In 2008, Avidan became highly interested in improvisation and storytelling, studying at New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Afterwards, he teamed up with Peter Lennox to form the alternative rock duo called Skyhill, which released one full album before they separated in 2008. He was the group’s lead singer, and also wrote lyrics the band mainly performed in Philadelphia, and released a self-titled EP before splitting up, which according to him was due to creative differences and personality conflicts. His music career began in late 2002, when he responded to a Craigslist ad which led him to join an indie rock band called The Northern Hues. He then enrolled at Boston University to study advertising, and during his senior year entered a student exchange program that led him to Tufts University in Talloires, France, where he studied botany. It isn’t known how he started to develop an interest in musical endeavors, but he attended Jonathan Dayton High School, and matriculated in 1997. He is of Jewish descent, with his father originally from Israel, migrating to America after the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Early Life, Education, and Career Beginningsĭan grew up in Springfield with a younger brother.
