So much going on in Evangenitals-land, and yet it feels like we've been in hiding. WTF? Here's the update:
The radio-play version of "History of Water" - written and directed by Juli Crockett (that's me!), featuring Shaughn Buchholz, Patrick Ian Moore, Andrea LeBlanc, and Lisa Dee (of the Evangenitals!) with live score provided by Henry Bermudez, Keith Lubow, and David Hurlin (of the Evangenitals!) is re-airing on KPFK 90.7FM on Saturday April 18th at 7am. No worries if you're not an early-bird... the show will be available via the good 'ol internet in the KPFK archives for 3 months after airing.
In other news, the OPERA that I've been directing at California Institute of the Arts (R Murray Schafer's Audio/Visual Poem "Loving") will be performed on April 22nd, 24th, and 25th. Click HERE for show info.
After that, I'm off on a mini-tour of the great Northwest with the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band CASH'D OUT doing my June Carter thang for the end of April and the 1st bit of May.
AND THEN...
The Evangenitals will be emerging from our cocoon of recording and web designing to reveal the beautiful psychedelic butterfly into which we've bloomed! You can look forward to new music, a new website, exciting new shows, and extravagant new fashion statements this Spring. And a European Tour this Summer!?!!? (Details forthcoming in the next Newsletter!)
On that special night the Evangenitals consisted of: Juli Crockett on vox and rhythm guitar, Henry Bermudez on lead guitar, Lisa Dee on vox and tambourine, George Bernardo on drums, David Hurlin on tabla, and special guest Doug Lunn on bass.
This shall hopefully tide you over for a little while as we finish mixing our NEW album! :-)
And if you haven't done so yet, please click on the links to join our Facebook GROUP & Facebook FAN PAGE!
PLEASE SUPPORT EVANGENITALS EXTENDED FAMILY MEMBER DON SHORT AND THIS AMAZING CAUSE!
Friends and Heroes,
Here comes the big push... www.heroesforautism.com has finally arrived, please check it out!
Don Short and I founded Heroes For Autism in November, and together with many other people, we have been working night and day to produce something really special. I honestly feel it’s the best work I’ve done, and I’m proud to share it with you.
Tickets are now on sale, and so I’m asking for help. We need to sell 1000 tickets, and this can only be done when we join together. I am thankful some people have already committed to selling 10 pairs of tickets to benefit this fundraiser. I encourage (implore) you to help out in a similar way. We will gladly recognize on the website anyone who has sold a bulk of tickets.
The show is going to be an amazing night of world class art and music, and it’s going to help a lot of people who deal with the difficulties of autism. I truly hope you can be part of it in some way.
If you have any thoughts or questions of any kind, please let me know. Thank you! Greg
******** Autism is the fastest growing disease in America today. It affects more people than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined, and occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups. The numbers are staggering: 1 in 150 children The cause is unknown, and there is no cure.
Heroes For Autism is a one-night only, high-profile celebration of art and music in the name of autism. NBC's Heroes and Autism Speaks have come together to host a silent auction, featuring mixed media artwork by its cast and crew alongside artwork by artists who have autism. The evening includes a VIP cocktail hour and performances Wendy and Lisa’s all-star band, and the celebrity Band From TV, featuring Hugh Laurie, Greg Grunberg, and James Denton, among others. The star studded event, scheduled for April 19th at the Avalon, is designed to raise awareness about the epidemic. All money raised will go to Autism Speaks, with a focus on art therapy. ********
Check out this awesome video VLOG of The Evangenitals playing on the roof of The 1 Second Film's "Road to Oprah" bus at the recent Jalopy art show at Side Street Projects!
I've been looking at websites for the past 5 hours and I'm tired as hell. The Evangenitals are working on a wild new website to launch with our super-awesome new EP that we're working on, and I decided to take a trek through cyber-space to see what some of my favorite bands were doing, as well as some of my not-so-favorite bands who happen to be getting a sh!t-ton of traffic. :-)
Many a website hath passed before my moist eye holes in the past few horas. On the "bands I love" roster, there's David Byrne's really cool site, the B52's semi-awesome colorful site, Ween's new "cleaned-up" site, Gogol Bordello's insane den of navigation, Devendra Banharts incredibly frustrating but kind fun front page, LOW's clean-cut mormon temple of cyberspace, Shitake Monkey's awesome corner of wilderness that I could get lost in for a good while, Weezer's straightforward business, and Beck's completely baffling art piece (that keeps re-directing me to the current album site).
