EVANGENITALS: We Are The Evangenitals

Evangenitals

We Are The Evangenitals

© 2005 Evangenitals (807207036524)

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The first release by the alt-country, cow-punk, hillbilly hippies The Evangenitals. Features the barn-burning, crowd-pleasing hillbilly hoedown "Gasoline" as well as their tender reinvention of a classic "Hey Ya'll"

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notes

*** THE DEFINITION ***

evangelical: characterized by ardent or crusading enthusiasm; zealous.

genitals: the organs of creation; the sexual organs; the private parts.

*** THE SHORT TRANSMISSION ***

The Evangenitals were once a fictitious band - a fib on a phony website born to amuse ourselves and maybe a few friends. On a whim, founders Juli Crockett, Lisa Dee, and Brett Lyda (who all worked at the same sex toy company in L.A.) brought the ghost to life and debuted a handful of "hillbilly truck-stop lullabies" for Arlo's open mic at the infamous Mr T's Bowl. The crowd response was fanatical and the path was then clear. Remarkably, in just a few short months the Evangenitals emerged as bonified headliners, packing houses and making converts, young and old, every inch of the way. The addition of bassist Jeff "gimme some sugar" Jones ratified the divine balance of Evangender- two dudes, two singing chicks, 3 nylon-string guitars, and a whole lotta loving! Then they went one step further, and beyond, with the addition of master skin-beater George Bernardo, and sometimes-genital Dave "Salad" Salardino on the banjo and mandolin. The eclectic life mix of this mad band is delicious: Juli is an undefeated professional boxer & ordained minister, Lisa Dee a trained opera singer, Jeff Jones a skateboarding ping pong master, Georgie can make you smile with a wink of his eye, and Brett... well, we call him Mr Fantastic.

Ladies and gents... this is the goodness.


*** THE BIG BIOGRAPHICAL ***

Formed in December, 2003 by Juli Crockett in the wake of an injury-aborted pro boxing career (3-0, two KOs in the 135 lb. lightweight division), L.A.'s Evangenitals provide certain proof that, in creative matters, the shortest distance between two points isn't necessarily a straight line. As the group's principal songwriter and lead vocalist, Juli's exhaustive performing schedule has coincided with her attentions to ongoing careers as a playwright, stage director, an advanced graduate student in philosophy and a position as webmaster within one of the world's largest independent distributors of sex toys and related erotic paraphernalia. It's a busy life.

It was within the offices of the sex toy distributorship that the Evangenitals were formed (and, in an oblique way, where they acquired their name). JT's Stockroom in Silverlake ("the crème de la crème of online sex toy shopping... all orders shipped discreetly.") harbors a sizeable number of musicians among its workforce. When Juli's boxing career was unexpectedly derailed by leg and shoulder injuries suffered during training, she began experimenting with her guitar and found herself surrounded by experienced performers. One particular pair of co-workers shared her leanings toward the style of "urban hillbilly truck-stop lullabies" that have become the group's signature sound. In short order, the line-up of the Evangenitals took shape.

Lisa Dee is a trained operatic soprano with an extensive resume in both classical music and experimental jazz. In addition to performing with the Evangenitals, she currently exhibits her experimental talents with Killsonic and Las Panchas. Brett Lyda, formerly lead guitarist for L.A. indie band Judithstar, is a veteran guitarist and vocalist who also performs as a solo artist.

The band's distinctive sound derives from the nylon-string acoustic guitars on which the three accompany themselves, augmented by a subtle rhythm section comprised of indie favorite Ukefink's mandolin playing drummer, Dave Salardino and space-bassist Jeff Jones.
The music is tuneful, steeped in irresistible vocal harmonies and shimmering guitar arpeggios. The tempo of the songs veers from quietly introspective to balls-out raucousness in the blink of an eye. The overall timbre of the voices-Lisa Dee's trained soprano, Brett Lyda's steady tenor and, in the lead, Juli's heartbreakingly vulnerable, almost tentative contralto, lends a hypnotic quality to their performances. Lyrics are key: Juli's meditations on love and sex and the meaning of the universe are witty, often outright funny, simply-put and as lean as a welterweight stepping down in class.

