Evans Blue
Encyclopedia
Evans Blue is an alternative rock
band from Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
founded in 2005.
suggested the name, which refers to the dye that is injected into the bloodstream to measure blood volume, which he had read in one of his medical books. The band then caught the attention of producer Trevor Kustiak (Cool for August
) and his partner Mari Dew, of The Pocket Studios.
They recorded three demo songs, titled "Black Hole", "Saturnalia" and "Starlight", all of which were available on their personal MySpace page. At that time, updates on the bands' progress and prose by former lead singer, Kevin Matisyn were periodically given via the MySpace blogs.
, in November 2005. Their first single, "Cold (But I'm Still Here)
" hit airwaves in December and was later accompanied by a music video. The album was released February 21, 2006 through The Pocket Recordings/Hollywood Records
. It debuted at #1 and spent several weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and spawned a second single, "Over
."
In late March 2006, Evans Blue embarked upon their first U.S. tour alongside Taproot
. They have since played with bands such as Staind
, Alice in Chains
, 10 Years, Three Days Grace
, Flyleaf
and former labelmates Breaking Benjamin
.
On April 1, 2006, drummer Darryl Brown left without explanation. That night in Boston, drummer Danny D (formerly of the band Dogfight) was 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.
. Danny D left the band and was replaced by Howard Davis.
In March 2007, Evans Blue was nominated for "Best New Band" at the annual Juno Awards.
The first single off of their second album, 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. The bands' website was given an overhaul to portray the sounds, images and themes of the new album. In March 2007, Evans Blue recorded acoustic versions of each song from The Melody to be released on . For a limited time, this was included with each purchase of The Pursuit from Best Buy, and contains commentary from lead singer, 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, Evans Blue kicked off their first head-lining tour, Curbside Confession of a Catastrophe, in Toronto. The rest of the tour stopped across the western United States, with occasional performances in Vancouver
, British Columbia
. They were accompanied by Framing Hanley
, Fair to Midland
, SkinCrawl and Submersed
throughout the summer 2007 tour, which spanned through September. After a one month break, the tour kicked off again October 27, 2007. Framing Hanley rejoined the band for the tour, with the additions of Saving Abel and Canadian rockers Neurosonic
. This tour ended on December 31 in Houston, Texas, where they introduced a new song, "Good Enough," which would have been released on the upcoming third album. However, since Kevin Matisyn was voted out of the band, the song "Good Enough" has been scrapped.
On July 28, 2008 Kevin Matisyn posted on his MySpace page that he is "formerly of Evans Blue." This was confirmed by Evans Blue on their MySpace page. Parker Lauzon of the band stated in a bulletin that "We did not choose anyone over him; he was simply voted out, not only because of musical differences but business differences as well. He simply was not making good decisions for this band anymore, and we as a group have decided to move on."
The first song from the new album "Sick Of It" was released on iTunes on March 31 and has since sold over 30,000 copies. The song went to #1 in the research at SiriusXM Octane and was #2 on the 2009 year-end Octane chart, Top 5 phones on KUPD in Phoenix and featured on 98KUPD's "Top 98 of 2009," and received airplay in several other midwest and southern markets. Based on their success with "Sick Of It," SiriusXM Octane added a second track, "Bulletproof," in late October 2009.
In May 2010 Evans Blue and Sounds+Sights teamed up with indie label F.O.F. Entertainment/EMI
for a physical release of their 2009 Evans Blue record in stores throughout the US and Canada. The physical, self titled album was released on July 27, 2010 and included the bonus "Erase My Scars
," 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, 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 and Producer Eric Ro of Northern Five Entertainment. The video is dedicated to Dan Chandler's nephew Chase Franklin, who died of a rare brain cancer at the age of 8; the Keeping Chase Foundation (www.keepingchase.com) has been established in his name.
Evans Blue hits the road for the second leg of the Erase My Scars 2010 Tour, this time with Oklahoma natives Taddy Porter and EB's Sounds+Sights labelmates Rains, in November 2010.
