Our artistic venture through music began back in college during 2004. What started as a post-rock jam band in a local garage eventually evolved into A.V.E. Caesar with our close friend Austin Thompson on bass. Our one and only album, 2007’s Ancient Voices Echo, consisted largely of atmospheric and ambient grooves, structural minimalism, driving mellow sounds, and aggressive breakdowns and solos. The album was also handmade and packaged in cardboard we recycled from the workplaces of two of our band members. We viewed the production process as an opportunity to create something purely our own from start to finish.
In the midst of producing an “organic” CD, we successfully built a studio from the ground up in the garage behind our house; a humble space that took months to complete and provided a permanent place to practice, write, create, and record. Unfortunately, the initial triumph was short lived and the issues of our lives began to intercede. After a year of recording and shows, A.V.E. Caesar disbanded in 2008.
Austin moved to Los Angeles to return to school, Adam enrolled in recording classes, Levi began to study for graduate school, and Chris backpacked through the Pacific Northwest. After six months apart, we all felt a major void in our lives and decided we needed to play music together again. By the late winter and early spring of 2009, Adam, Chris, and Levi regrouped to begin a new project. In addition to writing new songs and experimenting with different styles, we started a sustainable garden in our backyard. It has been several weeks now and our seeds have begun to sprout—a direct mirror to our new music and recordings. The message was clear to us all: this was a new beginning, a fresh growth founded on old and well established roots.
Who We Are Now:
Rooted in Santa Barbara, California, Gardens and Villa is the collaboration of three close friends; Adam, Levi, and Chris. The goal is simple: to create a musical collective of different styles, blending them seamlessly to invent something we can call our own. With Adam’s background in classical music, Levi’s in jazz and metal, and Chris’ in acoustic folk, we’ve begun to explore a sound that’s both more structured and more simplified than A.V.E. Caesar’s. With the added capabilities of recording ourselves with our equipment, we hope to create art that is entirely of our vision.
We also want to keep the music in the spirit of sustainability. What had started with an album handmade from recycled materials and a studio built from scratch has now turned into a fruit and vegetable garden for our friends, family, and fellow community members. Gardening has forced us to open our eyes to just how much can be done to reduce waste, recycle, and reuse. Just as the produce from the garden sustains our bodies, the music sustains our souls. With these two goals in mind, we hope to share our music and plant life with anyone and everyone who desires to share in the experience with us.
Chris. How are you my friend? It would be absolutely amazing if I could book a show with you and the guys. I'm not in the states right now but will be in less than two weeks and it just dawned on me how glorious a show that would be. PS you were completely right about Yoga Soup.. acoustics were phenomenal!
Hey, thanks for hosting us again down there... awesome to see you guys again and get a chance to hang out with you all. Looking forward to the next time, whenever that might be... keep us posted if you head up this way, and continue to follow the path that calls you musically.
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