Wonder No More About Neverwonder
published Nov. 27, 2006
By Greggory Moore
my.style Contributor

Only one band gets named Rock Group of the Year at the South Bay Music Awards, and in 2006, it was Neverwonder, a female-fronted quartet with an aggressive pop sound that is both clean and grinding.

I had the chance to chat with vocalist Joy Pearson and bassist Vincent Ramos about a week before they their Second Annual Christmas Party, which will be this Saturday at diPiazza Restaurant & Lounge.

Tell me a little bit about how the band got together.

V: The band’s been together for (about) two years. My brother (Andres, drums) and I were coming out of another band, and we were looking for a vocalist and guitar player ... to take it to the next level. ... We found Joy out of quite a few people who auditioned. (She was) a great spirit and person, and a great voice — and really good-looking! — and we said, “God, we’ve gotta hold on to this girl.” ... Shortly after that we found our guitarist, Flint (Mavis).

Do you remember the first time the four of you played together?

V: Yeah, I remember it plain as day. When Flint walked into the room, he was the last piece of the puzzle. ... His talent level was very high. (But more than that,) it was (immediately) like dealing with (someone who was already) a band member.

J: The very first time Flint walked in, we came close to completing a song, “Bittersweet,” which (ended up) on our album.

How long was it between then and your first show?

V: We met in October 2004, and our first show was at the Orange County Music Showcase at diPiazza in January 2005 — so, literally, it was high-speed.

J: It was really, really cool on that day to see how everybody (in the band) took their energy and applied it. It was just another (confirmation) that this was gonna work. ... Our live performance is outstanding. It’s high-energy; it always gets an incredible response. ... If you hear the album and like our music, you should make sure you come out to see us live, because I have every confidence in the world you’ll walk away saying, “That’s a fantastic band.”

My editor tells me you sort of consider yourselves a Long Beach band — even though none of you actually lives in Long Beach.

V: (Collectively,) we live and practice (in different areas) just outside of Long Beach. We’ve played (many) shows in Long Beach; our first show was in Long Beach, our launch party was at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach...It’s just been a really good city for us.

What is the event that’s coming up Saturday at diPiazza?

J: It’s our annual holiday show. At the end of the year, we like to give back to our friends and fans, everyone who’s supported us at all of our shows. We play two very long sets, and we book all of our favorite bands to come along and play with us. Our friends, fans, family — whomever — get in that night on our guest list for free. It’s kind of like a “thank you” to everybody. We give out presents to people who’ve helped us....

V: It’s just fun. We do a meet-and-greet from 7 (p.m.) to 8, so we can hang out and talk to everybody ... It’s just a great party with great music and great community. ... It’s 100% open to the public. There’s an admission fee at the door, but anyone can e-mail us and get on the guest list. ... It’s a little giveback.

How do you feel your album has been received?

J: Everything so far has been 100% positive and complimentary — which I really didn’t expect. You know, there are so many music critics out there who are ready to bash just because they can, but everybody who’s reviewed the album has really genuinely liked it ... so I couldn’t be happier.

V: Yeah, it’s been really, really nice I mean, I was very confident in (us as a band), but to see where it’s gone and what it is, and to hear the album being played on radio and Internet stations...It’s been really fun to see how it’s grown. I’m very excited about the process.

Neverwonder has a strong Internet presence — something you can see for yourself by checking out www.neverwonder.com, or their MySpace site, www.myspace.com/neverwonder. The band’s Second Annual Christmas Party gets underway at 7 p.m. at diPiazza (5205 E. Pacific Coast Highway). To get in free drop the band a line: band@neverwonder.com.