A band that defies usual descriptions.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Maybe people think the Avett Brothers are a bluegrass band because the three members often play fast-paced tunes and their instruments of choice are upright bass, banjo and acoustic guitar.

Maybe it's that harmonizing falsetto, or how they tune their strings. Maybe it's just that they're from the South.

But you can't call them bluegrass and tell the whole truth. You'd also have to label them punk, rock, blues or country, none of which works alone as a descriptor.

So many young bands like to think of themselves as having invented a new type of music. The problem with most of that avant garde, cutting edge, "groundbreaking" music is that it's no fun to listen to.

(I can be avant garde, too. Here, listen to this recording of the percussion I invented: It's me hitting myself on the head with a PVC pipe with a train going by in the distance.)

At age 25, 30 and 35, what these three musicians have is a unique style that is listenable and accessible.

Scott and Seth Avett and Bob Crawford, from all the way down in North Carolina, certainly don't think they are bluegrass artists. On the band's MySpace.com page, it cites grunge, rock, rock 'n' roll, metal, hard rock, blues, Piedmont blues, jazz, calypso, real classic country, country-western and folk as influences.

Notably, bluegrass is nowhere on the list.

Big labels show reluctance

When Crawford, 35, was tagged by the group's indie label, Ramseur Records, to field a recent phone interview, he didn't go so far as to say the band has invented a new kind of music. But he did say they think genres are irrelevant in today's music market.

"My personal opinion of genres," Crawford said, "is you should walk into a record store and everything should be in alphabetical order. Since the advent of the Internet, genres have gone out the window.

`It's getting to the point where we all listen to everything. The average person has more of a diversity of music; no one fits in a box. If they ever did, they don't now."

The Avett Brothers eschew genres in favor of creating their own sound, but that poses a problem with record labels. The band has showcased for major labels and heard representatives' cliche excuse: They just wouldn't know how to market the band.

The band knows how to market itself. It's easy. Just get the music in front of as many people as possible. Those people tend to become fans.

Crawford said their boosters come from everywhere: punk rock kids, people in their early 30s and late 20s who bring their parents and kids to shows and country music lovers - people he'd never expect to see at a rock show.

Last August, the Avett Brothers came through Eugene and played Sam Bond's Garage. Crawford remembers it being a small crowd.

"It's fun because it's like starting out again," Crawford said, noting that the band has been members' full-time job for three years. `There's something great about it being the first time for everybody.

"We saw tremendous growth in the last year. We saw tremendous growth, unexpectedly. It felt real good to see that."

Aside from their obvious talent, Crawford credits Seth and Scott Avett's work ethic for the band's continuing success.

"There are artists who get up at 7 a.m. as opposed to artists who get up at noon," he said. "I know a lot of talented people who the world won't know they are talented."

Both Avett brothers had been in other rock bands, but when those fell apart, they decided a new direction was in order. Since 2001, they have focused on writing songs and playing acoustic music.

They've since put out four albums and two live discs. The band's most recent project is an EP called "The Gleam."

Crawford joined in 2002 as a temporary bass player for a tour. He's since won a permanent spot in the band and has started to contribute to the songwriting.

All three members have solo projects, too.

"When we very first started touring in 2002, we would go to all sorts of different places," Crawford said. "We just do what we do and we do real well.

`We don't worry about what type of venue we're in. We're just really happy when people accept it and enjoy it."

Lyrics get right to the point

Bob Dylan sang "It Ain't Me." The Avett Brothers have "Pretend Love," from the 2006 release "Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions."

"Don't you know I've a gift/ And I've wrapped it in truth/ Your birthday's tomorrow/ But the gift's not for you," Seth and Scott Avett sing in harmony.

"But if I came with a present/ I would bring you a clue/ In hopes that you'd finally/ See that your feelings for me will never be returned."

Ouch.

Neither song is mean, just blunt. Girls love that. Best way into a young woman's heart is to tell her you'll never love her, no matter how hard she tries to make you.

Speaking of young people, the University of Oregon Cultural Forum is producing the show at the WOW Hall at 11:30 a.m. Monday that will offer those hanging around the Erb Memorial Union Fishbowl a free sneak preview of the Avett Brothers' skilled mania.

Lyrically, the Avett Brothers are not the next Dylan. The songs are sparse and often easy to learn and sing along with.

Media reviews of live shows on the East Coast routinely report that audience members sing along - sometimes drowning out the brothers' vocals as the Avetts float on their backs, still strumming their banjo and guitar as packed halls of people pass them around.

When asked what his role in the band is, Crawford said sometimes it's his job to keep the songs going.

"I just try to be as flexible as possible. We're all real comfortable right now."

The band's live shows vary with members' moods, Crawford said, but they always put a lot of energy into it.

"There could be a night we come out and play 90 percent ballads. It gets to be very emotional and we just ride that emotion.

`It's been considered energe- tic, like you might be at church sometimes, caught up the emotion. It can get to be fever pitch."

The Avett style has been called new-grass, and journalists have tried to come up with other names, such as neo-grunge. But Crawford said he believes we are entering the "age of not needing to describe things," with how easy it is to just hear the music on the Internet and decide for yourself.

"When you attach words to something, whatever you are talking about, it lessens it," Crawford, said. "If you tried to describe the sensation of eating ice cream to someone who has never had it before, you couldn't do it."

CONCERT PREVIEW The Avett Brothers What: A really fun band With: Hillstomp When: 8 p.m. Tuesday Where: WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave. Tickets: $7 advance for students, $10 at the door for general public Free sneak peek live: 11:30 a.m. Monday, Erb Memorial Union Fishbowl, 1222 E. 13th Ave. Free sneak peek on the Web: www.registerguard .com/avettbrothers.php

You can call Serena Markstrom at 338-2371 or e-mail her at [e-mail].