Britney Spears has the highest traffic band website in the friggin' WORLD, it seems. It's a bit of a mess with ads and such, but has a personal feel, decent layout, and the whole she-bang is powered by Buzznet. The next most popular site, so far as I can tell from Alexa, is U2. A much cleaner aesthetic, emphasis on black, gray, and red. Decent.
And while we're on the U2 tip... I'm kinda reeling from their usage of a Sugimoto photo for their new album. I friggin' LOVE Sugimoto with the quiet intensity of a deceptively dormant volcano that's about to burst on an unsuspecting village. I have not yet forgiven Bono for his appearance in that "Across the Universe" movie impersonating some Ken Kesey wannabe and singing "I Am The Walrus".... that movie was completely ludicrous and made me want to chew off my own toes. I actually had a dream the other night wherein I was telling Julie Taymor just HOW awful I thought the film was. This, of course, would be truly bad form in REAL life as we are on the Board of Directors for the Collaboration Foundation. Bottom line is that the film has truly scarred me in some deep way that I don't yet understand. Perhaps I'm just still in shock and it was actually brilliant. Doubtful, but possible... and it's always a fine idea (for me) to suspend any final judgment, as my mind frequently changes along with my moods. If I saw the movie on whilst on the rag, I'm sure I'd love it. And cry :-)
I am officially fried. Happy daylight savings to you all!
I'm sitting on a stool in the kitchen of the Juke Joint so I don't have to hang out in the crowd between mt songs at the Cash'd Out show tonight. I'm always torn as to whether or not to mingle... I really enjoy being in/around the crowd, I love the feedback and the energy (and the bursts of adoration don't hurt) however, its terrible for my voice, as I end up talking (read: SCREAMING) during the whole show. By the end, my throat is swollen and sore and mad at me.
There's something magical about having a backstage. I really like getting to appear and disappear between my tunes, and being able to rest and focus is a damn good thing. Its a different kind of energy. Having a backstage really makes it feel like SHOWTIME when I walk on the stage. When I have to hang out in the audience then jump up on stage, it feels more like karaoke. :-)
AND when there's a backstage I can do uber-geeky things like BLOG on my BLACKBERRY during the friggin' SHOW!! Hehe...
If you need a little pick-me-up on this day of candy hearts and flowers... visit the Smartgals Virtual Speakeasy featuring the music of the Evangenitals. It's a fine way to make it through this occasionally weird and difficult day.
I'm at the Good Hurt in Venice, watching Evangenitals bassist Keith Lubow play REALLY LOUD old punk with his *other* band, The Bloody Brains. I got out here early in a beat-the-traffic carpool scenario with Evangenitals drummer David Hurlin and we passed the pre-show time perusing fine used books in the Sam Johnson bookshop, right across the street from the Good Hurt. I found a stash of incredible Swedenborg books, which brought back memories of my obsession with August Strindberg back when I was at CalArts.
Earlier today, I got the keys for the Evangenitals new 24/7 lockout rehearsal space in Echo Park at the newly built (and still under construction), sure to be hot-spot Bedrock Studios. Its an exciting time for the Evangenitals... Or course, aint it always?
This past weekend we laid down 6 tracks for a new demo. Listening to the unfinished mixes, I'm already excited as hell. We recorded with Tracy Chisholm at Del Boca Vista studios in South Pasadena, and the whole band now has the recording bug. I'm thinking the Moby Dick EP is our next move, and soon. It was a total joy to spend ridiculously long hours in the studio with the gang, and I can't wait to do more more MORE!!!
Its awesome to be here in support Keith in his "loud" band... in which he is the youngest member by a good 30 year margin. I am really glad I brought earplugs, as I want to keep my hearing orbs in good shape for a long, long time whilst we skip down the wild and wonderful road of this musical life. :-)
"The way of life is towards fulfillment, however, wherever it may lead. To restore a human being to the current of life means not only to impart self-confidence but also an abiding faith in the process of life. A man who has confidence in himself must have confidence in other, confidence in the fitness and rightness of the universe. When a man is thus anchored he ceases to worry about the fitness of things, about the behavior of his fellow men, about right and wrong and justice and injustice. If his roots are in the current of life he will float on the surface like a lotus and he will blossom and give forth fruit. He will draw his nourishment from above and below; he will send his roots down deeper and deeper, fearing neither the depths nor the heights. The life that is in him will manifest itself in growth, and growth is an endless, eternal process. he will not be afraid of withering, because decay and death are part of growth. As a seed he began and as a seed he will return. Beginnings and ending are only partial steps in the eternal process. The process is everything... the way... the Tao.
