APG builds fan base in Valley

By John Benson

This area is more diverse in band styles than Cleveland is, the bassist says.

It’s all part of a bigger plan.

That’s the idea behind Cleveland-based rock act APG’s Saturday show at The Cellar in Struthers. Specifically, the band has been focusing its attention on the Youngstown area with many recent shows at Barley’s.

“That’s pretty much our home away from home,” said bassist Jon Drake, who lives in Hinckley. “We’ve been able to build up a fan base because we’ve had regular gigs. At this point, it’s pretty much getting our name in Youngstown as frequently as possible, so that people have a chance to come see us.

“And, it’s not at the point of oversaturation, but it’s a smart way to go to keep our name in peoples’ eyes when we’re trying to break into a market.”

While this philosophy may seem commonplace, the reality is the plan requires one important component to work — an active audience. Thankfully for APG, Drake said the band has so far enjoyed a growing following in the area.

“It’s gone over really well for us because Youngstown seems to be a lot more diverse in the style of bands they present,” Drake said. “Whereas Cleveland is more geared to the heavy side of things, and there’s a glut of metal bands, in Youngstown they’re used to different styles like 5 Elements and Asleep.

“So I think that’s why it does really well for us.”

Even though some Youngstown music followers might also complain of the same influx of metal acts, the members of APG feel they offer something unique. With a radio-friendly sound that falls somewhere between Breaking Benjamin, Staind and Sevendust, APG recently released its debut effort “The Brutal Addiction,” which includes fan favorite tracks “Embrace” and “Colorblind.”

It’s the style of these songs that the group has already started exploring for its next studio effort, due out tentatively next summer. In the meantime, the outfit is content in building an audience with its calling card concert performances.

“This is a show where the crowd really gets into it and can let go for a night,” Drake said. “They can forget about their job and the [bad stuff] that’s going on in their life, have a killer time, let loose and just rock as hard as they want because that’s what we’re doing up on stage.”

Furthermore, Drake said the band challenges its audience every time it takes the stage.

“For us, it’s a good heavy rock show with a very high-intensity stage show,” Drake said. “We pretty much get up there and try to outlast the crowd. So if they get tired before us, we figure we did our job.”