On November 8, 2011 Evans Blue announced that they and Howard "H-Bomb" Davis decided to go separate ways. The band announced to fans via facebook the following message, "We wanted you to hear it from us first, but we have parted ways with drummer Howard "H-Bomb" Davis. Musically, we were moving in different directions, so this is the best for everyone, and we wish him all the best. No permanent replacement has been chosen yet, but a good friend of Dan Chandler will be playing on the album and the December shows." Current drummer, Mike McClure will make his debut on the new Dan Korneff mix of the first single “This Time It’s Different,” which will be available next week.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
founded in 2005.
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 MatisynKevin Matisyn
Kevin James Clarkson known professionally as Kevin Matisyn, is the current singer for the rock band Parabelle. He is the former singer for Evans Blue.-Musical beginnings & Evans Blue:...
suggested the name, which refers to the dye that is injected into the bloodstream to measure blood volume, which he had read in one of his medical books. The band then caught the attention of producer Trevor Kustiak (Cool for August
Cool For August
Cool for August was a rock band consisting of notable Canadian singer-songwriter Shad Hills on guitar, Andrew Shives on bass, Gordan Vaughn on vocals, Trevor Kustiak on guitar, and Shane Hills on drums. They made their television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with their hit song "Trials"...
) and his partner Mari Dew, of The Pocket Studios.
They recorded three demo songs, titled "Black Hole", "Saturnalia" and "Starlight", all of which were available on their personal MySpace page. At that time, updates on the bands' progress and prose by former lead singer, Kevin Matisyn were periodically given via the MySpace blogs.
The Melody... and tours (2006–2007)
Evans Blue completed work on their debut album, The Melody and the Energetic Nature of VolumeThe Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume
-Personnel:Evans Blue*Kevin Matisyn - Vocals*Parker Lauzon - Rhythm guitar*Vlad Tanaskovic - Lead guitar*Joe Pitter - Bass*Darryl Brown - DrumsAdditional musicians*Stuart Cameron - acoustic guitar on Beg...
, in November 2005. Their first single, "Cold (But I'm Still Here)
Cold (But I'm Still Here)
"Cold " is the first single off Evans Blue's debut album, The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume. The song was released in late 2005, two months prior to the album release, and garnered frequent radio play in anticipation of the upcoming album. Evans Blue's official MySpace explains the...
" hit airwaves in December and was later accompanied by a music video. The album was released February 21, 2006 through The Pocket Recordings/Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
. It debuted at #1 and spent several weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and spawned a second single, "Over
Over (Evans Blue song)
"Over" is the second single from Evans Blue's debut album The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume, and their second single overall. Matisyn and Pitter claim that 'Over' is the song that holds the most meaning to them....
."
In late March 2006, Evans Blue embarked upon their first U.S. tour alongside Taproot
Taproot (band)
Taproot is a four-piece rock group from Ann Arbor, Michigan. They are most known for their hit single "Poem" , as well as a number of other singles from 2000 to the present.-Pre-formation:...
. They have since played with bands such as Staind
Staind
Staind is an American rock band that was formed in 1995 in Springfield, Massachusetts. For 16 years, the band consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki...
, Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, 10 Years, Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...
, Flyleaf
Flyleaf
Flyleaf is an American alternative metal band, formed in the Belton and Temple, Texas regions in 2000. The band has charted on mainstream rock, Christian pop and Christian metal genres. They performed around the United States in 2003 until releasing their eponymous debut album, Flyleaf, in 2005....
and former labelmates Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, currently consisting of Benjamin Burnley and Chad Szeliga. The band has released four studio albums to date and a greatest hits album that was released on August 16, 2011. The group initially went on indefinite hiatus due...
.
On April 1, 2006, drummer Darryl Brown left without explanation. That night in Boston, drummer Danny D (formerly of the band Dogfight) was 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 and member changes (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 EndsThe Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends
The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends, commonly referred to simply as The Pursuit, is the second studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Evans Blue. It was released on July 24, 2007 . The first single is "The Pursuit" and was released to radio on May 21, 2007. The Pursuit was...
. Danny D left the band and was replaced by Howard Davis.
In March 2007, Evans Blue was nominated for "Best New Band" at the annual Juno Awards.
