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DARKHORSE OF WOODSTOCK, FROM POLAND TO MITCHELL CREEK: EVOL WALKS KICK OFF AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Gold Coast rock goddess Leah Martin-Brown flew the coop last year. Now based in LA with her band Evol Walks, she’s spread her wings and hasn’t looked back. Except for frequent homecomings for gigs.
We catch up at BIGSOUND, where Leah is just another punter with a shock of gorgeous red hair. She’s champing at the bit to tell me about her adventures and I couldn’t be more stoked. Since discovering Leah through her prior project Lily Rouge and having many conversations via email and social media, this is actually the first time we’ve met in person.
“I left LA in July and went to Europe – I’m living between the two at the moment,” she tells me. “We had Musexpo this year and that gave us a lot of opportunities and since then we’ve played the Viper Room, Rainbow Bar…,” she rattles off a list of classic Sunset Strip music venues, making me green with envy.
“As part of Musexpo, they were doing an opportunity where Andy Gould who’s the manager for Rob Zombie was looking for new acts for his label – and our management said we should submit. There were 200 people who submitted and we got into final seven being considered,” Leah said.
“We didn’t get the opportunity but at the end they were announcing the decision, then the guy from polish Woodstock who could only speak Polish – he started excitedly speaking – and his translator said ‘don’t end the panel yet – if that Australian band want to come play the festival at Woodstock, we want to put them on the main stage.’ So they came to see us that night at the showcase, and we got the chance to play at the festival over there.”
Leah said they got to Woodstock and were completely floored to find out they were playing the main stage, and late in the day. They also scored a really popular Polish band on the stage immediately prior, so they had a huge crowd already there.
“We had a good crowd to start with, as soon as we started playing,” she said. “Then half way through our set the crowd had doubled and by the end of our set there was a sea of people who’d just appeared.”
“We had all these people saying we were the dark horse of Woodstock.”
Evol Walks at Prystanek Woodstock. Source: Facebook
“We really worked hard during the performance and people loved it. It was great,” Leah said.
Leah and her band are now touring to launch their EP The Other Side but she tells me that that release will just be a soft launch with the EP only available in Australia.
“We’re doing an Australian tour,” she said. “Which is very heavily focused on Victoria.”
Plus they’re at Michell Creek this weekend and have an acoustic gig at The Loft on the horizon.
After that, Leah will be focused on doing some writing with her old producer, Stuart Stuart who worked on Sheppard’s album.
“Then we’re flying back to the states ‘cos we have a west coast tour,” she said. “Then I come back here until January and book all the shows until next year.”
Evol Walks’ west coast tour starts in Phoenix before moving on to LA for a home crowd, then Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Oregon, Washington. There’s nine or ten dates up the coast.
Leah says the EP The Other Side is their debut, recorded in LA with Brian Howes. “We’ve released three singles already,” she said. “I just hope people like them on the CD as much as they love them live.”
But back to Mitchell Creek this weekend. Leah says punters can expect an extremely energetic performance.
“It’s going to be very loud. Very big guitars. Just an awesome classic rock show that’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said.
“We’re only a serious band when it comes to our work ethic – but we love to muck around, we love to have fun… you can definitely expect us to be having a lot of fun and partying with everyone there,” she said.
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Evol Walks, Australian tour dates 2015
19 September, Mitchell Creek Rock and Blues Festival – Kandanga Creek
25 September, Mr Boogieman Bar, Fitzroy
26 September, Musicman Megastore, Bendigo
29 September, Brunswick Hotel, Melbourne
2 October, Whole Lotta Love, Melbourne
3 October, Back in the Day, St Kilda Melbourne
7 October, Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney
9 October, The Plantation Hotel, Coffs Harbour
15 October, The Loft (acoustic showcase), Gold Coast
16 October, New Globe Theatre, Brisbane
MITCHEL CREEK ROCK'N BLUES FESTIVAL
They're loud. They're raw. They're memorable. Fronted by redheaded powerhouse Leah Martin-Brown, Evol Walks are bringing rock back to its roots.
Enjoying regular commercial airplay for first singles Heartbreakin' Woman and Buzzed. These riff-driven anthems delivers what you'll come to expect from this energetic 5-piece outfit: ballsy, in your face rock with epic guitar solos.
