Ludo, Trapt among bands at X-96 BASh festival

Keyboardist Tim Convy and his band Ludo are playing college-radio shows through September.

"We playing here and there right now," said Convy during a telephone interview from a stop just outside Little Rock, Ark. "We'll headline a tour in October and then go back to college shows in November."

This leg of the college shows will bring Ludo — Convy, lead vocalist Andrew Volpe, guitarist Tim Ferrel, drummer Matt Palermo and bassist Marshall Fanciullo — to the X-96 BASh Saturday.

Other bands playing the all-day event include Trapt, Shiny Toy Guns, Atreyu, Hawthorne Heights, Jack's Mannequinn, Mindless Self Indulgence, the Brobecks, Local H, From First to Last and Ten Years. There will also be a stage, spotlighting some Utah local bands.

Late last year, Ludo wrapped up recording its most recent CD, "You're Awful, I Love You," which was released earlier this year. The CD marks the band's first on a major record label, but third release in the band's career.

And repeating what Volpe told the Deseret News last November, Convy said there wasn't a lot of label interference.

"We signed with Island for a reason," Convy said. "We were at a point where record-label reps would fly in to see us play. And they saw us playing in front of 1,500 people. The attitude we got from them was: 'This is working quite nicely.' And they didn't want to change it.

"So, when we were recording the CD, we had one label rep come to one (recording) session and heard what we were doing and gave us the thumbs up and left.

"We were prepared for a lot of label intervention, but there was hardly any."

Shortly after "You're Awful, I Love You" was released, the CD found itself at No. 5 on Billboard's Heatseeker's Chart, which closely watches the rise of new bands.

"It was a good feeling for us because when we started playing as a band, we gave everything up to be in it," said Convy. "Tim and Andrew formed the band originally as a duo. I've known Tim since high school, and when they asked me if I wanted to be in the band, I was all over it."

Meanwhile, the band recruited Fancuillo and Palermo to round out the lineup.

"We had just graduated college and decided this would be our career," Convy said. "And we've been at it for a few years now. And we're still dedicated to it."

The BASh will be the second festival at the USANA Amphitheatre in three months that Trapt will play in Utah. The last one was Crue Fest back in July.

Trapt drummer Aaron Montgomery said being on that show was a mixed blessing.