Evangenitals in Austin - The Photos

Evangenitals in Austin
Originally uploaded by juliocrockett

I finally posted some photos from our recent trip to Austin and SXSW on Flickr. Huzzah! Video is coming soon, as our friend Chris Haro has been chopping away at clips from Izzy Cox's performance (check out YouTube, he's put about 6 different videos of her performance up so far), next he'll be putting up the Henry Bermudez solo set, and then the Evangenitals.

Unfortunately, he ran out of battery power and didn't get the Artichoke and Clock Hands Strangle sets on tape. Oh well... they shall live on in my memory, and any of y'all who live in Los Angeles can check out Artichoke on April 19th at Molly Malones!

All in all, the trip to Austin was a much needed spiritual journey into a very musical land and I can't wait to hit the road with this crew again.

xoxo
julio

The Bruise of Rock...

Tonight I sang backup for Artichoke and played the Tambourine. That may sound like a walk in the park... HOWEVER... the way *I* play the tambourine is a full contact sport! Check out the battle wounds:


You can imagine how messed up I look after playing the tambourine on Gasoline with the Evangenitals... with my groin. Youch!

After the Artichoke show I ran off to Hollywood and performed Improv at the iO WEST, then I ate a Vegan burrito from Cinnamon in Highland Park. Now I'm going to bed. I think I've earned it. :-)

Love,
Me

Hey there!

It is I, Juli Crockett, lead singer of the Evangenitals, writing you after a relatively long web-absence that truly tested my mettle in these ultra-connected net-worked-webbed times.

I have been without internet capabilities for over a week, however, tonight all was made right again when the nice folks at the phone company finally turned the internet on in my new place. Yes! I said new place! 1/2 the rent and double the lovely... what more could a gal ask for?

Much has happened since I last wrote... our trip to Austin was amazing, I started playing an electric guitar, the Evangenitals played a fundraiser for the Open Fist Theater with Henry Bermudez on guitar and Joey Ninja on bass, I sang in a show with the super-groovy group Artichoke, my car broke down, I changed residence, and now... this Friday night Lisa Dee and I (aka Evangina) will BOTH be joining Artichoke at La Casa Blue in Highland Park -- demonstrating our backup vocalization skills, our tambourine skills, our whirling tubes skills, and some other tricks-o-the-trade.

Here's the info and lineup for that:

friday @ 9:30
la casa blue
5930 york blvd
highland park, ca 90042
free, all ages!
(alcohol with i.d.)

8:30 braille
9:30 artichoke
10:30 box violet
11:30 bright million

Now, Artichoke will be going on at 9:30 sharp because I have ANOTHER show (Improvin', not Rockin') at the iO WEST in Hollywood with my new Improv team Hammerspace. You're welcome to check that out too, if you're into that kind of stuff. It's free. It's at 11pm. We're occasionally funny. :-)

So that's the news. Look for some Evangenitals shows coming soon in the LA area, a possible West Coast mini-tour in May, and more miracles unfolding than you can imagine.

Love,
Juli & the Genitals
http://www.evangenitals.com
http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

Evangina: Now on iTunes!!!

That's right, folks... the time has come! Finally you can cuddle up to tender duets about drunken girls, good dogs, and our private parts. Hurray!

Here's the direct link to Evangina on iTunes. Click the button below and it will take you directly to the Evangina page in your iTunes store!



Give us a listen and be sure to review the album and let us know what you think!

xoxo
juli & lisa
Evangina

What's up?

Last Friday night Lisa Dee, myself, (that's Evangina!), guitarist Henry Bermudez, and Timothy Sellers of Artichoke all jumped in a car and drove to Austin to catch a taste of SXSW and play a day show on Sunday. It was a much-need breaking out and breaking away from the day to day, and also a grand display of willingness and mild insanity. The whole thing made me indescribably happy.

