by Noe Gutierrez
In my short time writing about music and musicians in the desert, I have done my best to remain objective and not implant too much of my persuasion in a piece. This week we feature the musical brood Evaro. For young members of a family to have such a sense of being and elevated level of maturity, I couldn’t help but reflect on myself. Upon leaving our session that evening, I was absolutely stirred.
On a recent weekday my 21 Exits The Podcast producer/audio engineer, Sarah Jimenez, and I were invited to meet with the family band Evaro in Joshua Tree, CA. We drove up from Indio to Joshua Tree and had our usual conversation discussing our endeavors and musical plans, not realizing the highly compelling family that awaited us. In Joshua Tree there is a 10-15 degree drop in temperature. Once we exited the vehicle it was apparent I did not dress accordingly. We were greeted and welcomed graciously by all of Evaro. Sarah had previously been introduced to Bryanna, the eldest sibling, at the most recent Ozomatli show at the Date Shed in Indio. As a general rule I am mindful of my surroundings and do my best to be professional in most all that I do. As I see Sarah greet everyone with a hug, I am aware of this but feel that I must remain neutral so I shake each of the family members’ hands with a polite, “Nice to meet you and thank you for having us”.
The Evaro Vibrations
Evaro are Gabriella Evaro on vocals and bass, Gene Evaro Jr. on vocals, guitar, keyboard, sax and percussion, Shavaughna Evaro on vocals and guitar and Bryanna Evaro on vocals and bass. Ben Kennedy is their usual drummer while Mitchell Arganda is their well versed pinch hitter on drums.
The term eclectic does not do Evaro justice. Bryanna eloquently delineates their music as “a collective sound”. From my perspective, I hear the Jazz, Blues, Funk, Soul, Latin and Reggae influences while having to concede that there is a World music element intertwined. Gene asserts his family’s divine will towards music, “We’ve been marinated in that environment where music was always speaking to us. We weren’t really sure what it really meant until now. Now we’ve exercised that muscle. That’s our barometer that’s how we judge things. This is good because it feels good.”
Their self-disclosed influences run the gamut; disco, soul, funk, and classic rock. Artists like Toto, Gino Minnelli, War, Three Dog Night, Sly & the Family Stone and even Whitesnake. Their parents were integral in their harmonious growth. “Our dad is a great producer and songwriter so he takes many forms. Our mom has such an artsy sensitive ear to her. Her kind of music was a lot deeper. Our chick rock really shows.”
Evaro utilize a number of different music instruments in their recording and performing. All of the members play several different instruments and are constantly implementing new music tools. “I love instruments! It’s like being an artist and finding a new color,” Gene joyfully claims.
Gene plays his guitar in a distinct manner. He plays a right-handed guitar left-handed with the guitar strings remaining as is. Gene explains his peculiar yet genuine playing method, “In the house there were no left-handed guitars. I’m left-handed naturally. I just picked up the guitar and I sat it in my lap. It’s like learning anything else. I don’t know anything different. I strum down, which would be upstrokes. I see the guitar from the bottom up, which makes sense, like a piano, left to right.” Regarding Gene’s playing, Shavaughn states unpretentiously, “He gets out there sometimes.”
Evaro write music both separately and collaboratively. This process is also predominantly completed while on stage. “Most of our best music is improvised and later perfected,” Shavaughn proudly admits.
The band has frequently performed at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneer Town Palace as well as being a staple at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club’s annual Doo Wop in the Desert, a throwback Valentine’s Day Party. They performed a short tour in Hawaii in 2009 and have played in Los Angeles a handful of times. They have also placed their stamp on The Date Shed in Indio. After discussing the High Desert music scene, it appears they are most proud of their affiliation with the yearly Joshua Tree Music Festival.
The High Desert Scene
The High Desert has habitually maintained a vibrant music scene. Evaro are well aware of this and that is why they have typically maintained roots there. Shavaughn elaborates on the divergent culture that can be found there, “The music scene in the high desert is at a totally different level than anywhere else. There’s so much solidarity between the artists and musicians out here. It’s really a way of life, just living breathing and walking the walk of the lifestyle, spreading the good word through peoples’ music. Musicians out here are very serious they came out here to collectively found something out here. It’s very pure and beautiful out here. You can hear that a lot in our music. The influence of the desert and the people and just the whole creative vibe out here is great. When we are all just vibing together, that really is a reflection of how engrained this High Desert is in us.”
