Boyce Avenue, a Florida-based band popular for its strong acoustic roots and constant drive toward a melody- and harmony-driven rock sound, consists of the three brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano, and Stephen Hatker.
Upon Alejandro’s graduation from high school, he joined Fabian at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, where the band refined its signature sound playing out in traditional venues like Market Street and Side Bar, primarily with the help of drummer-friend Stephen Hatker, formerly of Code 55. In October of 2006 and the months that followed, the band recorded its first three singles at Nickel and Dime Studios near Atlanta, Georgia. The project was engineered by Kris Sampson (Train, the Black Crowes) and produced by Don McCollister (Sister Hazel, Third Day). In late 2007, Boyce Avenue was honored in several songwriting competitions judged by a host of accomplished and renowned music industry artists, professionals, and executives. The band qualified as a Southeast Semifinalist in the 2007 IMWS competition; “All The While” was selected as a Semi-Finalist in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition, and as the Grand Prize Winner in the Pop category of the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Session I; and “Find Me” was selected as a Finalist in the Pop category for the U.S.A. Songwriting Competition.
With its sights set on finishing the debut album, Boyce Avenue took a hiatus from its public performance schedule to write, produce, and record additional singles. In July of 2007, the band returned to Atlanta, Georgia, this time to record three songs at the Electron Gardens Studio in the historic Biltmore Hotel. These songs were engineered by Gary Pfaff and Tim Delaney, and were produced by Boyce Avenue. In October of the same year, the band finished tracking for the debut album with the recording of two songs at RMP Studios in Orlando, Florida, with the assistance of friend Stephen Hatker on drums. The final three songs for the album, “Dare To Believe,” “On My Way,” and “Hear Me Now (piano acoustic) were engineered at RMP Studios by Veit Renn (Jennifer Hudson) and Adam Barber (Creed, Shinedown, Alterbridge), and were produced by Boyce Avenue. Within a few months of this time, Stephen Hatker, formally joined Boyce Avenue as its full-time drummer, and the band relocated to Sarasota, Florida.
