The 3 Most significant music moments in my life.

I never intended to be a musician. I simply wanted to be liked and to express myself and... in that order. I was in elementary school when it first happened. We were all assembled in the gymnasium when they announced tryouts for the first ever attempt at a school musical. Miss Willis was our Music teacher and I thought she hung the moon. Sitting next to me was my friend Chris Kelly. He was one of those kids who was full of confidence at an early age - something I was not. The Musical was Christopher Columbus and Miss Willis asked who would like to audition for the role. That's when it happened. My friend Chris turned to me and said Evan you should try out - you can sing. That was it. That moment has stuck with me since and I can tell you exactly where we were sitting, what the gym looked like, the smells, everything. In case you're wondering - I did audition and I did get the part, but that was nothing compared to having classmate say those words to me for the first time. From that point on I wanted to sing because I thought other's would like me for it. The second moment was a little more commercial. 2gether had proven to be a bonifide success though since we shot in Canada we had no idea how much so. Our record label wanted us to start touring to sell more albums and the first show they booked us on was Jones Beach Amphitheater in Long Island. When we got there we realized that we were headlining the show among other acts like Enrique Iglesias, and about 10 other bands of the moment, which meant we went on last. The first number we did was "Calculus" and I (or I should say Jerry O'keefe my character) was the first to sing. Our choreography had us standing facing the rear of the stage for the intro music and then one by one beginning with me, we would turn around t sing. I turned around and saw a sea of people, about 20,000 of them with lighters waving back and forth and then all of a sudden, I realized I couldn't hear myself in the ear monitor because all 20,000 were singing our song. That moment - I felt like had truly realized a childhood dream, and the experience superseded my imagination. That was the second significant moment I will never forget. The third is by far the most powerful for me. about 2 years after wrapping 2GE+HER and after a few other film, TV stints in LA, I moved back to NYC where I felt more comfortable. I wasn't sure what I wanted from my career anymore and I decided to put together a band to play some of the songs I had been writing. I held auditions which produced some of the best from NY primarily based on folks remembering me from 2GE+HER and the perception (I probably held too) that that alone would give us an edge over other bands at the time. From the auditions I found ZE Grey, a Brazilian wonderkind bass player with the heart of a Teddy bear and the chops to do anything he wanted musically. I couldn't believe he wanted to be in this band with me, but he said in broken English -"I just like your songs Dude." The first lead guitarist we found turned out to be a hothead and so Ze brought a friend he had been playing with in other gigs to the first rehearsal. Inti, from Venezuela looked like a bonified rock star - bald head Ibinez 7 string guitar, a pedal board the size of Texas, and an all-business attitude. And Brian the drummer (and first to join) had a great sense of style to add to his very diverse drumming acumen. This was our first rehearsal, only Brian and Ze had heard any of my songs (only one actually) and my biggest fear was that they would find me a fraud. I had Brian kick off a beat and I just started in on the first song to see how they would interpret it, and how well they could follow along. I repeated the intro twice before singing to get them in the groove and then started in with the first lyric. It's cheesy sounding I know, but tears filled my eyes when I heard them. I hadn't realized how vulnerable sharing a song you've written can make you feel. The rehearsal rooms where we practiced, face a giant mirror and I could see these musicians who were far far out of my own league talent and ability wise, not just playing this song I had written but really liking it. That particular arrangement they came up with on the spot as they followed me, had more passion and meaning than any other song I've ever played since. I felt "approved of." I felt honored, and I felt like I had finally made it. I might have fulfilled a generic dream by playing to a sold out amphitheater with 2GE+HER, but here, in this room for the first time, I felt actualized. I was a true singer songwriter, and I had a band who had my back. To me it really doesn't matter that, for many reasons - including me taking off to Host While You Were Out, we never became "rock stars" together. Yes that would have been cool and I wouldn't want to go down that path with any other band. What mattered was experiencing the greatest feeling on earth, and the fact that they are among my closest friends, and will be for life. Music has been a part of every great change in my life. Every change that has been a positive one for sure. I feel fortunate not to have the need to measure success when it comes to music by traditional standards. I couldn't imagine being a part of the thousands of bands out there that walk away from their passion simply because they didn't sell a million records, or they never got that record deal. The industry can and will eat anyone alive that chooses to measure themselves that way and the real tragedy is that the true meaning and purpose for music gets lost in the process. If music can't and/or doesn't make you feel great, then why bother. I didn't have to look past the album cover for Flame(see previous blog) to remind myself of that. Music is pure life in my opinion. With all that entails; beauty, passion, sadness, fear, highs, lows, and ultimately a catalyst for change - even if it just changes the way you feel in one moment the way it has through the course of my life. That's all for now...jumping off the soapbox now! ~Evan