These quintessential Aussie rockers have spent the past twelve months in Hollywood California, recording a new EP with award-winning producer Brian Howes (Airbourne, Hinder, Simple Plan, Daughtry). After debuting their sound at the Global Rock Summit, part of the world renowned industry conference Musexpo held in LA in April 2014, the group have showcased to some of the industry’s best at iconic venues, most recently the infamous Viper Room.
“If Green Day and Joan Jett had a kid, it would be Evol Walks. ”
— GFM.FM Radio
Formed in Australia and now based in Los Angeles, Evol Walks have shared the stage with some of the best acts in the world including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers and Dead Letter Circus and supported the likes of Everclear and The Presidents of The United States of America. Pairing impressive lyrics with powerful female vocals and catchy riffs, Evol Walks are set to create a buzz in the Aussie and American rock scenes.
The band are set to head off on a tour of Australia starting February in support their brand new single 'Buzzed'. The group will then return to LA where they will continue working on their debut EP- due for release September 2015.
http://www.mitchellcreekrocknbluesfest.com.au/evol-walks.html
Evol Walks Announce Debut EP And East Coast Tour
In the wake of their much-appraised stint at Woodstock Festival in Poland, unsigned Aussies Evol Walks have announced a soon-to-be-released debut EP and east-coast launch tour.
Yes, Woodstock. And not only that, Evol Walks were also the first unsigned Australian band to play the main stage - to a reported 200,000-strong crowd, no less. Now, after touring around the Netherlands, Germany and Scandanavia, the five-piece will be heading back home to launch and tour their debut EP, The Other Side.
Having shared the stage with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Killers, it's Australia's turn to play witness to Evol Walks' riff-heavy rock'n'roll.
- See more at: http://www.thebrag.com/music/evol-walks-announce-debut-ep-east-coast-tour#sthash.xVtNamOe.dpuf
LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Fronted by singer/songwriter Leah Martin-Brown, Evol Walks are a 5-piece Australian rock and roll band that arrived on the scene in early 2014.
With their own take on classic, riff driven rock n’ roll, distinguished by raw, powerful female vocals and blistering guitar riffs, they have been quickly earmarked as one to watch.
“If Greenday and Joan Jett had a kid- it would be Evol Walks” (Jon Lee, HKG FM)
After recording their debut EP with producer Brian Howes (Airbourne, Daughtry, Simple Plan, Hinder), they were invited to launch their particular rock and roll style at A&R Worldwide’s Global Rock Summit at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood in 2014.
Following that, their first single Heartbreakin’ Woman was released in September 2014, receiving radio support with regular spins on commercial, community and Internet radio stations worldwide.
The 2nd single ‘Buzzed’ arrived in February 2015, named as one of the Top 4 releases on commercial radio in Australia and promoted there with a 14-date tour.
Australia’s ‘The Music Network’ -“Buzzed comes at you in spurts of unapologetic raw epics. It’s Monster Magnet at their most accessible, Stone Sour before the first breakup – it’s nuanced and decisive.”
They were invited back to Hollywood to play the Global Rock Summit in April 2015. Currently based in LA, they have played some of the landmark venues including The Viper Room, The Rainbow and The House of Blues.
Evol Walks play the Woodstock Festival in Poland on the 1st August 2015. While in Europe, they will also perform a series of shows in The Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany before returning to Australia in September to perform as one of the headline acts at the Mitchell Creek Rock and Blues Festival.
The band will close the year with a West Coast Radio Tour of the USA before heading back to the studio to record new music.
EVOL WALKS /May 15, 2015
WOODSTOCK POLAND
"The Dark horse of Woodstock", "feisty" and "unapologetic raw epics" are just some of the things being said of this Australian riff-rock five-piece.
Already leaving their mark on Australian rock history, Evol Walks didn’t shy away from the recent opportunity to be the first ever unsigned Aussie band to play the main stage at one of Europe's largest rock festivals, Pryztenak Woodstock.
Earmarked by global rock industry tastemakers as a band to watch, Evol Walks are loud, raw and memorable. Fronted by red-headed Aussie powerhouse, Leah Martin-Brown, this band are bringing rock back to its roots.
“It’s been a kick-arse year for us so far,” Martin-Brown said.