Brian and Jerimi, a WONDERFUL couple who restore any lagging faith that any of us could have in humanity and the generosity of the spirit, put us up in Austin and took great care of us. I barely know these folks, and yet they opened their hearts, ears, home, and fridge to us... for fun and for free. Incredible. I also discovered that Austin has free health insurance for musicians and the audiences actually TIP... what am I doing here? I love LA. It's twisted.

It was great to play with Izzy Cox. I've missed her. She is a powerful performer and I look forward to doing more shows with her when she comes out to LA again. We also DEFINITELY plan to return to Austin next year, if not sooner. Now that Henry is going to be playing with us, we are indeed a road-hungry band... we want to play play PLAY and bring the Evangenital joy to every pair of ears that will listen.

I'm going to be posting the photo-journal from the Austin trip on Flickr real soon. I'll post links here when I do.

Tonight we played a fundraiser show with Veruca Salt in downtown LA and we debuted a never-before-seen/heard Evangenitals lineup featuring Joey Ninja of Ninja Academy on bass and the aforementioned Henry Bermudez on lead guitar. It rocked my socks off! I am excited to be revisiting our old tunes with new energy and explore and reinterpret them -- stretch 'em to the snapping point and see what their spine looks like. Constantly changing, exploring, questioning, enjoying, refreshing... I dig it. "The Hole" almost burst into a Reggae jam tonight, people. It was AWESOME!!!

So, the short version is: the flow is flowing once again, the universe is giving me the green light on all things, it seems, and I am revved up and ready to GROW! The party is about to get started, and you're all always invited.

Love, always and already,
Juli

Tonight's the Night!

We made it to Austin safe and sound after a 25 hour adventure-drive of group sing-a-long's and Beaver trivia. After some coffee at Thunderbird and showers for everyone, we met up with our hosts Brian and Jerimi on 6th Street, right in the heart of all the SXSW madness.

Many bars were hopped, we got our groove on to some incredible DJ's at a club where Artichoke Timothy declared a full-on fool-dancing contest at the front stage. We were lucky to catch Rootz Underground closing out a Reggae set at the Flamingo. They were INCREDIBLE!!!

Now it's time for us to play our show! We'll be hanging out, playing, and singing-a-long from 3-8pm at Thunderbird Coffee, 1401 Koenig Lane in Austin, TX.

Izzy Cox at 3pm, Henry Bermudez at 4pm, Evangenitals at 5pm, Artichoke at 6pm, and Clock Hands Strangle at 7pm. This should be grand!

After that, we're hitting some "Chicken Shit Bingo" with Brian and Jerimi and then hitting the long road home. All in all, this has been an awesome and smooth trip so far. Great group of folks for tag-team driving and super conversation... and the sing-a-longs are top notch! :-)

On Friday, Lisa Dee and Juli C of the Evangenitals are piling in a car with Timothy Sellers of Artichoke and Henry Bermudez (of far too many bands to list) and we're heading to Austin, TX to crash the South By Southwest Music Fest and host a day of music at Thunderbird Coffee on Sunday March 16th from 3pm - 8pm.

Who's with me?!?!

If you or anyone you know is heading that way for the big fiesta, please help us spread the word about our day of Pickin and Grinnin!

Here's the details:

Where?
Thunderbird Coffee
1401 Koenig Lane
Austin, TX 78756

When? And Who's Playing?
3pm Izzy Cox (http://www.myspace.com/izzycox)
4pm Henry Bermudez (http://www.henrybermudez.com)
5pm Juli & Lisa of the Evangenitals w/ Henry Bermudez playing along!
(http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals")
6pm Timothy Sellers of Artichoke (http://www.artichoketheband.com)
7pm Clock Hands Strangle (http://www.myspace.com/clockhandsstrangle)

How Much?
FREE!!! (Tips are welcome and albums will be for sale!)

Post-show we'll be hitting the road back to LA, cuz we've got a Fundraiser to play for the Open Fist Theater Company on Wednesday the 19th!!

If anyone can get us a gig in Tucson, AZ on Monday night on our way home... please let me know!

And if you can't make it to the show, please send us your good vibes and best wishes on the long road to Austin!

