Evans Blue is a Canadian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, founded in 2005. They have sold over one million albums worldwide, including five studio albums and one live album.
History
Origins (2005)
Evans Blue came together in early 2005. Five musicians, then in three separate bands, met through a local musician's message board. Lead singer
Kevin Matisyn
Kevin Matisyn (born September 19, 1979) is the lead singer for the rock band Parabelle. He was the former the vocalist for Evans Blue.
Biography
Matisyn started listening to Metallica in his early teens and began his first band while at the age ...
suggested the name, which refers to the dye that is injected into the bloodstream to measure blood volume. The band then caught the attention of producer Trevor Kustiak (
Cool for August
Cool for August was a rock band consisting of notable Canadian singer-songwriter Shad Hills on guitar, Andrew Shives on bass, Gordon Vaughn on vocals, Trevor Kustiak on guitar, and Shane Hills on drums who was then replaced by Larry Voss in th ...
) and his partner Mari Dew, of The Pocket Studios. The original lead guitarist, Kevin Smith, left due to personal reasons before the group secured a record label.
They recorded three demo songs: "Black Hole", "Saturnalia" and "Starlight", all of which would appear on their first album.
''The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume'' (2005–2007)
Evans Blue completed work on their debut album, ''
The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume
''The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume'' is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Evans Blue. It was released on February 21, 2006. The album spawned two singles, " Cold (But I'm Still Here)" and "Over." It has sold more than 200, ...
'', in November 2005. Their first single, "
Cold (But I'm Still Here)
"Cold (But I'm Still Here)" is the first single off Evans Blue's debut album, ''The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume''. The song was released December 13, 2005, two months prior to the album release, and garnered frequent radio play in an ...
" hit airwaves in December and was accompanied by a video. The album was released February 21, 2006 through The Pocket Recordings/
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...
. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart, spent several weeks in the top 10 list and spawned a second single, "
Over
Over may refer to:
Places
*Over, Cambridgeshire, England
*Over, Cheshire, England
*Over, South Gloucestershire, England
* Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England
** Over Bridge
*Over, Seevetal, Germany
Music
Albums
* ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...
".
In March 2006, Evans Blue embarked upon their first U.S. tour alongside
Taproot. They also played festivals, and several concerts with
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...
. They have since played with bands such as
Staind
Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and dr ...
,
Alice in Chains,
10 Years
10 Years or Ten Years may refer to:
*Decade, a period of ten years
Film
* ''10 Years'' (2011 film), a film starring Channing Tatum
* ''Ten Years'' (2015 film), a Hong Kong film
Music
*10 Years (band), an American alternative metal band
* ''10 Ye ...
,
Three Days Grace,
Flyleaf
Flyleaf may refer to:
*In book design, a blank leaf in the front or back cover
* Flyleaf (band)
Flyleaf is an American rock band formed in Belton, Texas, in 2002. The band has charted on mainstream rock, Christian pop, and Christian metal ...
and former labelmates
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...
.
On April 1, 2006, drummer Darryl Brown left due to differences with bandmates' lifestyles. That night in Boston, drummer Danny D (formerly of the band Dogfight) was temporarily brought in. The band played acoustic sets until he was up to speed, and he continued through the rest of the tour, which lasted until late October.
''The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends'' (2007–2009)
After an eight-month stint touring around the United States, Evans Blue returned home and began work upon their second album, ''
The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends
''The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends'', commonly referred to as ''The Pursuit'', is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Evans Blue, released on July 24, 2007. The album was leaked onto the internet on May 23, 2007, two ...
''. Danny D left the band and was replaced by Howard Davis.
Evans Blue was nominated for New Group of the Year at the
Juno Awards of 2007
The Juno Awards of 2007 were hosted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on the weekend ending 1 April 2007. These ceremonies honoured music industry achievements in Canada during most of 2006. The event was well known for a possible tape delay by t ...
.
The first single from ''The Pursuit'' hit airwaves May 21, 2007 and was accompanied by a music video, directed by
Jesse Ewles. ''The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends'' was released on July 24, 2007.
In March 2007, Evans Blue recorded acoustic versions of each song from ''The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume''. For a limited time, this collection was included with each purchase of ''The Pursuit'' from
Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
, and contained commentary from Matisyn, as well as a making-of documentary for the second album. The FYE version of the album did not include the ''Unplugged Melody,'' but instead had two additional tracks.
On July 10, 2007, in Toronto, Evans Blue kicked off their first headlining tour, Curbside Confession of a Catastrophe. The tour stopped across the western United States, with occasional performances in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. They were accompanied by
Framing Hanley,
Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland was an American alternative metal band based in Texas. They produced two self-released albums before signing to Serjical Strike, Serj Tankian's vanity label at Universal Republic. There, they released their only major record labe ...
