Have you ever made an assumption about something or someone and then later felt like an asshole about it? That's how I felt when I interviewed Chad Michael Stuart, singer, songwriter and guitarist of Machete Avenue.

I have seen Machete Avenue play a couple of times and was very quick to call them an “Emo” band. However, after talking with Stuart, looking at their Myspace and Facebook websites and listening to lots of their music, I have come to realize that the term “Emo” refers to a fashion statement rather then an actual form of music.

All apologies aside, let's get on with the music.

Machete Avenue was started by Stuart, shortly after he left Blue Skies at War, alongside pianist Scotty Parker. For anyone who has actually heard of Blue Skies at War you would know that they were doing pretty well for themselves and getting lots of attention, but according to Stuart, his musical calling was elsewhere.

“I have always written my own songs, and when [Blue Skies at War] wasn't on the road I would play local shows. I needed something more, I didn't feel I played the part as a post-hardcore, lead man up to par, it just didn't feel right anymore,” Stuart said. “I needed an outlet to grow with my music and became completely consumed with what I truly felt and believed in, which was Machete. [Blue Skies at War] was doing well, I probably could have stayed on board and rode the wave, but in the end, I would have been miserable.”

Hell, you can't argue with happiness right? And, as it turns out, the music that Stuart enjoys the most to play also seems to be turning a lot of heads and letting people know what music is really supposed to be about.

Stuart and Parker offer a haunting yet intriguing sound coupled with poetic lyrics all of which are inspired by “life's roll of the dice” as Stuart put it. In the last two years, Machete Avenue has released an E.P. called The First Cuts, recorded by Siegfried Mier in his own bedroom, which turned out to be surprisingly good. Since then, word that the band was something very different from the regular musical pollutants and worth checking out spread like wild fire and their career took off and hasn't faltered.

“I didn't think that people were going to get it, who wants to sit and watch some guy self-loath on a stage for half an hour?” said Stuart. “I don't have the angelic voice or the pretty looks, I just write songs that will help me get through whatever stage in my life I was going through at that time. I think people can really relate to what I'm bringing across in my music in the most emotional way possible. So there will always be that connection with myself and the audience.”

More recently, music videos for “Young” and “Cut to Pieces” have been released and can be viewed either on Myspace or YouTube, both worth checking out.

“Emo” or not, Stuart's motto, “Believe in yourself, not your image,” should leave us all evaluating what we are looking for in music.

Machete Avenue is currently in the studio working hard on their first debut album, The Art of Carving and has lots of touring coming up. If you missed them at the Out Back Shack, you can check them out Thursday, March 29 at the Salt Lounge.