Evan Way - "Hard To See The Light"

May 23, 2009

Somewhere between Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Downtown, I met up with Evan Way at his house; an unassuming craftsman filled with a ragtag collection of 70's furniture, assorted knickknacks (including Russian nesting-dolls in the likeness of former Dodger greats), oil paintings and framed posters leaned against the walls, not to mention an assortment of stringed instruments (actually the house is Parson Redhead's bassist Aaron Ballard's, Evan just happens to live there along with a few other people). Way, The Parson Redhead's frontman, has been playing solo shows around the L.A. area as of late, filling out a seemingly non-stop run of dates between his various bands. He was milking a cup of tea this particular morning, fighting off something of a cold in preparation for a two-week West Coast swing by the Parsons with Cotton Jones.

Sitting down with just an acoustic guitar, stripped away from the wall of sound, four-part vocal harmonies, pedal steel, keyboards, and vintage fuzz that the Parsons have so well perfected, Evan Way might be at his best. Not to take anything away from the full band, and certainly not to say that the instrumentation isn't amazing. But there is a power and sincerity to his songwriting, the words, the melodies. True folk music.

It seems to me that if Evan Way were born 40 years earlier, he might be adored in a way that might not be possible for folk singers anymore. It's not often in my experience that you hear a musician and can sense something big happening. That strangely unstoppable, inescapable force. This is one of those times.

Evan played 5 songs that sunny Saturday, including a Damien Jurado cover.

Find out more about Evan Way: myspace.com/evanway


Camera: Elliot Glass
Sound: Elliot Glass
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