Joey Avalos & Chris Cleveland Win Best Song Of The Month Contest

Joey Avalos & Chris Cleveland, who are members of the new rock band Stars Go Dim, have won the SongwriterUniverse ‘Best Song Of The Month’ Contest for December, for their song ‘Come Around.’ Avalos (who is based in Phoenix, AZ) and Cleveland (who is based in Tulsa, OK) are active, working musicians who began collaborating in 2006, and are looking forward to recording additional songs for their debut Stars Go Dim album, which is scheduled for release next Summer (2008).

‘Come Around’ is a very melodic, rock/pop midtempo ballad which is in the musical vein of the Counting Crows and the Goo Goo Dolls. With its well-crafted song structure and memorable title hook in the chorus, it’s sounds like a potential radio hit. The song starts off with a sparse, piano/vocal arrangement, than gradually builds into full-band track. ‘Come Around’ provides a solid showcase for the passionate, expressive lead vocals of Chris Cleveland (who also plays piano), and the recording was expertly produced by Cleveland and guitarist Joey Avalos, who was the main writer of this song (he wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics).

Avalos grew up near Phoenix, AZ, and he began playing guitar and writing songs around age 10. When he was 15 he started playing in bands, and after high school he hit the road with the successful band Justifide, which subsequently signed with Ardent Records and released two albums. Their first album, Life Outside The Toybox (released in 2001), sold 45,000 units. Then in 2003, he left Justifide and toured with the popular hard-rock band, Pillar, for the next two years.

It was in mid-2006 that Avalos formed Stars Go Dim with Chris Cleveland. ‘I met Chris when we were both playing on a session for Pillar,’ recalled Avalos. ‘We were both busy musicians with other projects going on, but I loved his singing and I wanted to collaborate with him. We wrote several songs and recorded demos at his home in Tulsa, and then we recorded ‘Come Around’ and other songs at a studio called Culture House near Kansas City.’

Avalos & Cleveland have since completed three songs as Stars Go Dim, and they recently released these songs for digital sales via their MySpace site and on Speakerheart.com, and they will soon be offering the songs via iTunes.

The duo is looking forward to working more together in the coming year, and building Stars Go Dim into a strong, cohesive band, both as a recording and touring group. ‘We’re going to do more writing sessions, and then next Spring (2008) we’ll be recording our full album. The album will be ready for release in the second half of 2008.’