“First the Global Rock Summit in Hollywood. Then Jackie Barnes started hitting the skins for us. And we just played to 200,000 fricking people at Woodstock! We just can’t wait to turn it up another notch in Oz to tour our debut EP, The Other Side, next month.”
Woodstock was the band’s first outing with new drummer Jackie Barnes, who is highly regarded across the globe as a relentless and formidable powerhouse behind the kit.
Formed in Australia and now based in Los Angeles, these quintessential Aussie rockers have spent the past twelve months in Hollywood California, recording a new EP with award-winning producer Brian Howes (Airbourne, Hinder, Simple Plan, Daughtry). Evol Walks have shared the stage with some of the best acts in the world including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers and Dead Letter Circus and supported the likes of Everclear and The Presidents of The United States of America. Pairing impressive lyrics with powerful female vocals and catchy riffs, Evol Walks are set to create a buzz in World rock scenes.
With the first two singles enjoying worldwide airplay earlier in the year, Evol Walks are set to launch their musical assault on Australia in September with a 9-date tour in support of the EP's release.
“Buzzed [the single] comes at you in spurts of unapologetic raw epics. It’s Monster Magnet at their most accessible, Stone Sour before the first breakup – it’s nuanced and decisive.”
— The Music Network
http://www.kittykittybangbang.com.au/electronic-press-kits/evol-walks
RADIO INTERVIEW
CLICK THE ABOVE LINK TO HEAR
Evol Walks are undertaking their debut Australian tour in support of the new single `Buzzed`. I had the chance to chat with singer Leah Martin Brown ahead of the bands show in Bendigo on Saturday 14th Feb 2015 for the Rock Bottom radio show on 106.7 Phoenix FM
10 Questions with… Evol Walks
Chloe Kay Richardson
April 17, 2015
In the past year Evol Walks have secured their place as one of Australia’s greatest up and coming Rock bands by producing psyche invasive riffs and salacious vox that leave even the most naïve of souls in a state of bliss.
Here at Aphra we did a quick Q&A with their bad ass front-woman Leah to talk AC/DC, being a ‘rock god’, their upcoming EP and, well, all things rock’n’roll!
Q1) First off, congratulations on the major traction your new single Buzzed has been getting! What was the writing process behind the song?
It’s a bit of an interesting writing process with Buzzed, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do, and I had lyrics written down and the basic tune, like the ‘na na nas’ and what I wanted to write about, and I came into the studio with my producer and we were kind of just having a jam on it, and we came up with that really cool, moving riff and then the ‘na na nas’ came into it and we were like ‘hey, this is kind of sounding a bit Zeppelin’ so it was a collaborative process with that one, it just came together from original ideas.
Q2) Youse spent quite a while recording your upcoming debut EP, what can we expect to hear, I presume a lot of Aussie Rock influence?
It’ll definitely be in the Aussie Rock vein. We’ve taken a lot of influence from 70s style AC/DC, we’ve got a lot of Led Zeppelin in there, some Black Sabbath riffs, a little bit of Baby Animal’s and then there’s also one track that’s a little bit darker that’s kind of more Cashmere – Led Zeppelin but with the drum beat it could almost be Tool, so it’s got a few different things in there!
Q3) Speaking of AC/DC I hear that you’re a massive fan, what’s your favourite track of theirs?
Ooh, my favourite… It depends from day to day but I absolutely love Rock n Roll Damnation that is beyond! Or Ride on. Ride on is beautiful!
Q4) What’s been the defining moment for both yourself and the band?
I don’t know, it’s kind of been like a whole set of moments that have come together, I mean, being on tour now, that’s a defining moment, being invited to play at the rock summit again this year was also another one, but new things happens so it changes all the time, its constantly evolving.
Q5) What do youse aim to achieve, what’s the dream, the ultimate goal?
I think that we all just want to be absolute rock gods *laughs* I think our dream is to tour the world playing music that we love!
Q6) I must say I applaud and respect you wholeheartedly for having the courage to sing raw, POWERFUL Rock n Roll and do so as a woman! So, why Rock n Roll?