The first single off of their second album, The Pursuit, hit airwaves May 21, 2007 and was accompanied by a music video, directed by Jesse Ewles
Jesse Ewles
Jesse James Ewles is a Canadian independent visual artist in Toronto, Canada.He has directed music videos for the bands Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal and Owen Pallett. In January of 2010, he completed his first short film for Bravo! TV entitled Kingdom of Frogs...
. The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends was released on July 24, 2007. The bands' website was given an overhaul to portray the sounds, images and themes of the new album. In March 2007, Evans Blue recorded acoustic versions of each song from The Melody to be released on . For a limited time, this was included with each purchase of The Pursuit from Best Buy, and contains commentary from lead singer, 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, Evans Blue kicked off their first head-lining tour, Curbside Confession of a Catastrophe, in Toronto. The rest of the tour stopped across the western United States, with occasional performances in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. They were accompanied by Framing Hanley
Framing Hanley
Framing Hanley is an American rock band from White House, Tennessee, formed in 2005. They released their first studio album in August 2007 entitled The Moment. They are best known for their song "Hear Me Now" and their cover of "Lollipop", originally by Lil Wayne...
, Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland is an American progressive metal band that formed in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas. They are currently signed to E1 Music. According to the band's official website, their name comes from "...an old Texan play on the term 'fair to middling'." The band produced two self-released...
, SkinCrawl and Submersed
Submersed
Submersed was an American rock band from Stephenville, Texas. They disbanded in 2008.-History:Submersed was signed to Wind-up Records, and worked with Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti on its debut studio album, In Due Time, which featured the singles "You Run", "Hollow", and the title track...
throughout the summer 2007 tour, which spanned through September. After a one month break, the tour kicked off again October 27, 2007. Framing Hanley rejoined the band for the tour, with the additions of Saving Abel and Canadian rockers Neurosonic
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...
. This tour ended on December 31 in Houston, Texas, where they introduced a new song, "Good Enough," which would have been released on the upcoming third album. However, since Kevin Matisyn was voted out of the band, the song "Good Enough" has been scrapped.
On July 28, 2008 Kevin Matisyn posted on his MySpace page that he is "formerly of Evans Blue." This was confirmed by Evans Blue on their MySpace page. Parker Lauzon of the band stated in a bulletin that "We did not choose anyone over him; he was simply voted out, not only because of musical differences but business differences as well. He simply was not making good decisions for this band anymore, and we as a group have decided to move on."
Evans Blue (2009–2010)
Dan Chandler 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, Evans Blue, 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 and has since sold over 30,000 copies. The song went to #1 in the research at SiriusXM Octane and was #2 on the 2009 year-end Octane chart, Top 5 phones on KUPD in Phoenix and featured on 98KUPD's "Top 98 of 2009," and received airplay in several other midwest and southern markets. Based on their success with "Sick Of It," SiriusXM Octane added a second track, "Bulletproof," in late October 2009.
In May 2010 Evans Blue and Sounds+Sights teamed up with indie label F.O.F. Entertainment/EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
for a physical release of their 2009 Evans Blue record in stores throughout the US and Canada. The physical, self titled album was released on July 27, 2010 and included the bonus "Erase My Scars
Erase My Scars
"Erase My Scars" is the third single from Evans Blue's self titled album. The song was released in mid 2010 and was dedicated to lead singer Dan Chandler's nephew who died from brain cancer at the age of eight. A music video was shot and directed by Adrian Picardi and produced by Eric Ro of...
," 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, 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 and Producer Eric Ro of Northern Five Entertainment. The video is dedicated to Dan Chandler's nephew Chase Franklin, who died of a rare brain cancer at the age of 8; the Keeping Chase Foundation (www.keepingchase.com) has been established in his name.
Evans Blue hits the road for the second leg of the Erase My Scars 2010 Tour, this time with Oklahoma natives Taddy Porter and EB's Sounds+Sights labelmates Rains, in November 2010.
