#204 Alan Evans- Drummer for Soulive, Recording Engineer, Record Label Owner & More!
This weeks guest is Alan Evans. Drummer Alan Evans began playing as soon as he could hold drumsticks, helped by his father, an amateur drummer who made his living as a high school gym teacher. Evans’s father loved music of all types, and it was through his music collection that Alan and his brother Neal were exposed to jazz greats John Coltrane and Miles Davis, as well as classical music and opera. Growing up in Buffalo, New York, Alan first played drums in a marching band. As adults the Evans brothers settled near Woodstock, New York, which had a thriving music scene. After playing in different groups, Alan came up with the idea for Soulive as a “live soul groove” group. Alan is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer and owner of Iron Wax Studios as well as an owner of a record label in, Vintage League Music.
Gig Alerts
The Jazz Foundation of America continue their fundraising efforts on behalf of musicians affected by the pandemic with “Bird Calls,” a livestream event on FANS celebrating the centennial birthday of alto saxophonist Charlie “Yardbird” Parker on Thursday, December 10 at 8PM ET with an encore rebroadcast scheduled for 8PM PT.
Musical Director Steve Jordan brought in a group of the world’s leading altoists: Antonio Hart, Vincent Herring, Miguel Zenón, Tom Scott, Jaleel Shaw, and Japan’s Erena Terakubo along with Kenny Barron, George Cables, Craig Haynes (son of Roy Haynes, who himself played behind Parker); trumpeters Jimmy Owens and Keyon Harrold; and guitarist Russell Malone. Nioka Workman’s Firey String Sistas guest on a performance saluting
Parker’s “Bird With Strings” recordings for Verve. New Orleans’ legends, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, also make an appearance to touch on Charlie Parker’s lasting influence on the Crescent City. -More Info
Educational Spotlight
You can still register for PASIC and watch the videos from the convention until December 31st.
There were some winners for the 2020 PAS Composition Contest.
Product Review
Jefferson at Sugar Percussion built a snare drum and raffled it off. It raised $7500 to help the Okizu foundation.
The winner of that drum is Jesse Johnson!
Added bonus, The good people at Sugar Percussion are slashing prices for their 14x5 painted poplar snare drums for the rest of the year. Every one of their now 9 beautiful colors is available for sale at the low low price of $675 or $56/month for 12 months. They will run this sale through December 31. TO ORDER YOURS:
Send payment via PayPal to js@sugarpercussion.com with your name, address, phone number and chosen color and they will start making it.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording this week is “Rhythm of the Night” by DeBarge.
You can click here to read more about who was involved in making the album. This song was featured in the movie, The Last Dragon.
This song and others are featured on the Pop Percussion Iconic tracks that Damon and Marcos put together.
Music News
The Grammys formally announced their nominees for the 2021 awards. -Nominees
Bandcamp Fridays started back in March to support artists impacted by the pandemic, and in the past few months the music community has come together in a huge way: in just four days, fans put more than $20 million directly into the pockets of artists and labels. -Article
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated musicians’ and songwriters’ ability to earn a living. Live concerts, once the primary way for artists to make money, have been canceled with no indication of when musicians can perform again. It’s not only the musicians themselves who are affected by the pandemic – the concert industry stands to lose billions and individual artists may be forced to leave the industry.
As the Recording Academy explained in a letter to Congressional leaders, “[t]hese cancellations don’t just affect famous featured artists and headlining bands. They impact thousands of songwriters, session musicians, live musicians, backing vocalists, audio engineers, studio mixers, and other individuals who make a living by making music.” Touring managers, instrument technicians, lighting technicians, soundboard operators, venue operators, and others have also lost their income.
While recording studios and collaborative spaces have been innovative in finding ways to partially re-open, musicians’ and songwriters’ ability to write and record new music has been substantially curtailed, further squeezing their ability to make ends meet.
Independent venues, a backbone of music’s infrastructure and anchor point of the local music scene in towns and communities all around the country, have been hit especially hard, with many closing for good, and others on the brink of closing or selling off.
Fortunately, fans and audiences can help musicians, songwriters, and venues during these difficult times. While we can’t support our favorite artists at live performances, we can still support them through many other channels. Here are some ways you can help musicians weather the COVID-19 pandemic. -Article
In a recent speech centering on the economy, Joe Biden asked Congress to pass a new relief package – including a second stimulus check – and stated that he would sign the HEROES Act into law. Just one problem: Biden can’t sign anything until he takes office in 2021. -Article
Alan Evans Interview
The song leading into the interview is “Good Thang (feat. Kim Dawson & Alan Evans)”.
