assisting with merchandise, confetti shooting, and other road stuff. He was a tremendous help to Tara, since working at Warped Tour involves many long and hot days. In the fall of 2007, Ryan came on stage at the end of "So Much Love" and played the trumpet with Mikey from Sherwood... it was an amazing way to end the song. Ryan is completing his last semester of college where he is studying math and education. He will make the world a better place!

 

BRAD PARNELL : tour manager        Brad toured with The Rocket Summer as the tour manager + merchandise seller for the spring and summer of 2004... where he did lots of awesome magic tricks! Brad has played guitar for several bands from middle school to college, and toured as the guitarist for The Lyndsay Diaries in the summer of 2003. Brad enjoys snowboarding, skateboarding, coffee, and graphic design. After Brad stopped touring with The Rocket Summer in 2004, he finished his last few semesters of college in Norman, Oklahoma. Now he's married and lives in Texas. Best wishes to Brad! (Also, the "Brat Pack" video was shot at Brad's brother Sam's house in Texas, in November 2005.)

 

TREVOR SELLERS : guitar tech        Trevor toured with The Rocket Summer in July and August of 2007, on the CD release headlining tour and the Warped Tour. He tuned guitars and made sure all the intruments were working perfectly, and performed the soundcheck right before the band goes on stage. Then, Trevor joined up with the band a second time for the fall 2008 headlining tour. Trevor has toured with other bands before, playing guitar. He is from California, and currently lives in Nashville.

 

J.T. BURKE : sound engineer        J.T. toured with The Rocket Summer during March and April of 2007, on the tour with The Early November. He took care of the sound and made sure all technical aspects of the show worked just right. J.T. is from Ohio and loves the band Stryper!

 

DAN PATTERSON : guitar tech        Dan is from Maine! He and the TRS crew met in 2006, when Dan worked on guitar tech for Boys Like Girls. They all kept in touch, and then Bryce asked Dan to do guitar tech for the UK tour in January and February, 2008. It was a blast. After The Rocket Summer, Dan traveled the world some more helping out other bands, and now he is making music of his own.

 

HANSEL : guitar tech        Hansel toured with The Rocket Summer during the three-month long Sleeping with Giants tour in fall 2007. Hansel's job was to set up the instruments before The Rocket Summer took the stage, perform the soundcheck, and make sure the sound is on target. He also kept a close watch during the live show and fixed any technical problems that arose. He is from Missouri and now tours around with other bands.

 

DANNY KURILY : guitar tech        Danny worked with The Rocket Summer on the spring of 2008 Alternative Press tour. He made sure all the equipment was working correctly for "the loop song" (Wake Up). He also performed soundcheck to Bryce's piano by playing "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey! Danny is from Michigan and now tours around with other bands.

 

KYLE HENDERSON : guitar tech        Kyle is from North Carolina and did guitar tech for The Rocket Summer's co-headlining AP tour and their summer 2008 UK tour.

 

JOSE aka "PUMA" : merchandise        Jose sold merchandise for The Rocket Summer in April 2004, on the east coast tour with Relient K. He still helps out occasionally when an extra hand is needed. Jose regularly tours with bands selling merchandise, so he's pretty much an expert at this!