Once Upon Time, there were four musicians working hard to get their music heard by the masses in a town indifferent to their style and a country where popular music is summed up in three chords and poor vocals. This quartet, known in a previous incarnation as Andromeda, now calls itself Andeavor and plays a style of progressive metal as unique as the spelling of its name. No doubt they will be compared to the prog metal greats such as Dream Theater and Fates Warning, but Andeavor has an original sound you will find no where else in the realm of prog or metal. With the genuine lyrical genius of Doug Peck coupled with the fast, intricate guitar work of Steve Matusik, blended with the superb keyboard and guitar synth melodies of Chris Rodler, all supported by the foundation of Steve Starvaggi's impeccable percussion, you will be hard-pressed to find a more dynamic, creative, powerful, aggressive, and technical outfit than Andeavor.

The roots of this band stem far back into the 1980's when Steve Matusik was playing with a local band called Damien Steele which won the Battle Of The Bands competition in Erie, Pennsylvania, an event drawing about 1200 people annually. At that time, Damien Steele played only cover songs live. Despite that fact, Matusik wrote music for five or six original songs, keeping them on the back burner for some undetermined future project. Matusik, who began playing guitar at age 16, was fully supported in his musical endeavors by his family, especially his mother who still attends every one of his shows to date. Citing Rush as his earliest influence (more specifically "2112"), Matusik writes and plays progressive music because it offers him the challenges that no other style can.

In 1994, Matusik hooked up with former Damien Steele bandmate Doug Peck who came from a long line of Erie bands. Peck, whose interest in music (mainly vocals) began at age 12, started out by playing guitar. In those days, he was influenced primarily by Kiss but also by the popular greats of the day such as Cheap Trick, Styx, Air Supply, and even the Bee Gees. Peck was, and still is, a great fan of "anything vocal, anything musical". His tastes retain the interests of his childhood but have also evolved into the prog metal genre, including bands such as Rush, Yes, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and also bands with an industrial edge such as White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson. Peck wrote lyrics to the songs that Matusik had written, and he assumed the role of vocalist as well as rhythm guitarist. With the addition of drummer Ben Tomlin and bassist Dennis Hultberg, Andromeda was born.

Andromeda continued on through the mid 1990's in this form, making cassette recordings during practice and rarely playing out. Tomlin eventually lost interest in the band and quit, and Hultberg left to pursue other projects. Peck quickly learned bass and then called Steve Starvaggi, a drummer with whom he had jammed in a band called Loudhouse in the late 1980's. Starvaggi, who had toured much of the country with Bad Attitude, had been interested in drumming since age 4 when he used to watch his older brother play. When his brother would leave, Starvaggi climbed up on the stool and started to play by himself. When drums were not available, he would use pots, pans, spoons, and anything else he could find to play percussion. He was a senior in high school before he took any formal lessons, but they did not last long. Starvaggi continued his musical education by his own practice and experimentation for four to five hours a day, often employing the use of albums by artists such as AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, and Todd Rundgren.

Meanwhile, Chris Rodler had been paying attention to Matusik's role in the local band scene and began attending the few shows Andromeda played, now as a trio. Rodler, feeling that the band was highly talented yet incomplete as Peck was on triple duty with vocals, keys, and bass, offered his services on keyboard and guitar synth. The band accepted, and they began to play out more frequently. Not long after, the band changed its name to Endeavor to avoid conflict with another band of the same name, and recently altered the spelling to Andeavor for the same reason. Rodler, who began playing guitar at age 13, has been in several bands over the years, most notably Leger de Main and RH Factor (formerly called Drama). In 1994, Rodler founded Progressive Music Management, an independent recording label to help further progressive music in the area. Most of PMM's releases were recorded in Rodler's home studio, The Fortress.

Songwriting continued with Peck and Starvaggi bouncing lyrics off one another and Rodler and Matusik adding their parts later. Then, because Rodler's facilities were so readily available to the band, they decided to finally make a professional recording of some of their material and release an album. Recording commenced in late 1998 and was finished by spring of 1999. Andeavor's debut album entitled "Once Upon Time" was created. These twelve tracks of intense prog metal cover a lot of ground between gentle, profound, balladic inquiries and heavy, relentless, aggressive displays of talent. Peck's profound and insightful lyrics discuss the feelings of pain, sadness, anger, and confusion we often encounter daily as well as depicting trying situations like being homeless, fighting in war, and trying to get help in the system. These are the types of songs to hold the interest of every type of person, from the one who listens purely for enjoyment to the keen musician who scrutinizes every note of each song. And while this dynamic music is heavy and has the aura of aggression, it does not rehash the typical message found in straight thrash and metal music. Peck's powerful vocals range from threatening lows to gentle mids and sometimes sorrowful highs, instilling the emotion about which he wrote. Andeavor's songs are, simply put, strong and solid. You will not be disappointed.

Three songs beyond this album's twelve are near completion, and plans for another CD are already in the works. Andeavor consists of four men with music in their hearts and the need to express it. "Music has always been a basic priority of my life," said Peck. "If I wasn't a musician, I wouldn't be me." It is no different for the others. They have created not only a progressive metal album, but a musical masterpiece filled with virtuoso guitar work reminiscent of the greats of the 80's, noteworthy rhythms, interesting keyboards, and profound lyrics sung with deep feeling. You will enjoy the journey through this album, and you can expect its members to keep growing, forever Andeavor.



Source : www.pickledbeast.com/pmm/and_bio.htm