Love,
Juli & the Evangenitals
http://www.evangenitals.com
http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

In Search of Unique Acts - Austin, TX

Hey folks!

As you may or may not have heard, I'm hosting a day of music on the fringe of the South by Southwest music fest in Austin, TX on March 16th from 3-8pm. (show info can be found here: www.evangenitals.com/calendar.html

In an effort to make the day more than just a bunch of bands playing (cuz the WHOLE CITY is doing that trick) we wanted to shake things up by inviting some other kinds of acts to jump up on stage and show their stuff... magicians, ventriloquists, contortionists, stand up comedians... anyone who would like to do a short bit in between band set-ups is welcome.

So, if you or someone you know has a special and/or just plain weird talent that they'd like to share with an audience and is going to be in Austin, TX on March 16th, please contact me!

Cheers,
Juli (of the Evangenitals)
juli@evangenitals.com

I'm working on a new bio for the Evangenitals. It has been awhile since we changed it up, and I'm trying to create something that will grab people's attention from the start, so I'm trottin' out the 'ol boxing tales.

What do you think?


**
The Evangenitals

Formed in December of 2003 by Juli Crockett in the wake of an injury-aborted pro boxing career (3-0, two KOs in the 135 lb. lightweight division), L.A.’s Evangenitals provide certain proof that, in creative matters, the shortest distance between two points isn’t necessarily a straight line. As the group’s principal songwriter and lead vocalist, Juli’s exhaustive performing schedule has coincided with her attentions to ongoing careers as a playwright, stage director, improv artist, ordained minister, and a PhD student in philosophy. She is also rumored to be the inspiration for Hillary Swank's character in the Oscar-winning feature film "Million Dollar Baby" (as reported in Sports Illustrated) and even scored her own page on Wikipedia!

As Juli's pro boxing career ended due to injuries during training, she started writing songs and collaborating musically with good friends Lisa Dee (a classically trained Opera singer) and Brett Lyda (lead guitarist) who all worked at the same sex toy company (ala the Sex Pistols) and shared her leanings toward the style of “urban hillbilly truck-stop lullabies” that have become the group’s signature sound. After a couple years of developing an extended family of fill-ins on the drums, the band finally found their skin-beating soul mate in George Bernardo (who has gigged with the likes of Bad Company, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley).

The music is tuneful, steeped in irresistible vocal harmonies and shimmering guitar arpeggios. The tempo of the songs veers from quietly introspective to balls-out raucousness in the blink of an eye. The overall timbre of the voices—Lisa’s trained soprano, Brett’s steady tenor and, in the lead, Juli’s heartbreakingly vulnerable, almost tentative contralto, lends a hypnotic quality to their performances. Lyrics are key: Juli’s meditations on love and sex and the meaning of the universe are witty, often outright funny, simply-put and as lean as a welterweight stepping down in class.

There’s an intimate magnetism about their performances that has, in remarkably short order, attracted a loyal following in the mercurial east-side Los Angeles music scene.

Just over 3 years since forming, the Evangenitals have recorded their first indie collection, "We Are The Evangenitals" and released their sophomore LP “Everlovin” in the fall of 2007.


What Some Folks Say:

"Some days you go looking for the sky but oh lord it's a long walk upwards. Other days you stay down on the earth and find your Evangenitals. Get your tired heart wrung by the best new band since the last best new band ... and maybe the best band after them also." (Colum McCann – Award-winning author of "Dancer")

“Have you ever met a retired professional boxer who is working on her Doctorate in Media and Communications, sings lead for an alt-country band, is a published playwright and theater director and works in a sex shop? No? Well then you should meet Juli Crockett. She has done it all and more." (Mike Gormley, Music Connection Magazine)

“Gifted with a powerful voice, Crockett makes her distinctive mark as the anti-crooner. She sings with a deep clarity and is able to maintain an odd balance of folky sweetness and country music's signature yee-haw…. At first listen, her vocals call to mind other notable altos like Cher, Grace Slick, and flannel-clad lesbian grunge pop extraordinaire, Linda Perry. Crockett's sound is low, smooth and profound.” (Orphan Records Review)

