AVANT-GARDE SINGER DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM CHURCH AND FACTORY.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

Avant sits at the back of a bus as it rolls toward Oakland with the Mary J. Blige tour, for which he's been opening all across the country.

The tour, which pulls into the Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday, is a sort of coming-out for the 22-year-old singer, whose love-gone-wrong r&b single, ``Separated,'' has been sweeping the airwaves. It's also a chance for Avant, born Myron Avant, to show people there's plenty more where that came from.

And he's not holding anything back.

``I'm gyrating and everything on stage so people can really enjoy themselves,'' he says with a laugh.

The fact is that winning over Blige's audience has little to do with gyrating on stage, at least for a singer such as Avant. He was schooled in the church choir during his Cleveland upbringing, and by listening to the records of such legendary soul singers as Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

Avant's tenor flows over libidinous grooves in ``Separated'' and his sentimental next single, ``My First Love,'' a duet with newcomer Ketara Wyatt.

``I'm trying to make you envision everything that I'm going through,'' he says. ``Not that it's all about me, but it's about something I've been through or seen, so I take it personal.''

Both songs are found on Avant's debut ``My Thoughts,'' an album that is overflowing with songs about heartache, lost opportunities and the possibilities for new love - something the singer is always in pursuit of.

``Are you married?'' he asks.

Relationships are something Avant ponders over a lot, even when he's in the most unlikely of places.

Some of the lyrics and melodies from songs on ``My Thoughts'' were conjured while Avant was still working the assembly line of a Planter's peanut factory.

``In working at a peanut factory, you have a lot of time to think,'' Avant says. ``Basically, I just put all my thoughts into relationships and not nuts.''

Fortunately, that quality songwriting time led to his penning some tracks for a demo, which eventually led to his cementing a record deal.

Avant is the first artist signed by Magic Johnson Music, an offshoot of MCA Records started by the basketball legend.

And it couldn't have come at a better time.

``I was trying to get signed for the longest,'' Avant says. ``I tried every record company. But at the time, they just weren't feeling me or what I was doing.''

Then Johnson called.

Johnson first heard Avant's demo blaring from his assistant's boom box, and that was that - ``I gotta have this kid,'' he said. So Johnson phoned Avant and invited the Cleveland native to L.A. for a face-to-face meeting.

``He sat at a round table and told me all the things he could do for me,'' Avant says. ``And he's making it happen. So it's all good.''

While Avant says he's focused on his music, right now he is flirting with the possibility of expanding his career to include acting.

``There's a lot of acting things that are supposed to be going on,'' he says. ``But I don't want to quote something that hasn't happened yet.''

In the meantime, Avant's getting the most he can out of playing for Blige's crowd.

``They're really receiving me very well,'' he says. ``They know me from 'Separated.' But they're getting a whole lot more, for sure.''

The facts

--The show: Avant, opening for Mary J. Blige.

--Where: Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

--When: 7:45 p.m. Sunday.

--Tickets: $39 to $59; tickets available through Ticketmaster at [phone], or at the Universal Amphitheatre box office.

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Avant, who opens for Mary J. Blige at the Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday, has more on tap after his hit r&b single ``Separated.'