AOJ is A-OK

AOJ is A-OK

Sometimes winning isn't everything, especially when you're not sure you want the prize. Just ask The Adventures of Jet. The band advanced to the finals of the Ultimate Band List's Born on the World Wide Web contest, but it wasn't able to go all the way. Singer Hop Litzwire says it's just as well. "It was kind of win-win situation for us," he says. "It got us some publicity. And any snafus that might have arisen from winning, we didn't run into."

The snafus he's referring to mainly involve one of the contest's top prizes, a chance at a major-label recording contract. The band -- which also features drummer Rob Avsharian, guitarist Jason Weisenburg, and bassist Tony Jannotta -- had enough of that during its short tenure at MCA Records, which released 1997's The Twelve-Point Master Plan, then released the group from its contract shortly thereafter. The band was in the market for a new deal for a while, before deciding to put out its third album (and first under the new moniker), Part 3: Coping with Insignificance, on its own Space Age Records. They're celebrating that fact on October 9 at Trees at a CD release party featuring Chomsky and Flickerstick.

Litzwire is excited about the new direction the band has taken in the past year, so much so that another AOJ disc could be ready for release as soon as January. In the meantime, look for AOJ songs to possibly appear on ESPN during the U.S. racquetball championships, which Litzwire is producing. Seriously.