"The Evangenitals... sound sort of like a cross between Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks and L'il Kim. I bought their album."
(Steve Almond, author of Candyfreak & Not That You Asked)

“It is my firm belief that no band in Los Angeles gets more "room respect" (and deservedly so) than the Evangenitals. When these guys play, no one speaks or makes a sound. It's a true phenom.” (Michael Anderson - Stereo-9)

"Like the Dixie Chicks being beaten with their own guitars at the playful hands of the Violent Femmes." (Aaron James, Musician)

"3rd loudest audience applause in the 10 years I've been booking the Buccaneer." (Tim - Booker for The Buccaneer in Sierra Madre)

George is Awesome!

Want Proof? Watch this!



Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo tackles Frank Zappa on the marimba!

Someone in Germany likes us, it seems.

At least that's what I choose to make of this...

evangenitals - die_musikgruppe_zum_sonntag

:-)

Hello?

Who would have guessed that "Hello" would be the run-away mini-hit from the new Everlovin album? Patrick, that's who! It was always one of his favorite songs on the album, and it looks like that's the track that is proving to have maximum cross-over appeal.

Thanks be to Addi's balloonhat video for putting it all into perspective and into the public consciousness!

Due to popular demand, I have just added "Hello" to our songs on Myspace. Woo-hoo! Now folks can hear it whenever they like and add it to their profiles and stuff.

The message of the music... DON'T FORGET TO LOVE YOURSELF, PEOPLE!

You can grab the tune here: http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

In other news, I just entered us into some College Music Contest in which we could win some money and some great opportunities, so please VOTE FOR US!
http://contest.cmj.com/bands/142

xo
juli

Addi Somekh of Balloonhat.com (he's also the balloon-bassist in the awesome band Unpopable) recently went to a nursing home and made some spectacular balloon hats for the residents.

The experience got edited down and set to some sweet Evangenitals music (song: "Hello" from our new album Everlovin) and then end result is sheer heart-warming goodness.

Check it out!

In honor of Everlovin' and Love Sweet Love, The Evangenitals are having a Valentine's Day Sale!

Until the end of February, Evangenitals T-Shirts, Posters, and CD's will be available for purchase DIRECTLY from the Evangenitals Secret Place (aka S.P. aka South Pasadena).

Items on Sale:

1. Our newest album "Everlovin" complete with fold-out extended-Evangenital-family portrait. ($9.99)

2. Limited-edition Evangenitals Everlovin POSTER w/ Last Supper trim. ($6.66)

3. Evangenitals black T-shirt with white logo - comes in LARGE and EXTRA LARGE only. These shirts are awesome and supply is limited so act fast! ($10.01)

To take advantage of this rare opportunity to purchase these items at these RIDICULOUS prices, please follow the A, B, C's :

a. Pick the items you want, add 'em up, and include $2.50 for shipping & handling (if you be in the US) and $5.00 for shipping in handling if you're outside of the US.

b. Paypal the total to: info@evangenitals.com. Please include the specific items/sizes that you would like and any special instructions in the comments field!

To recap: YOU (the beloved) send US (the ever-lovers) some money. Then WE (the gleeful genitals) shall send YOU (recipient of treats) the GOODS. And somewhere in that transaction we shall both find the true meaning of Valentine's Day!

If you have any questions, special shipping requests, or problems of the mental or emotional variety, feel free to email us at: info@evangenitals.com or call the new Evangenitals hotline at 626-799-0947

Much Love,
To You, From Me,
Juli & the Evangenitals

Perfect Moment #1401

Reports have been CONFIRMED that the Evangenitals single "I Just Forgot" off their new album Everlovin' was played over the airwaves of KGLP - Gallup in Gallup, New Mexico by one Mister Tom Funk of the "Green Chile Revival & Medicine Show".