Gabriela is the youngest of the performing Evaros. She grew up in Joshua Tree and describes her hometown, “It’s amazing! It’s beautiful! The community is super creative and really tight. Everybody’s super-inspiring.”
Natalie the Hummingbird
The loss of their sister Natalie is tragic. Natalie passed away in 2008 due to a vehicle accident in Tennessee. Gabriela maintained her composure when sharing about the loss of Natalie. As Bryanna begins to talk about performing as a family again after an almost two year hiatus, Gabriella becomes more emotional and sensitive to the reality that Natalie cannot be witness to this rebirth. There is a silence that follows that brings a feeling of peace. This silence is necessary for healing. As uncomfortable as it may have appeared, we seemed to find comfort in the silence, as if Natalie was right there with us.
Below is a response from each of Natalie’s siblings.
Gabriella shares the awakening they have experienced after her passing. “It changed us and how we see things now. Without that happening I don’t think I would be where I am at now. I think after everything when we hang out and we’re all together I can see her in all of us and I never used to see that. She’s always here. The spirit of her is so alive in us. It forced us to be together in the worst way possible. The music that’s coming out and us playing together, it’s always intense.”
“Nat was all of us. People gravitate towards us. We started to play music again. Now we’re on an elevated level as people and in our healing and in our growing and understanding that we can talk about our sister without it being weird. We can cry and laugh. We have younger siblings and it’s very important to keep her alive, keep talking about her and telling stories,” Bryanna stated.
Gene touches on his memories of Natalie. “You can reflect back on when she was here and it was just like what a gift it was to have been in the presence of her and that echoes through all of us. She taught me a lot about music and I was the musical one. She wasn’t really musically inclined, she had an ear, she had a feel and she had a heart. After her passing it definitely kinda chiseled a hole into us but I find that what we’re filling it with is beautiful.”
In continuing to endure the loss of Natalie, Shavanaugh states, “Natalie, our sister, is the key to everything that we’re doing right now. I just feel like so much of everything that’s happened to us, so much of where we are at had to have been because of her life. This is the path that we were supposed to take together. I find so much inspiration in the moments that I had with my sister and even more in the moments I was not able to. I’m still living my life and it has taught me just to make sure that I am really living it. And if that means making sure the integrity of everything I do at a very honest level than that’s what I need to do. I think that shows in our relationships as siblings the way that we treat other people represent ourselves and our music and the love that we have to give that really all has manifested itself because of everything that happened with losing someone who was too young. It’s crazy how complex you start thinking.”
Mitchell is the Evaro’s ‘adopted’ brother. He has been friends with Gabriella since high school. He provides his interpretation of how he views Natalie and her impact on himself today. “I never met her in person, but for some reason I feel I have a very intimate connection to her. I’ve gotten o know her through her brothers and sisters. Every time I see a hummingbird I instantly think of her and that was never anything I was cognizant of or intellectually thought of. Every time I see a hummingbird I get this wave of perspective.”
The Inevitable
As we wound down and prepared to leave Joshua Tree, it was apparent the Evaros enjoyed our visit and we continued to fellowship and discuss music, family, dogs and Doo Wop. Suffice to say, we embraced each other both physically and figuratively. Each hug was a confirmation that we are all more alike than we are different. I empathized with the Evaros having lost a family member at such a young age. The loss of someone dear to you is not a life event that you can be fully prepared for. It is a life event that is imminent.
The Evaros are not ‘back’ and have not ‘risen from the ashes’. The Evaros have never left. The loss of Natalie has made them stronger and more appreciative of each other. She still lives through them and provides inspiration.
After meeting the Evaros and getting to know them you are driven to look at yourself and ask yourself questions about your own life perspective. Are we doing all we can to help our fellow man/woman? Evaro is about love. They are about sharing that love…with everyone.
This interview, by far, was my toughest assignment so far, be it either through CV Weekly or our weekly podcast. The Evaros provide you with a sense of well-being, a sense of calm. Their contentment is contagious. Their collective maturity is visible. I have a feeling the Evaro family will be providing us with more great music and opportunities to connect with them.
In closing, those of us who have been in the desert for a while are aware of the High Desert and its restorative properties. There’s a holistic approach to life that is not found elsewhere. Healing runs parallel to Evaro’s music because it’s all happening at the same time. Evaro were certain to return to their calling. Their journey reminds us that we are still healing.
You can learn more about Evaro and their journey at www.evaromusic.com or ‘Like’ them on Facebook.