, and
Submersed throughout September, then were joined by
Saving Abel
Saving Abel is an American rock band from Corinth, Mississippi, founded in 2004 by Jared Weeks and Jason Null. The band is named after the biblical story of Cain and Abel, in which a man named Cain kills his brother Abel. Band member Jason Null ...
and Canadian rockers
Neurosonic
Neurosonic was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in February, 2006 by vocalist/guitarist Jason Darr, who was the former lead singer of Calgary's Out of Your Mouth. In addition to Jason, Neurosonic also consists of guitarist Troy Healy, accom ...
. This tour ended on December 31 in Houston, Texas, where they introduced a new song, "Good Enough", a song which was later scrapped.
At this point, Kevin Matisyn was voted out of the band. Parker Lauzon stated: "We did not choose anyone over him; he was simply voted out, not only because of musical differences but business differences as well. He was not making good decisions for this band anymore, and we as a group have decided to move on." (In 2009, Matisyn founded the band
Parabelle
Parabelle ('para' meaning 'to resemble; 'belle' meaning 'beauty' in French) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band that initially formed in 2007 as a side project by Kevin Matisyn, the former lead singer of Evans Blue, and Kenneth Nixon of Framing H ...
.)
''Evans Blue'' (2009–2010)
Dan Chandler
Daniel Chandler is an American singer from St. Louis, Missouri. He is best known for his work with rock band Evans Blue. Chandler was also the lead vocalist for the band Fight or Flight.
History
Chandler was born and raised in St. Louis, Miss ...
was announced as the new singer for Evans Blue in February 2009, and the band went into the studio with producer Trevor Kustiak to record their third album. The self-titled album was released through Sounds+Sights, exclusively via iTunes, on June 23, 2009.
The first song from the new album "Sick of It" was released on iTunes on March 31. The song went to No. 1 in the research at SiriusXM Octane and was No. 2 on the 2009 year-end Octane chart,. Based on this success, SiriusXM Octane added a second track, "Bulletproof," in October 2009.
In May 2010 Evans Blue and Sounds+Sights teamed up with indie label F.O.F. Entertainment/
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
for a physical release of their 2009 Evans Blue record in stores throughout the US and Canada. The album was released on July 27, 2010, and included the bonus track "
Erase My Scars
"Erase My Scars" is a song by Canadian rock band Evans Blue. It was released in July 2010, as the third single from Evans Blue's self titled album. The song is dedicated to lead singer Dan Chandler's nephew, who died from brain cancer at the age ...
," which was chosen as the new single.
"Erase My Scars" hit the US airwaves in May 2010, and the band hit the road in early July 2010 for the first leg of their Erase My Scars 2010 Tour with Kansas City band
Red Line Chemistry
Red Line Chemistry was an American hard rock band formed in 2004, hailing from Kansas City, Missouri. The band went on hiatus in 2014, but has since re-released their first album and performed at select shows.
History
Originally named Penumbra, ...
, covering 10,000 miles in 6 weeks. Evans Blue stopped in LA mid-tour to shoot the video for "Erase My Scars" with Director
Adrian Picardi
Adrian Picardi (born April 1987) is an American filmmaker originally from ''South Pasadena,'' California. For all his works thus far, he has been credited as director, writer, cinematographer, and Film editor. He got his start in the industry by ...
and Producer
Eric Ro
Eric Ro is a Korean-American producer based in Los Angeles.
Career
In 2008, Ro produced an original seriesThe Resistance for Starz Media, co-produced by Sam Raimi’Ghost House Pictures Set in a post apocalyptic world, The Resistance aired on ...
of Northern Five Entertainment. (The video is dedicated to Dan Chandler's nephew Chase Franklin, who died of a rare brain cancer at age 8.) In November, the band went on the second leg of the tour, this time with Oklahoma natives Taddy Porter and EB's Sounds+Sights label mates
Rains Rains may refer to:
Surname
*Rains (surname)
Places
* Rains, South Carolina, an unincorporated community in Marion County, South Carolina
* Rains County, Texas, a county in East Texas
Entertainment
* ''The Rains'', a 2016 zombie novel by Gregg Hu ...
.
''Graveyard of Empires'' (2011–2012)
On the Erase My Scars tour, Evans Blue debuted songs from their next album ''
Graveyard of Empires
The graveyard of empires is a sobriquet often associated with Afghanistan. It originates from the numerous historical examples of foreign powers such as the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire, Macedonian Empire, Macedonian empire, Mongol Empire, ...
''. The band began recording the album in September 2011. On September 28, 2012, "This Time It's Different" made its worldwide debut on
Sirius Radio. The album was released on April 17, 2012; it peaked at No. 40 on the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
.
On November 8, 2011, Evans Blue announced, via Facebook, that drummer Howard "H-Bomb" Davis had left the band, posting "Musically, we were moving in different directions, so this is the best for everyone, and we wish him all the best." The departure was clearly amicable, with Davis posting "This change is for the best...There is no beef with any of the members of EB." The band brought in session drummers
Mike McClure
Mike McClure (born July 6, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer from Tecumseh, Oklahoma. He is currently the frontman for the Mike McClure Band. McClure is a founding member of The Great Divide, and was a member until he and the b ...
and
Jason Pierce
Jason Andrew Pierce (born 19 November 1965 in Rugby) is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 ...
