The defining characteristic of any true artist is taking an open forum and showing the world their art. The defining characteristic of a true musician is to take an open microphone, a guitar, a keyboard, a drum set, or a piece of paper and a pen and show the world their music. This characteristic defines the very foundation of Harvard Road.
Kristin Lynn, lead vocalist, and Martial Haprov, lead guitarist, high school band mates and song writing partners, came together long after their high school years had passed to begin a new musical journey. They recruited Martial’s sister, Melanie, who had been playing guitar almost as long as her older brother. They discovered quickly that they all had a mutual talent in writing music that was different than almost any other band being played on the radio at the time. Melanie brought in two of her local musician friends, Kevin on bass, and Chad on drums, to officially form a band to play the songs they were writing. Kristin saw a freeway exit sign on the way home from a trip to Las Vegas, and offered the name on the sign as the name of this group. The name was Harvard Road.
After months of struggling to develop an identity and create a unique sound, Harvard Road went through several changes. Chad left the band, which forced Martial to play the drums in the interim. Later, Kevin left California and Harvard Road. Determined to continue, Kristin, Martial, and Melanie went to a local studio to record a demo of the songs they felt could garner them attention and, hopefully, new musicians.
Shortly after the demo was completed, Dave Pike, a co-worker of Martial’s and Melanie’s former computer teacher, joined to play bass. A young local drummer, Michael, liked the ideas and direction of the equally young band, and agreed to join full time.
Months passed, and the once-again five-piece group rehearsed and wrote material to meet new standards set forth by the new personalities and relationships developing. The year 2005 for Harvard Road was a rather successful one, highlighted by two performances at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood. The band took intermission during the latter part of the summer, and continued to play through the end of 2005.
In early 2006, Melanie was asked to leave the band after family issues arose, causing not only musical struggles, but family strains as well. The remaining members decided to continue on as a four-piece, and to continue on developing the band’s identity.
A year later, after little performing and feeble attempts at capturing the energy of HR on tape, the band made another big leap as they parted ways with Michael. Immediately following Michael’s departure, Kristin, Martial and Dave began work on recording a full-length album based on the “gems” they felt they had written over the previous three years. They had less than the bare essentials for a live band, but the three artists all had different talents than their main duties and could fill in the gaps for the recorded tracks. In August 2007, the band finished tracking and mixing for a project that took more than three quarters of a year to complete.
While they may have seen a lot of changes, dealt with necessary adjustments, and encountered bumps in the “road”, this band is moving forward. It is their cumulative goal to show the world their art – their original rock music. |