Diamonds in the Rough 06.21.09: Evans Blue

Posted by Leo Rivera on 06.21.2009

The pursuit of a melody never felt any better!

Over the last four to five years, modern rock has a experienced a resurgence in attitude, a rejuvenation if you will. Free from the dust that has settled from the after math of nu-metal and the ill faded retro rock experiment, modern rock has returned true to form. Long gone are the gimmick bands that made the early part of this decade one of the most bloated in music history and in its place are bands that (gasp)….just want to rock! The past five years have seen more straight forward balls to the wall rock bands step up to the plate, bands like Hinder, Rev Theory, Hurt (more on them next week!), 10 Years, Papa Roach (the re-invented version),Egypt Central and Saving Abel to name a few. But perhaps the most musically gifted and unique of all these bands is Evans Blue.



Formed in 2005 thanks to, as fate would have it, a local music shops message board; these Canadians are the product of three totally different bands. Guitarists Parker Lauzon and Vlad Tanaskovic, Bassist Joe Pitter, drummer Davis Howard and vocalist Kevin Matisyn came together over the common frustrations that they had for their respective bands at the time and they set out to carve their place in the Toronto, Ontario Canada music scene and stand out as a formidable band to be reckoned with. The first step was coming up with a name that stood out as unique as they were going to sound, singer Kevin Matisyn suggested the name Evans Blue which is a medical term for the dye that is injected into the bloodstream to measure the blood volume. The band liked and the name stuck, Evans Blue was born.

Already established musicians with years of experience, the members of Evans Blue fit each other like a hand in a glove and after less than a year together, quickly got signed by up and coming record label Hollywood Records (Breaking Benjamin). Evans Blue released their debut album titled The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume in Febuary of 2006. The album showcased a band that was ever bit melodic as they were sonically, the combination of Matisyns naturally echoing voice combined with sonic delivery of Lauzon and Tanaskovic proved to be a formula for success right off the bat. With the sweepingly haunting melodic hit single Cold (But I'm Still Here) serving as a fitting introduction to a little known band from Toronto, Evans Blue quickly established themselves as one of the bands to look out for. The second single Over was just as haunting and equally catchy and successful for this new band both Over and Cold spent several weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Heat seekers chart. But in my opinion the gem in The Melody… is the song Beg which is the story of a women begging a man for his forgiveness after cheating on him.



Evans Blue supplemented their success on the charts by touring the U.S for eight straight months and in the process opening up for bands like Taproot, Staind, 10 Years, Three Days Grace, Flyleaf and label mates Breaking Benjamin, they also wound up making an impression on all of their fans, thus laying the ground work for immediate success upon the release of their follow up album. Evans Blue returned to Canada at the end of a successful 2006 to work on that second record which was titled The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends. The release of The Pursuit was timed to be released just months after Evans Blue was nominated for "Best New Band" at the annual Juno Awards (a showcase of Canadian musicians). The album was released in July of 2007 and the band kicked off the album's release by embarking on their first headlining tour with Framing Haley, Friar to Midland, Submersed and Saving Abel as support.



The Pursuit moved the band forward as they kept the melody intact but also spread their wings by making more upbeat hard rock driven songs. "Shine Your Cadillac" is probably the best example of Evans Blue's evolution with a blazing guitar intro that sounds like a purposely distorted version of P.O.D.'s intro to "Satellite" and a great chorus that makes the words "so raise your chin and raise a glass" sound badass. The other highlight is the single "Pursuit" which is ironically the last track on the album, this song pieces together all of the good qualities of the first album and takes it a step further by making it a classic hard rock song.



Things were going great for this new band that was just three years old, but of course with fast success comes big uncontrollable egos'. Apparently word has it that was the case with front man Kevin Matiysan who was apparently becoming a control freak and wanted to be the end all be all of Evans Blue and call all the shots. Turns out that type of arrogance was not going to fly with the rest of the band or Hollywood records and Matiysan was effectively voted out of the band in early 2008. Evans Blue continued to work on new music throughout the year and Matiysan was officially replaced in early 2009 by singer Dan Chandler.

With Chandler at the helm, Evans Blue now has a firm grip on the hard rock sound that they have been building towards, as Chandlers deeper voice eases the rest of the band comfortably in that direction. Yet Chandler's singing style is melodic enough to not alienate any of Evans Blues' fans. The band's latest single is the anthem "Sick Of It' and upon first listen you would think you were listening to the latest song of fellow Canadian rockers Three Days Grace, but then you realize that this is the first taste of the new Evans Blues, and it tastes pretty good! Other songs like "Say It", "Bullet Proof" and "A Step Back" show Evans Blue in true form a band that despite being side tracked by having to replace the all important role of lead singer, something that can destroy a lesser band, have only made the band stronger and more focused.



Evans Blue the bands self-titled third album is set to be released this Tuesday June 23rd and the album is currently streaming on the bands MySpace page, if you haven't heard Evans Blue, please do yourself the favor and check them out!