Averno, other local artists to perform at Dominican

It's coming up! Dominican's Sounds Society will be hosting its second annual Fall Rock Fest on Saturday, November 8 at 6 p.m. in the Priory Auditorium. Tickets are $3 for students, and $4 for non-students. You can't beat $3 for six bands AND free pizza and drinks!

The artists on the bill are Averno, Fotosputnik, Before the Storm, Bright Light Brigade, Tonight the Prom and Anemic Annie.

Shane Wirkes, the artist behind Averno, is actually not a Dominican student, but an alum of University of Illinois' school of music composition in Urbana-Champaign.
Shane was the vocalist and songwriter of the popular, far-reaching Chicago band called Until Sundown, until a couple years ago when the band decided to fold.


purevolume

Two of his bandmates went on to form Pete Wentz' Decaydence Records' band The Hush Sound, while Shane studied music composition at U of I and performed in other bands: Kristov's Agenda and The Sugar Gliders. In addition, he collaborated with a number of hip-hop artists, fusing musical genres and touring the United States. Quite the versatile musician, in addition to singing, he also plays nearly every instrument. Or at least eight. Shane performs at least weekly in the Chicagoland area. Whether acoustic or electric, originals or covers, when Shane sings, people listen.


myspace

In addition to his musical performance abilities, he composes not only for rock band instruments, but orchestral and string music. One such composition, "String Quartet no. 2," can also be found on the Averno myspace page. Influenced by a number of artists, including Radiohead, Arvo Part, Sigur Ros, Interpol, Elliot Smith, and the Beatles, it's hard to describe his style. Those who like bands in the vein of Radiohead, or music that is different from the mainstream norm and incorporates traditional (or non-traditional!) instruments with electronics, will enjoy the music of Averno.

The Averno myspace page has a four-song sampling of Shane's music, but I will say that it is only a small glimpse of the diverse, wide-ranging style of the artists' creations, and his page has not been updated in some tme.


This is a music video from his page. It's slightly haunting.


Even if that video freaked you out, I can promise you will enjoy his live performance.

I have a limited number of tickets for sale, so if you are interested you may contact me at mutechar@dom.edu. In addition, the Sounds Society will be selling tickets and previewing all the artists' music in Lewis Hall until we sell out.

Support your local artists!