The way of life! A grand expression. Like saying Truth. There is nothing beyond it... it is all."
For those of you that are interested (sorry for the short notice):
I'm going to be curling my locks and doing my "June Carter" bit at the VIPER ROOM in Hollywood with Cash'd Out (world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band) TONIGHT (Thursday January 22nd) at 11pm.
We're playing with Hard Fall Hearts, who are pretty awesome. We go on around 10:30/11pm. Our last show at Viper Room sold out, so you may want to get your tickets in advance.
As we near the end of '08 and the beginning of the greatest year to date in Evangenitals history ('09, baby!) I wanted to tell you all how much we love you.
Yes, we love YOU. A lot. :-)
I hope you are having a good holiday season and enjoying it in the way you like. Salted, peppered, fried, grilled, sweet, spicy, bold, beautiful... whatever your preference is. Yum!
As we don't have your mailing address, we thought we'd send you web presents this year, and all next year long, in the form of BLOGS!
** And I'm writing a new blog about all the insane books I'm reading while working on my PhD dissertation in Philosophy! http://onebookoneweek.blogspot.com
We The Evangenitals are excited about the coming of '09 -- we've got a new album on the horizon, some exciting developments in the booking & management departments, and the loving feelings just keep getting bigger and better and more more more.
We all felt pretty blessed to be able to spend Christmas Eve playing music together at the home of two of our biggest fans (Jain and Eliot Sekular), and we are REALLY excited about closing out the year with a show at Mr T's Bowl on December 30th!
It's our Eve of New Year's Eve party and we're pulling out all the stops with new songs, new instrumentation, the biggest ensemble so far, and boundless optimism as we trudge nearer to 2012! :-)
Evangenitals lead guitarist Henry Bermudez is a WORKING MAN. When he steps on the stage to play guitar, he gives it all he's got. And then some. And he sweats. Seriously. The man SWEATS; hot beads of pure passion and sonic steam. It's a spectacle of hydrological transformation that never fails to amaze me. I've seen the guy play with 3 bands in the same night, in a row, and every set he's soaking wet. Freshly wet. It seems he's ALWAYS got more sweat to give. It's incredible.
So, I thought I'd present the following pictorial as proof of this pheromone phenomenon, and as a tribute to this phenomenal guitar player. Ladies and Gentlemen, Henry Bermudez!
Image 1:
Note the un-sweaty shirt. This is clearly the beginning of the show.
Image 2: The smallest of spots are starting to show. Check out those mallets David Hurlin's got!
Image 3: Note the pronounced center sweat spot, and the beginning of the "wild hair" syndrome.
Image 4: Wild Hair is officially on the loose. Hurlin and Lubow are focused on the business at hand.
Image 5: Note the body and bounce of the dark locks; the hair is not yet completely drenched. The shirt, however, is a different story.
Image 6: Now the hair is both wet AND wild.
Image 7: Final stages of a full-on soggy frenzy. Glory be!
So, let's all raise a glass of cool, precious bodily fluid-replenishing water to this fine young man who brings so much mojo to the art-country hillbilly love punk rock revolution good time gang known as The Evangenitals. Hip hip, hooray!
And be sure to give him a big sloppy hug after the next show. It's quite the experience. :-)
For the past few months, The Evangenitals have been making a steady habit of playing at Mr T's Bowl in Highland Park and the consistency is working a number on my heart strings. I really do love that joint. Mr T's Bowl is where the Evangenitals first stepped on the stage (at Arlo's Open Mic night) and sung our first tender tunes in public. It's where we got our first "big break" (booked to headline at El Cid by promoter Michael Anderson), and it's where we've met, made, and converted some of the most dedicated Evangenitals friends and fans imaginable.
In the olden days, all of the Evangenitals (there were only 3 of us at that time) used to live in Highland Park, IN THE SAME APARTMENT BUILDING, which made band practice a breeze & Mr T's Bowl was just a few blocks up the street. Almost every night of the week, you could find one or more of the Evangenitals at the Bowl, either playing the open mic, on the night's lineup, or supporting our friend's bands like The Natural Disasters, Fascinoma, Unpoppable, Killsonic, Cousin Junebug, Eagle and Talon, Cat Hair Ensemble, Artichoke, Ukefink, Hidden... it was a real family affair.
Then manifest destiny kicked in and we started venturing West, exploring new neighborhoods and venues all over Los Angeles, from the Derby in Los Feliz to the Knitting Factory where we opened for Trainwreck. We were regulars at Highland Grounds for a bit before it closed down, and even made it all the way to the ocean to play at O'Brien's Pub in Santa Monica. Everywhere we have played has it's charms, though none of 'em have the same home-baked feeling of Mr T's Bowl.