Well, I’ve grown up with it and for me it’s always been more authentic and more real than a lot of the other music that you listen to. Especially with early Rock n Roll people with guitars just playing music and singing about things they care about, even stupid things, I know I’m using AC/DC as an example again but they have a song called Down Payment Blues, where they just sing about how poor they are, that’s really REAL! You notice a lot of, especially in rap music; they’ll be like ‘in the club with da bottle, gettin’ all the bitches’ and I feel Rock n Rolls a bit more authentic!
Q7) What advice would you give to other girls wanting to front a Rock n Roll band?
I think this advice goes for anyone and not just girls, you just have to believe in yourself, you have to find the kind of sound you’re looking for and you have to try and find some musicians that are on the same path as you. You definitely can’t do it by yourself!
Q8) What was the meaning behind the band name?
It’s actually an AC/DC song Evil Walks but we changed the spelling because when we were talking about it with my manager he said ‘well, you’re not really evil’ and I was like ‘yeah, I guess not’ so we thought Evol would be cool, because its short for evolution its love backwards, people can interpret it however they want, and we also don’t have to deal with people getting offended over our name.
Q9) What are your top five, all time favourite records?
Ooh, ok. Being a music lover it changes all the time, I’d have to say Powerage by AC/DC, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by of course, Black Sabbath, I love Mothership by Led Zeppelin. . . I’ve got three; I’m trying to narrow it down. . . The Wall by Pink Floyd and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.
Q10) Lastly, what makes you smile?
I think just playing music with my band, and making music that people enjoy!
An insight into Leah Martin Brown from Evol Walks
When did you first start to realize that being in a band was what you wanted to pursue ?
It’s pretty hard to pinpoint the exact moment. I grew up listening to rock and roll and started writing music, singing and playing guitar when I was very small so its always been a part of me. For maybe two or three years starting when I was four I wanted to be an actress but other than that slight deviation I’ve always wanted to be in a rock n roll band.
There are very few female fronted bands especially rock bands here in Australia and its great to see another working it and taking it on the road , How were you perceived in America while on tour ?
The Americans absolutely loved it! They love female fronted rock n roll and they love Australians so every show we played they were all over it, even wanting autographs and photos of us afterwards- it was a little surreal.
What drives you to be in this industry!!I am passionate about writing and performing rock and roll, it is what I want to do for the rest of my life, it is what makes me tick. I couldn’t imagine working a boring desk job or wearing one of those annoying, office style pencil skirts. It is a brutal industry but there is a lot of freedom which is a big thing for me. I am in control of my own destiny.
What is something you cant do without while on tour ?
My Ipod! I like to zone out before a show and I need good music to be able to do that… Plus all the driving we end up doing- can be hectic.
What do you miss about Australia when your in America ?I miss our “special” brand of humour and I really, really miss our natural scenery. In LA there is not much in the way of greenery so it can get a bit overwhelming sometimes.
Favourite food and do you cook ?It depends on my mood but I LOVE Japanese Curry, Thai Food and Mexican. I do cook occasionally but I’m not great at it, I actually burnt water once… That is actually a thing I promise you.
Who does Leah Martin Brown aspire to ? I don’t really aspire to be anyone apart from the best version of myself I can be. I aspire to be a good person. I do look up to musicians like Janis Joplin, Jimmy Page, Joan Jett and Marilyn Manson and take a lot of influence from them as well.
Favourite Aussie artist ?
Overall- AC/DC, I have an unhealthy obsession with them. Currently my favourite Aussie band are ‘The Black Swamp’ but I also love ‘Azreal’ and ‘WAAX’.
Goals for 2015 ?Keep moving and getting more shows. I’d also love to do another Australian tour and maybe even a European tour.
What can the people at VIBE March 13th expect from Evol Walks ?We will be bringing our A game. Blistering guitar solos, take no prisoners attitude and a loud, awesome rock n roll show. AMPS TO 11!!
THE OTHER SIDE
August 17, 2015 / 13:50
They’re loud! They’re raw! They’re memorable! Fronted by redheaded powerhouse Leah Martin-Brown, Evol Walks are bringing rock back to its roots. Enjoying regular commercial airplay for their first two singles “Heartbreakin’ Woman” and “Buzzed,” the Valhalla quintet have now returned with their latest single "The Other Side," produced by Brian Howes (Airborne, Hinder,Simple Plan, Daughtry). Evol Walks are performing their unique brand of hard-hitting rock to audiences around the globe. The first ever unsigned Australian band to play the 750,000 strongWoodstock Festival in Poland earlier this month, Evol Walks has shared the stage with some of the best acts in the world, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Label Society and Flogging Molly to name a few. They just finished a European tour and are kicking off an Australian tour next month in support of their debut EP The Other Side.