Juli explains her approach to writing lyrics: "I always want to pare it down, to see how honest I can be while revealing the squishiest of emotions and allowing myself to be really dumb. Because in everything else that I do-the directing, the playwrighting-it's an exercise in being hard, smart and philosophical. But music is very different: it's an experiment in being simple. I know that I'm a complex person, but with my music, I want to see how basic I can get."

As performers, the Evangenitals manage the trick of fostering an atmosphere of energy and rowdiness while seated demurely, almost shyly, in a semicircle on stage. There's an intimate magnetism about their performances that has, in remarkably short order, attracted a loyal following in the mercurial eastside Los Angeles music scene.
Despite the sedentary pose, the band's performances have a quiet intensity that bespeaks a high degree of energy and commitment. "When I gave up boxing, I thought the thing that I was going to miss the most was the sense of heightened living: that moment of putting it all on the line in front of people. I didn't think I would ever be able to have that feeling any more. But when I first got up in front of people to sing, I felt almost exactly the same thing. It may be lower impact, but the nakedness of the experience is very similar."

Just over a year since forming, the Evangenitals have recorded their first indie collection, "We Are The Evangenitals" with Blair Lamb, whose credits include engineering work with Sheryl Crow, producing with the band.

Alabama-born and raised through her teenage years in Central Florida, Juli moved to New York to earn a bachelor's degree in theater at NYU, then out to Los Angeles for a master's degree from Cal Arts. She continues to pursue ventures in directing and playwrighting (one of her productions helped inaugurate the new Redcat Theater at Los Angeles' celebrated Disney Concert Hall), and is working on a doctorate from the European Graduate School's Media and Communications program.

The primary focus of the band these days is on playing shows and writing songs for additional recordings. For Crockett, the writing comes in inspired bursts of activity. "Part of what I understand about being an artist is that you're afflicted with this strange compulsion to confess feelings, perceptions, the process that's working inside yourself, to take what's inside and put it outside," she says. "It's always imperfect and that's OK, because it makes the process continual. I always wonder if I could accurately articulate my own inner experience, would I be done? But I know that I'd have some new feeling and I'd want to tell everybody about it."

reviews

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  • Thanks
    author: Paul Bailey

    [The evangenitals] write such great lyrics that make smile, laugh and sing all night!

  • Good Times
    author: Aaron James

    Like the Dixie Chicks being beaten with their own guitars at the playful hands of the Violent Femmes.

  • One listen and i was hooked.
    author: Sweet Misha

    I love this album! These guys and gals are amazing. I first found them on myspace, heard to their music and was an instant fan. I recommend this album to anybody who likes Tom Waits, Mark Lanegan, Ween, the Unicorns, or even Ray Stevens. The CD is great, but they are even more fun live with Juli's funny and enlightening commentary between songs. If you're looking for something loveable, completely different, and somewhat life-changing, I suggest you give them a try.

  • Kicked me in the butt and left me wanting more!
    author: Becky(Kandangel)

    This disk was fantastic. I laughed, I cried, I touched myself a little bit. It is the kind of music that you see lots of different genres in, while making itself sound fresh and new...I'd love to hear the followup to it. :)

  • ... and sex toys started it all!
    author: Eric Forbes

    I met Lisa Dee a few years ago at a sex toy trade show, and now have the joy of hearing her work in The Evangenitals on this CD! I bought a copy here about a week ago and have listened to it 2 dozen times already... it's that good. Their sound is refreshing -- "hillbilly truck-stop" might be too limiting, considering the variety of styles showcased here. There is quite a combination on this CD: some sweet, slow love songs, and some stronger pieces (Never Again, The Work Song, and Gasoline) that show what this band is made of. And I swear I've already heard "Que Queg" on a Quentin Tarrantino soundtrack -- or am I just dreaming? =Eric

