A Small Victory is from a small town in Georgia, a place called Buford, where they grew up in a simple, wholesome way. People began skateboarding at a certain age, that?s how they first hooked up with each other, from their mutual skating friends. Everyone soon discovered an intersecting love of music and began to try out different instruments. As their band sound came together it found itself assembled in part from their musical heroes and in part from the sense of space, endless time and longing induced by the countryside. So drawing into themselves A Small Victory pulled out all their favorite rock/punk music, laid it on each other and the next time anyone looked the band was a tornado picking up all it touched.
Music absorbed more and more life energy over other pursuits and, as high school days went on, A Small Victory played local shows and then, with their friends Day After Day, these two local bands went on a West Coast tour in the summer of 2002. Coming home, ASV went into Fireball Studios to record a promo EP, ?Better Late Than Never?. The band returned to California in winter 2003 and signed with Lobster Records.
In the fall of 2003 A Small Victory released an EP, ?The Pieces We Keep?, produced by Matt Goldman (Copeland), on Lobster Records. This gave a short taste of the direction and spirit of their musical thoughts.
In the spring of 2004 ASV returned to California and recorded ?El Camino?, produced by Darian Rundall (Yellowcard, Pennywise) and mixed by Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Motorhead), their debut full-length. This album, released in August 2004, introduced the energy of punk rock laid over a bed of Southern rock.
And that is a cool combination ? the skate-punkpop and the southern sound they were born and raised on in Georgia ? is what make them special. It?s cool with bands in this genre that have their own identities and ASV is sure one of them. The Energetic and Lively sound, the good songwriting and the vibe makes this a winner in my ears. Perhaps not the most reflective album I have heard, but what the heck, that is not what we need when it comes to this music ? right?
