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The middle of three children in small town Napanee, Ontario, Lavigne's rock ambitions were noticeable at an early age. By her early teens, she was already writing songs and playing guitar. Local festivals and county fairs allowed Lavigne to get her voice heard, and luckily, Arista Records' main man Antonio “L.A.” Reid was listening. He offered her a deal, and at 16, Lavigne's musical dreams became reality.
She headed for Los Angeles and Nettwerk grabbed her. Producer/songwriter Clif Magness (Celine Dion, Wilson Phillips, Sheena Easton) tweaked Lavigne's melodic, edgy sound and her debut (summer 2002), “Let Go,” was the polished product. Singles such as “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi” went top 10, while “I'm With You” and “Losing Grip” did moderately well on radio. Butch Walker of the Marvelous 3, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, and Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte) signed on to produce Lavigne's second album. Under “My Skin” appeared in May 2004.
Avril Lavigne’s 2002 debut “Let Go” gave young women a defiant voice and set it to music they could rock out to. Fourteen million albums and eight Grammy nominations later, the Canadian chanteuse returns with “Under My Skin,” but if you're expecting a whole lot of the same, you've got another thing coming. “Under My Skin” opens with the dramatic tracks “Take Me Away” and “Together,” which set the scene for the kick-ass guitars and radio-ready chorus of “Don't Tell Me,” a song of willful female empowerment that picks up where “Complicated” left off. From there it's a one-two punch of three-chord guitar licks (‘He Wasn't”) and head-bopping optimism (“Who Knows”) alongside swirling, brooding melodies (“Freak Out”) and moody tracks (“Forgotten,” “Nobody's Home”) that reveal a darker side of Avril Lavigne.
And the strings that helped her sell 14 million albums and receive eight Grammy nominations are Dean Markley Blue Steel Electric LT, CL, REGs, JZ; and Nickel Steel Bass XM 5-string, VintageBronze Acoustic ML and TLT. Avril also uses Dean Markley's Lov’n Care (micro fiber) polishing cloths on her guitars.
Be sure to visit the Avril Lavigne website at:
www.AvrilLavigne.com.
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