Well, some months ago, the booker of the bowl, Gus, decided that the Evangenitals had drifted away from our 'ol home base for far too long and it was time to get back to our roots. We, roots-loving folks that we are, were in total agreement and made a commitment to play the first Wednesday of every month. It has been good, and I hope we keep on going into '09 with it.
If you don't know the joint, not only is Mr T's Bowl an infamous and important staple in the Los Angeles music scene ("Beck used to play there!" is one of the more popular pieces of evidence toward it's cool/less factor)... the sound man, Arlo, is one of the best in the business, and plays some of the greatest in-between-acts tunes imaginable. For example, after we closed out our set last night with a rousing version of Gasoline (I even did a cartwheel into the audience, it was THAT rousing!) he turned on John Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things".
Hells yells! :-)
So, as the year begins to come to a close, it seems that I'm having a kind of nostalgia that goes both backward and forward, simultaneously. I'm loving where the band has been, all the adventures we've had (like the epic Road to Oprah tour with The 1 Second Film!) and I'm REALLY excited about the FUTURE!
I adore the current incarnation of the Evangenitals, the ways in which we are growing, evolving, changing, the new music we are making, the revisioning of old songs, the addition of new instrumentation and players, and especially the LOVE that keeps bubbling up, flowing through me, and spouting out like a big 'ol fountain of joy. I dig it. And it seems I'm not the ONLY one that is digging it... word on the street is that we are pretty cool.
Evangenitals drummer David Hurlin is going to be drumming with EZRA REICH (http://ping.fm/f4xDC) TONIGHT (Tuesday Dec 2nd) at 11pm.
Since I can't be there (I'm in San Diego recording Johnny Cash/June Carter tunes with Cash'd Out) I'm hoping YOU can go and see this rare spectacle. :-)
Ezra Reich's music is (in my opinion) like John Maus arm-wrestling David Lynch in a Technicolor water ballet. Yes, you can quote me on that.
Regardless of how you felt about the 80's, you will be sure to appreciate how friggin' TIGHT this act is. I'm talking ORCHESTRATED. With STRINGS, man.
So go do it, dig it, and support our dear David Hurlin on his fantastic voyage. :-)
The Evangenitals are playing a free pre-Thanksgiving "Thank You" show on Wednesday November 26th, 11pm at Mr T's Bowl that is sure to be SUPER-AWESOME.
Why? Because our alt-country hillbilly love punk rock revolution SEXTET is taking it to the next level (SEPTET!) with the addition of Killsonic Marching Gang accordion player Ari Desano on this glorious night! Yee-haw!
AND...
We just got an AWESOME write-up in the Pasadena Weekly that speaks in great detail and descriptiveness of what a spectacular LIVE act we are... so if you've been putting off seeing us in the flesh, THE TIME IS NOW!
Check out the article here: http://ping.fm/X4lEo
Wednesday November 26th Mr. T's Bowl 5621 1/2 N. Figueroa St Los Angeles, CA 90042 Seeing Thingz, We You and Under the Asbury are also on the bill. Evangenitals at 11pm Call (323) 960-5693 for details
WE LOVE YOU IN THE GOOD WAY!
Juli & the Evangenitals http://ping.fm/vKQej
Can't make it? No worries!
More upcoming shows: December 3rd: Mr T's Bowl, Highland Park December 4th: The Buccaneer, Sierra Madre December 14th: Redwood Bar, Downtown Los Angeles
The Evangenitals are playing a free pre-Thanksgiving "Thank You" show on Wednesday November 26th, 11pm at Mr T's Bowl that is sure to be SUPER-AWESOME.
Why? Because our alt-country hillbilly love punk rock revolution SEXTET is taking it to the next level (SEPTET!) with the addition of Killsonic Marching Gang accordion player Ari Desano on this glorious night! Yee-haw!
AND...
We just got an AWESOME write-up in the Pasadena Weekly that speaks in great detail and descriptiveness of what a spectacular LIVE act we are... so if you've been putting off seeing us in the flesh, THE TIME IS NOW!
Wednesday November 26th Mr. T's Bowl 5621 1/2 N. Figueroa St Los Angeles, CA 90042 Seeing Thingz, We You and Under the Asbury are also on the bill. Evangenitals at 11pm Call (323) 960-5693 for details
More upcoming shows: December 3rd: Mr T's Bowl, Highland Park December 4th: The Buccaneer, Sierra Madre December 14th: Redwood Bar, Downtown Los Angeles