Daily Inspiration: Meet Paris Avenue

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paris Avenue.

Hello Paris Avenue, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It’s a long story, but we’ll hit the key points. Back in high school our lead singer Joseph Imbraguglio was asked to join a new 5 piece band as the rhythm guitarist. After about a month and a half of only Joe, the drummer, and the bassist, showing up for practice, we made the decision just to be a 3 piece band as we geared up for our first big show – the St. Clement of Rome Middle School Fair opening for a local cover band called the Bag of Donuts. We played the gig and knocked it out of the park, and that led to the next 2 years of playing 3-hour cover shows at every school fair imaginable. It was… a lot to say the least. We needed something different so we made the move to add a 4th member to the band, our current lead guitarist Drake Ferry. We spread our wings to see what other possibilities were out there for us and landed a gig at a local place called Rock-N-Bowl.

We played our normal set of cover songs but decided to sprinkle in a few original songs we had been working on. No one told us, but Tom Drummond of Better than Ezra had come to see us, and the next thing we knew we were in his studio as he produced our first official music release: a 6 song EP titled “Just Friends.” We had absolutely no idea how to go about promoting our music so we threw it out into the ether and kind of just let it flop, to be honest. We often consider removing it from all streaming platforms because it was just so long ago and doesn’t sound like us or represent who we are in the slightest anymore, but we’ll get back to that. Feeling discouraged we stepped back into the heavy side of playing cover shows. We bought an RV and named it The Shasta, and played cover shows anywhere from Texas to Florida to Memphis and everything in between.

We were stagnant for far too long and spent so much time together that it naturally led to some disagreements between members, and half the band made the decision to split. Joseph and Drake were all that was left and everyone thought Paris Avenue was done, but they were wrong. We don’t quit. Joseph was living in Baton Rouge attending LSU so Drake moved in we hoped to find new beginnings for the band in a new city. We spent those next two years searching for our missing pieces. In 2021 we found them, and the new Paris Avenue – the real Paris Avenue was born. Everything we stand for and dream of is now encapsulated in Paris Avenue. Everything before this point was a learning experience where we earned our stripes and had to find out the hard way what it takes to persevere through anything that comes your way when you’re chasing something you love.

We led with our heads and not our hearts, and now we know the difference. We just played an all-original set at Tipitina’s in New Orleans again for the first time in years and it felt amazing to be back at such a legendary place sharing our new sound. We’re here and better than ever.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not. Just look at our history. We have struggled a great deal with all aspects of this business. We’ve lost connections, reconciled bad-blood relationships, missed major opportunities, and pretty much everything you can think of.

We’ve been kicked to the ground a thousand times but have gotten up a thousand and one times. We try not to harp on the past but instead look to the future because none of that matters where we are headed.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We like to consider ourselves artists more than musicians. Our creative process focuses on music, videos, merchandise, and anything else we can use to bring our personalities out to those who can relate to us.

Our music and image tend to orbit around big rock anthems and ballads that tell stories of love, longing, resilience, and human desires for things that we cannot possess.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Besides our friends and family, who deserve all the credit in the world for being our biggest fans and helping our initial push into the scene, there are a few names that come to mind. Currently, our biggest mentor and motivator is our producer Jack Miele of The Molly Ringwalds, and his partner Kassie Netherland. They truly believe in our sound and push us to be better musicians all around. They’re not ones for “blowing smoke,” but instead give us an honest nudge when we need it and care enough to give us the “What the hell are you waiting for? Clocks ticking” kick in the behind when we start to slack.

Another name would be Tom Drummond of Better than Ezra. He was the first person to really see opportunity in us and take a chance. He has kindly invited us into his home and studio and taught us years’ worth of knowledge about the industry. He has also spent a great deal of time teaching us how to be better writers and studio musicians. I think a great deal of credit is due there. We also can’t forget about Chris Chaos. Years ago – I’m talking like 7 or 8 years ago when we were a 3-piece band – he came to a battle of the bands’ contest we played. He just showed up with a camera because he liked rock music and took a liking to us.

Five or so years later when he landed his own radio show called The Roux on Alt 92.3 guess who reached out and got us an on-air interview and would spin our music? Chris Chaos. He did the same for so many other local artists as well. He’s a wonderful person that truly lives for the heart and soul of music. There are many other huge influences that we don’t have the space here to name but, these are some of the true stand-outs.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @parisavenuela
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parisavenueLA
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0417V8AohOe5UjQNOBaMqq?si=bI2XRnKTQwqh-WUIn1sKYw

Image Credits
Angelo Joseph Photography