Avail Reunite for Their First Show in over a Decade

The band will celebrate the 21st anniversary of 'Over the James'

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Mar 26, 2019

Long-gone punk band Avail have announced they are officially reuniting.

The band never officially broke up, but they haven't played together since 2007. That will all now change when Avail play a reunion show to celebrate the 21st anniversary of their fourth album, 1998's Over the James.

The hometown concert will take place at the National in Richmond, VA, on July 19. For the show, the lineup will be made up of Tim Barry, Joe Banks, Gwomper, Erik Larson and Beau Butler. Iron Reagan and Asylum will open.

Speaking to Noisey, Barry said, "We didn't know if we could play music anymore. The band, minus me and Beau, got together and practised a few times and didn't want everyone to come in and stand there with their arms crossed, staring at middle-aged men trying to remember songs they haven't played in 12 or 13 years."

He added, "So I went to [the] practice spot with no rehearsal — I didn't warm up, I didn't review the songs, I didn't know which songs they were gonna play — and I plugged in my microphone. There was not even much talking. They just started. It was a fucking whirlwind. They sounded fucking fantastic. I don't know how a brain can retain so many stupid fucking lyrics, but I was able to make it through all of the songs, pretty much."

At this point, Barry said Avail have no plans to record new music or tour beyond this one date.

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