Mister Funk requested that more Evangenitals tunes be sent to him as soon as possible.

You can pay a visit to KGLP (listen online, let them know what great taste Tom Funk has, etc) by clicking this link: http://www.kglp.org/

You can listen to "I Just Forget" on Last.fm by clicking this link: http://www.last.fm/music/Evangenitals/_/I+Just+Forgot

And heck, you can buy the tune in mp3 form off of iTunes, CDBaby, or the Snocap store on our Myspace page

I can tell from the "backend" reports on our website that someone out there has been searching for the lyrics to the song "McCann" -- written about the Irish writer and awesome human Colum McCann, whom I met while he was a professor at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where I'm pursuing my PhD.

I'm guessing this may have to do with the fact that Evangina just started playing this song out and about town this fair 2008. Though written long ago, for whatever reason the Evangenitals never picked this tune up and ran with it. It is, however, just folksy and forlorn enough for Evangina to let it emanate from our lovesick breasts, so we have been doing so -- from Mr T's Bowl to the Hyperion Tavern. (So, Silverlake, if you've been smelling some melancholy and Irish jigs in the air lately, maybe it's the spirit of McCann seeping into the groundwater.)

Always quick to respond to public demands, I have gone ahead and posted the lyrics for the McCann song. You can find them here: "McCann, McCann..."

Love,
Juli

Ladies and Gentlest Men!

I am pleased to announce that the Evangenitals new album "Everlovin" is now available in several PHYSICAL retail locations throughout Los Angeles County, such as:

Amoeba Records
6400 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90018

Poo-Bah Record Shop
2636 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107

TruXtop Gallery
2876 Rowena Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Rhino Records - Claremont Colleges
235 Yale Ave
Claremont, CA 91711

Now, in order for them to actually KEEP the album in stock, we need folks to go and BUY IT! And if a bunch of folks show interest in the Evangenitals at these stores, then we get to play an in-store show there... you see how this stuff works?

So, please go check out our album in these stores and we will love you for it indeed. (Of course, we love you already, anyhow, so it's a win-win if you go or not)

For those of you far from LA, you can get the album on iTunes and CDBABY.com, OR you can go to your local record show and ask them for our album, and CDBaby will supply them with it! So go for it!

If you already HAVE the album, we need lots and lots of REVIEWS on iTunes and CDBaby and you blogs and anywhere else that will listen, so tell the world what you think of Everlovin!

xo
Juli & The Evangenitals

Official Site:
http://www.evangenitals.com
On Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals
On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5456766961

The ladies of the Evangenitals (known as Evangina) are going to be
playing a sweet set of slow punk-rock covers, original love songs, and
even some Evangenitals covers (???) at the Hyperion Tavern TONIGHT
when Tequila Mockingbird's "Club Fluffer" takes over this new
Hollywood Hipster Hotspot.

The evening starts at 9pm, Evangina plays at 10pm, and the whole
she-bang is FREE.

You may remember the Hyperion Tavern as "Cuffs" -- the 'ol gay bar it
used to be. No worries, some of the old history is still there --
namely the "slave toilet" and the "glory hole" so do come check out
these lovely bits of Silverlake legend!

Some awesome bands are playing:
Madame Pamita: http://www.myspace.com/madamepamita
Alvin & Lucile: http://www.myspace.com/alvinandlucille
Ukelear Winter: http://www.myspace.com/ukelearwinter

Award-winning animator Nirvan Mullick will be showing some short
films: http://nirvan.com/

And Evangina will melt your hearts: http://myspace.com/weareevangina

Sounds like a good Thursday night, eh?

The Hyperion Tavern is located at:
1941 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Hope to see you there!

Love,
Juli & Lisa
Evangina
http://www.evangina.com

The Evangenitals and Abe Lincoln

The Evangenitals and Lincoln
Originally uploaded by the1secondfilm.com

This may be one of the cooler Evangenitals group pics ever taken. From our Washington DC stop on the Road to Oprah tour. I dig it.