It started in 2001 when three students in Turlock decided to start an alternative band. Eight years later, with a national tour and major label under their belts, Evaline has come to be one of the new, up-and-coming rock acts. Their current line-up consist of original members Dominic(guitar), Steve(bass), Christian(guitar), RJ(vocals), and newer members Greg(drums) and third guitarist Daniel. Their music takes you on a musical journey from the hard-hitting drums and melodic feedback on “Feeding the Congregation” to a mellower approach that ends up taking you on a heavy-grooved field-trip on “La De Da”. Either way, Evaline’s writing style is a mix of experimental sounds that complement their unique structures.

In The Beginning
Evaline started off like any other garage band. They learned how to play instruments, got together with some friends, and formed a band. They played locals shows as well as shows in the Bay Area, and Southern California. It wasn’t until they met a guy named Quinn Allman that things started to change for the band. Quinn Allman is the guitar player from the internationally known punk band called The Used. “Quinn was the person who helped us get signed.” says Christian. “He heard our early demo and saw some potential.” Quinn invited the band to his home recording studio to record a new 3 song demo. With this new demo, Evaline hired a manager to promote the new release. This new management scheduled showcases with record label executives from all over the United States. “When we showcased our demo, we were being flown all over the nation.” says Steve. “The labels would drive us around in limousines and take us out to nice dinners.” “Not only did they want to hear our music, they wanted to see how we acted in a more social setting, like live shows.” says Dominic.

Maverick Records
After the band finished showcasing their demo, they had a couple of record labels that were interested in signing them. The process was moving along too slowly. Evaline decided to enter the studio again to start production on a new E.P. “We felt that if we didn’t sign with a label that we would just produce the E.P. ourselves.” says Christian. “About five months into production on the new E.P., we were signed by Maverick Records.” With the new E.P. being released on Maverick Records, Evaline began playing shows around the area and eventually joined the Vans Warped Tour. After 5 months with Maverick, the company was absorbed by Warner Entertainment which left the band in limbo. “The company still provided us with tour budget for the E.P,” says Steve, “but we weren’t sure where we stood after that.” After the tour, Evaline eventually parted ways with Warner Entertainment.

New Direction
For the last three years, Evaline has made some major changes that would eventually launch the band into a new direction as well as international recognition. Not only did they write new material which has just been released on MySpace, but they got new management, located in London. “We still have some label interest here in the States,” says Christian, “but with the new management, we also have European labels that are showing some interest.”



US- Who writes the music in the band?
E- Everyone does. To be clearer, somebody comes up with an idea and we’ll expand on it. Sometimes RJ will have a vocal idea and we’ll base a song around that. We structure and arrange the songs together. Once in a while someone will write a song, and by the time it goes through all of the band members, the song has changed from the original structure.
US- What are your songs about?
E- You’re going to have to ask RJ about that one (laughing). He does the lyric writing. I know that we all agree about one thing; we want to move people in a strong way with the lyrics. RJ likes his lyrics to be vague, so anybody can take them in any direction they want.
US- Are you guys going back in the studio to record any new material?
E- We just recorded a new demo in this house. Our newest member, Daniel, set up a small recording studio in our rehearsal room. Daniel just graduated from a musical art school that specializes in audio engineering.
Daniel- After I graduated, instead of getting a job, I joined the band (laughing).


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Touring
By the time you read this article, Evaline will have just finished a mini-tour of the western states. They will then be writing new material and preparing for a European tour.
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US- In which states have you played?
E- With the Vans Warped Tour and the showcases that we’ve been on, we pretty much played all the major cities in every state.
US- What can we expect at an Evaline show?
E- The crowds are pretty kick back. The songs are complex so the people just stand and take it all in. On the more intense parts of the music, the crowd gets into it, and in return, we feed off of their energy.
US- Any stage diving?
E- Nothing like that (laughing). We would like more of that since we do feed off the crowd. It gets pretty crazy in places like Dallas or Kansas City. The last tour we were on, we opened up for some major bands that drew a lot of people.


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The Future
Whenever we accomplish a goal, we always ask ourselves, “Okay, what do we do now?” Evaline has accomplished some awesome goals and, at the same time, experienced some road blocks. Either way, they are committed to pressing forward and becoming one of the top bands in the world.


US- Where do you see the band in five years?
E- Hopefully on top (laughing). We want to have a couple of records released. We also want to be making music that we enjoy and that we are proud of. Being able to have the musical freedom in our songwriting is something that we feel is important.
US- What bands are influencing your current song writing?
E- We listen to different styles of music. Some of the bands we are listening to right now are Radio Head, At the Drive-in, Rage Against the Machine, Dredge, and Explosions in the Sky. We like the rock vibe that all of these bands have.
US- When you meet with the record executives, what are the first questions they ask?
E- What are the five bands you would like to tour with? Where do you see yourselves in five years? Those two questions are the pretty standard ones. They also like to get together for dinner to see if you connect with their music-business philosophy. We heard that with the record sales being bad, the record labels aren’t doing too much of the wining and dining.
US- How has the internet changed the business?
E- Bands are doing well, even without being signed to a record label. Bands are producing their own music and selling it on I-tunes. They are also using MySpace to connect with fans. You don’t even have to go to a record store anymore. Many of the record labels are focusing on merchandise because they can’t compete with the online music stores.

To learn more about Evaline, visit their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/Evaline.