  • Bless 'em all
    author: Robin Kuruz

    each song is uniquely beautiful

  • Hillbilly rock never sounded like this
    author: nippybud

    Any skepticism I had melted away in the first two tracks...and then I just couldn't take the CD out of the player. The lyrics are honest, raw and heartfelt. The musical style varies from soulful ballads to stomping jams, all laid out in a progression that provides a full, meaningful experience.

  • an album that lovingly rips your face off
    author: el kiwi

    Coherent similes and metaphors momentarily escape me and yet I feel that relating this taste of the bone-a-fied kick-assery that is The Evangenitals to a suit made out of an air conditioner. With pin stripes. Quirky, strangely fashionable, but undeniably cool in a way that makes you smile toothily like a smug git whenever other people are around you who arent in on it. Undoubtedly the lyrics tell of emotions and life stories and all that jazz, but as Im just not that an attentive listener at times, its all a bit lost on me until theres some cursing and funny rhymes. But it all sounds fantastic, the vocals have the ability on occasion to grab the listener by the short and curlys and drag them along for the ride as the guitars proverbially hand out frosty beverages to make you bop your head around embarrassingly like only a white person can. Or maybe thats just me. The album starts out grandly as 'never again and the sheer rolickin'ness that is 'gasoline' get pumping, full of power and groove, then all of a sudden BAM! You become a part of an increasingly personal and intimate moment in time, all poise and delicacy. Just fantastic, bunny with a chainsaw coolness.

  • Great original folk songs
    author: Matt C

    The music has such a unique and refreshing sound to it. I've been playing a few of these songs every day for a few months now and I'm still not sick of them. That really says something.

  • Evangenitals coming soon to WMRecordings.com!
    author: Weirdo Music

    Some of the coolest music this side of the planet. In fact, the other side of the planet from my viewpoint, but you know what I mean. Do you?

  • Divine Profanation!
    author: Colum McCann, Author.

    Some days you go looking for the sky but oh lord it's a long walk upwards. Other days you stay down on the earth and find your Evangenitals. Get your tired heart wrung by the best new band since the last best new band ... and maybe the best band after them also.

  • you either get it, or you don't
    author: chris, of beautiful mess fame

    Does humor belong in music? I think Frank Zappa confronted this in every one of his 50 or so albums. In my opinion, so does this cd. They may not have meant to do it, which makes it even cooler. It's a joke, but this is not a joke cd. This album is full of dumb love songs, so dumb that I fell in love with all of them. it goes from doowop, to yeehaw country, and dark folk(in case you needed to put labels on the songs). "the work song", "never again", "so tired" and "lisa's song" are, opiningly, the best of the bunch, although I didn't hear a bad song on the disk. there are some live tracks and a cover of outkasts "hey, yah" that focuses on the lyrics and points out how sad the song actually is. Hearing this band just makes me want to play music with them, and that's the best compliment that I can give. Playing simple love songs, especially country (or even worse, [sic] rock), is mind-numbingly stupid, but goddammit do I love it. Anybody who can croon sweetly to you about fucking you in the ass and then have you clean off the appendage used to do said fucking and pass it off as a love ballad wins me over. Either you get it, or you don't. I got it, and you should buy it. there it is. ok, I'm gonna go. later a.c. slater. -CB

  • YAY (fucking yay) can i say FUCK here?
    author: bluetat

    this kicks arse thats the oppisite of SUCKING A DEAD MANS ARSE.....hhhmm unless your into that knid of thang , YAY!!!!

  • I like the songs. They sing good. I loved it!
    author: Marlon Mara-LeNoble

    I like the songs. They sing good. And I loved the guitar playing too. Some of the songs sounded like rodeo music. I loved it!

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