(
Our Lady Peace), both for recording and touring; Davis is not credited on ''Graveyard of Empires''.
On December 9, 2012, Evans Blue debuted the song "Halo" on
Revolver Magazine's website; the next day, it was released on iTunes and other sites (the lyric video for the song had been released in July). “This Time It’s Different” was a Top 30 rock radio hit nationally and a number-one song on SiriusXM Octane, The Buzz in Houston, 89X in Detroit and The Banana in Flint, as well as Top 5 on KUPD Phoenix. The song also debuted in the Top 25 Rock Singles on iTunes. “Halo” and “Beyond The Stars” also went on to be number-one songs on the SiriusXM Octane BIG UNS COUNTDOWN, and "Warrior" climbed to No. 3. "Halo" was also No. 9 on the Octane 2012 Year-End Countdown and No. 18 on the 89X Detroit 2012 Year-End Countdown, and “This Time It’s Different” was No. 12 on The Buzz Houston's 2012 Year-End Countdown and No. 13 on Octane.
Evans Blue toured throughout the summer of 2012 in support of ''Graveyard of Empires'' this time with Columbus, Ohio-based band ''State Your Cause''. The first show took play on July 6 at The Machine Shop in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, where the band took the opportunity to shoot a new live video for "Halo".
Hiatus and ''Letters From the Dead'' (2012–present)
In an interview, Chandler stated that Evans Blue would be taking a break, due to the fact that Parker Lauzon and Vlad Tanaskovic were becoming fathers. Chandler joined a side project named
Fight or Flight with
Disturbed
Disturbed may refer to:
Books
* ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author)
Film and TV
* ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell
* "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs''
* "The Disturbed", a 20 ...
members
Dan Donegan
Daniel Joseph Donegan (born August 1, 1968) is an American musician who serves as the guitarist and keyboardist for heavy metal band Disturbed.
Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band called Vandal, which was a ...
and
Mike Wengren
Michael Wengren (born September 3, 1971) is an American drummer, best known for his work with Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Disturbed (band), Disturbed. He is one of the founding members of the band, which was formed in 1994. Wengren is k ...
. He also started a hip-hop project called A Strange Day of Calm, and a band called Switchthree.
In August 2015, Evans Blue began recording their fifth album, ''Letters from the Dead''. The first single, "iGod", was released on January 8, 2016; with the album's release following shortly thereafter.
The band has had no activity since. However, on August 10, 2021, Chandler posted, on the Evans Blue Facebook page, that he has produced an album with his "other band", Emissary Echo. Lauzon and Pitter are listed as band members.
Band members
Current
* Parker Lauzon – rhythm guitar (2005–present)
* Joe Pitter – bass (2005–present)
* Vlad Tanaskovic – lead guitar (2005–present)
* Dan Chandler – vocals (2009–present)
Session
* Danny Desharnais – drums (2006)
* Mike McClure – drums (''Graveyard of Empires'')
*
Jason Pierce
Jason Andrew Pierce (born 19 November 1965 in Rugby) is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 ...
– drums (''Graveyard of Empires'', ''Letters from the Dead'')
* Dusty Saxton – drums (2012, 2016)
Former
* Darryl Brown – drums (2005–2006)
*
Kevin Matisyn
Kevin Matisyn (born September 19, 1979) is the lead singer for the rock band Parabelle. He was the former the vocalist for Evans Blue.
Biography
Matisyn started listening to Metallica in his early teens and began his first band while at the age ...
– vocals (2005–2008)
* Howard Davis – drums (2007–2011)
Timeline
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DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/2005 till:17/03/2018
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Lead value:teal legend:Lead_guitar
id:Guitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2005
ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:2006
LineData =
layer:back
color:studio
at:21/02/2006
at:24/07/2007
at:23/06/2009
at:17/04/2012
at:15/04/2016
BarData =
bar:Matisyn text:"Kevin Matisyn"
bar:Chandler text:"Dan Chandler"
bar:Tanaskovic text:"Vlad Tanaskovic"
bar:Lauzon text:"Parker Lauzon"
bar:Pitter text:"Joe Pitter"
bar:Brown text:"Darryl Brown"
bar:Davis text:"Howard Davis"
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Matisyn from:01/01/2005 till:28/07/2008 color:Vocals
bar:Chandler from:01/02/2009 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Lauzon from:01/01/2005 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Tanaskovic from:01/01/2005 till:end color:Lead
bar:Pitter from:01/01/2005 till:end color:Bass
bar:Brown from:01/01/2005 till:01/04/2006 color:Drums
bar:Davis from:01/02/2007 till:08/11/2011 color:Drums
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Music videos
DVDs
* ''
The Unplugged Melody
''The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends'', commonly referred to as ''The Pursuit'', is the second studio album by Canadian Rock music, rock band Evans Blue, released on July 24, 2007. The album was leaked onto the internet on May 23 ...
'' (2007)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Hollywood Records artists
Musical groups established in 2005
Musical groups from Toronto
Canadian alternative rock groups
Articles which contain graphical timelines
2005 establishments in Ontario