Addnerim - beginning the final quest Photo: Brian McLean

From late 2006 to early 2007, Fort Worth’s Addnerim was like many local area bands —floating in a sea of obscurity. But one thing set them apart. The trio worked the basics of promotion, determined to make their name familiar.

They’ve had large hand-drawn gig posters and flyers, reminiscent of the Woodstock era, and have posted them at the Ridglea Theater, local tattoo and pipe shops and the like. There’s also the small-town, personal approach the three members, all natives of Granbury, come by naturally. Brothers Tyrel (guitars/vocals) and Dustin Choat (bass) and drummer Keith Grober, are regularly seen at local shows, all in the name of Addnerim. Tyrel says, “We over-saturate the scene with flyers and stickers. A lot of bands don’t do that.”
For their efforts, they’ve developed a growing fan base. Their live reputation, plus a recently released full-length debut CD and live DVD, landed them nominations for both Best Hard Rock Act and Artist of the Year in the FW Weekly Music Awards.

The second nomination came as a shock to the band. “A friend called and told me that we were nominated for Artist of the Year,” relates Dustin. “I didn’t even know, since it was the last category at the bottom of the page.” Addnerim then used basic campaigning principles to spread the word — and it worked.

When the ballots were counted, Addnerim had amassed enough votes in both categories to earn them Artist Of The Year. In presenting the award to them, show emcee, Big Dick Hunter of Live 105.3 FM, said the band’s labors were more like a rock and roll campaign.

Dustin attributes several factors besides their dedicated self-promotion that’s led to the band’s recognition. “We had a strong following but didn’t have the exposure,” he relates. “We didn’t have the marketing, the t-shirts, the CDs, but once we started getting the product out there, it really helped.”

Over the months since the awards, Addnerim has provided support for some premier national shows in the area. With each show, there are more words of praise. In particular, the band proved to be a good match opening for Leaves Eyes and Kamelot. Their tight set, on par with the headliners, was met with unanimous approval.

The band has finished writing for new release, Addnerim vs. The Ice Titans of Europa. Grober reports the disc will consist of one centralized concept broken into seven parts, with each section being a song. In this epic musical journey, the band’s voyage continues beyond the sea of obscurity to concentrate in a colder territory. Addnerim has set their sites on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, where they do battle with the Ice Titans. The first stage of this trek has already been completed.

With a release slated for early 2008, the second stage cannot be far behind. Then Addnerim can begin the final quest — bringing the story to the masses. Up to now, the band has only offered its fans sneak peeks into this new world. By all accounts, though, this adventure is as awe-inspiring as the band’s meteoric rise itself.