Upcoming 4th Album (2011–present)
Evans Blue began pre-production on the fourth studio album. New songs were debuted during the current 2011 tour. The band then began recording in September. The upcoming album was slated to be released on December 20, 2011 but was moved to early 2012. On September 28, "This Time It's Different" made its worldwide debut on Sirius Radio.On November 8, 2011 Evans Blue announced that they and Howard "H-Bomb" Davis decided to go separate ways. The band announced to fans via facebook the following message, "We wanted you to hear it from us first, but we have parted ways with drummer Howard "H-Bomb" Davis. Musically, we were moving in different directions, so this is the best for everyone, and we wish him all the best. No permanent replacement has been chosen yet, but a good friend of Dan Chandler will be playing on the album and the December shows." Current drummer, Mike McClure will make his debut on the new Dan Korneff mix of the first single “This Time It’s Different,” which will be available next week.
Current
- Dan Chandler - vocals (2009–present)
- Parker Lauzon - rhythm guitar (2005–present)
- Vlad Tanaskovic - lead guitar (2005–present)
- Joe Pitter - bass (2005–present)
Former
- Darryl Brown - drums (2005–2006)
- Danny D - drums (2006)
- Kevin MatisynKevin MatisynKevin James Clarkson known professionally as Kevin Matisyn, is the current singer for the rock band Parabelle. He is the former singer for Evans Blue.-Musical beginnings & Evans Blue:...
- vocals (2005–2008) - Howard Davis - drums (2007–2011)
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Ind. Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
US Alt. |
US Hard Rock |
US Rock |
||
| 2006 | The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume -Personnel:Evans Blue*Kevin Matisyn - Vocals*Parker Lauzon - Rhythm guitar*Vlad Tanaskovic - Lead guitar*Joe Pitter - Bass*Darryl Brown - DrumsAdditional musicians*Stuart Cameron - acoustic guitar on Beg...
|
106 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends, commonly referred to simply as The Pursuit, is the second studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Evans Blue. It was released on July 24, 2007 . The first single is "The Pursuit" and was released to radio on May 21, 2007. The Pursuit was... |
44 | — | — | 12 | 5 | 13 |
| 2009 | Evans Blue Evans Blue (album) -Personnel:Evans Blue*Dan Chandler - vocals*Parker Lauzon - rhythm guitar*Vlad Tanaskovic - lead guitar*Joe Pitter - bass*Howard Davis - drumsProduction*Produced by Trevor Kustiak*Mixed by Mark Makoway*Executive producer - Mark Dew... EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
— | — | 48 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | TBA
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | US Alt. |
US Main. |
US Rock Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Cold (But I'm Still Here) Cold (But I'm Still Here) "Cold " is the first single off Evans Blue's debut album, The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume. The song was released in late 2005, two months prior to the album release, and garnered frequent radio play in anticipation of the upcoming album. Evans Blue's official MySpace explains the... " |
28 | 8 | — | The Melody... | ||
| 2006 | "Over Over (Evans Blue song) "Over" is the second single from Evans Blue's debut album The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume, and their second single overall. Matisyn and Pitter claim that 'Over' is the song that holds the most meaning to them.... " |
— | 28 | — | |||
| "Beg" | — | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | "The Pursuit The Pursuit "The Pursuit", the first single off Evans Blue's second album, The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends, hit airwaves May 21, 2007 and was accompanied by a music video, directed by Jesse Ewles. The song peaked at #32 on US Modern Rock and #17 on US Mainstream Rock. It was released on... " |
32 | 17 | — | The Pursuit... | ||
| "Shine Your Cadillac" | — | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | "Sick of It" | — | — | — | Evans Blue | ||
| "Bulletproof" | — | — | — | ||||
| 2010 | "Erase My Scars Erase My Scars "Erase My Scars" is the third single from Evans Blue's self titled album. The song was released in mid 2010 and was dedicated to lead singer Dan Chandler's nephew who died from brain cancer at the age of eight. A music video was shot and directed by Adrian Picardi and produced by Eric Ro of... " |
— | 27 | 45 | |||
| 2011 | "Say It" | — | — | — | |||
| "This Time It's Different" | — | — | — | TBA | |||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||