The interview starts with Damon asking Alan how the recording studio he owns (Iron Wax Studios) is faring during these covid times. In addition to some recording and mixing and mastering, Alan has been teaching mixing and mastering to others.
Damon participated in a song earlier in the pandemic where Alan not only played drums, but also mixed and mastered the track. Unfortunately, Damon and a couple other musicians video files got misplaced so you can only hear them, but you can still see Alan in the video!.
Alan talks about working on the BT ALC Big Band album.
The microphone Damon brings up for stereo recording is the AEA R88 model.
This video talks about using less mics and trying to capture the sound of the drums in the room.
Damon and Alan talk about learning how to mic your set up and get the sounds you want from hearing recordings and asking questions.
One album that changed Alan’s life was hearing Axis: Bold as Love. That is the second studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Track Records first released it in the United Kingdom in December 1967, only seven months after the release of the group's highly successful debut, Are You Experienced.
Alan talks about how his older brother Rod helped push the music catalog of Alan and his other brother Neal.
Alan talks about stopping drums to play guitar after going down a Jimi Hendrix rabbit hole.
Damon talks about synaesthesia, a diagnosis that Jimi Hendrix was said to have where he could hear colors.
Alan talks about seeing movies in his head when he hears music, and that film scoring and composition is on his list of future projects to tackle.
Damon brings up Soulive and Alan talks about how they started. Soulive is a funk/jazz trio that originated in Woodstock, New York, and is known for its solos and catchy, upbeat songs. The band consists of Eric Krasno (guitar), Alan Evans (drums) and Neal Evans (Hammond B3 organ, bass keys, clavinet). Although they originated as a trio, the band has worked extensively with different horn sections, which have included Sam Kininger (saxophone) from 2000 to 2003, Rashawn Ross (trumpet), and Ryan Zoidis (saxophone) from 2003 to 2006. The band also worked with vocalist Toussaint Yeshua from 2006 to 2007.
In the 90s, brothers Alan and Neal Evans had been the rhythm section for the Northeastern jam band Moon Boot Lover with front man Peter Prince. After a brief foray into rap with Edreys aka Billy Drease Williams under the name The Elements, the brothers looked to form a traditional jazz organ trio. On March 2, 1999, Alan and Neal invited guitarist Eric Krasno (a friend they knew from high school days) to record some tracks with them in their home studio in Woodstock, New York. That jam session became their first album, Get Down! and the band shortly thereafter hit the road to begin touring. It was during that first summer together that the band recorded their first LP, Turn It Out, for Velour Recordings. Turn It Out featured various guest musicians, including John Scofield, Oteil Burbridge, and Sam Kininger. The independently produced album went on to sell 65,000 copies, enabling Soulive to gain recognition in the jazz/funk scene.
Alan stopped playing for a bit, then ended up moving to San Diego to play with the Greyboy Allstars. After leaving the west coast to head back to Woodstock, he reached out to his brother and that is what started Soulive. Eric Krasno was only sitting in on the first gig. Nick Mancini on vibes was an original member, but ended up doing a broadway show.
Damon and Alan talk about the community of playing drums and percussion.
Alan talks about the trouble he has had with doing break beat loops and libraries.
Damon and Alan reminisce about the Mayercraft Carrier Cruise and the Jam Cruise before that.
Alan followed Quincy Jones’ career as a kid and learned from the work he did. You can check out some of that by getting Quincy’s book.
Alan and Damon talk about their affection for The Wiz and the importance of seeing people that look like you succeed.
Because Alan is originally from Buffalo NY, Damon asks the best place to get wings. Alan choses La Nova for inside Buffalo proper and agrees that The Hangar in Western MA is a good candidate for outside of Buffalo. The venue Damon mentions is the 189 Public House, which has turned into a burger joint and doesn’t currently have wings on the menu.
Disclaimer: Alan is retired from wings and is now a vegan.
Alan uses Handsome Audio, Zildjian Cymbals, Tama Drums, ProMark Sticks and Evans Drum Heads.
The song leading out of the interview is “As Far As We Know (feat. Brother GoodLove & Alan Evans)”.