LINK: www.evolwalks.com
STREAM: “The Other Side”
Jackie Barnes joins Australian rock band “Evol Walks”
by Jackie Barnes, in Uncategorized (No Comments)
Jackie Barnes has been announced as the drummer for LA based Australian rock band “Evol Walks“.
Already earmarked as a band to watch by global rock taste-makers, our very own Evol Walks will be even more so with the addition of first class drummer, Jackie Barnes to the lineup. Highly regarded across the globe, Barnes is a relentless driving force, that when put together with Evol Walks, is set to form a formidable powerhouse of rock.
Barnes officially joined the band on 1st June and will kick off with Evol Walks in July for their groundbreaking appearance at one of Europe’s largest music festivals, Woodstock in Poland. The first ever unsigned Australian band to play the festival’s main stage, Evol Walks will be blowing away some 750,000 people on 1st August 2015, right up there with the headlining bands, Black Label Society, Within Temptation and Congo Natty.
Jackie Barnes has been touring professionally for over fourteen years working with some of the biggest names in the business including Keith Urban, Steve Van Zandt, Diesel, Richard Fortus, Jonathan Cain, Joe Bonamassa, Cold Chisel, The Dead Daisies, Neal Schon and of course, his father Jimmy Barnes.
“I am very happy to be joining Evol Walks. They are an exciting and hungry young rock band on the rise and I look forward to bringing some of my experience and musicality to the group. See you on the road!”
— Jackie Barnes
Formed in Australia and now based in Los Angeles, these quintessential Aussie rockers have spent the past twelve months in Hollywood California, recording their debut EP with award-winning producer Brian Howes (Airbourne, Hinder, Simple Plan, Daughtry). Hot on the heels from Woodstock and with Barnes on board, Evol Walks will hit home shores for an Australian tour to launch the EP, including a headlining slot at Mitchell Creek Rock N Blues Fest, September 19th.
“We couldn’t be more pumped about Jackie joining the lineup. There’ll be no stopping us now. Jackie is the kick-arse drummer we’ve been looking for to punch out the hard, heart thumping beats that make our brand of rock.”
— Evol Walks lead singer, Leah Martin-Brown
EVOL WALKS COMES BACK TO THE GOLD COAST
Leah Brown is from the Gold Coast, but she’s poised to take on the world. She’s the front woman of Evol Walks, and currently residing in Hollywood, California. Evol Walks have the feel of iconic 80s rock, but with an injection of unmistakeable Australian energy and craftsmanship. Kyle Butcher had a chat to Leah as she hung out around her old GC stomping grounds before touring Australia with a string of dates through March.
_ _ _ _ _
The name Evol Walks is attention grabbing for many different reasons. Is it misspelled deliberately? What does Evol mean? I knew better than to whip my phone out and google the answer- I asked the Leah the origins of the bandname and her reason for moving across the world.
“My manager pointed out that I wasn’t exactly evil, so Evol is love backwards, along with being short for Evolution. I actually got invited to move over to America by an A&R company. They contacted me in December 2013, and I had to turn around and be there 14 days later. It was pretty awesome. Living over there was really different. The culture, the people, the way they relate to each other, just everything in general,” Leah said.
That’s not to say that Australia hasn’t been kind to Evol Walks. The band has received national airplay and the band snagged a lucrative spot at the now defunct Big Day Out festival.
“We got the opportunity to play Big Day Out in 2013. It was so fun, we ran into a few musicians, and it was a great day. We got to play the same lineup as Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers and Vampire Weekend. I definitely was pinching myself. We got to meet the Alabama Shakes and Dead Letter Circus along with being side stage for Grinspoon, which was really awesome,” Leah said.
Once upon a time, Australian bands found footholds in the UK and Europe before being able to make the trek through the extensive land that is America, but Evol Walks seems to have pulled it off without a hitch. I was curious as to how the band has been going over in the United States.
“I was having a conversation with someone about this yesterday!” Leah told me. “I was in a band prior to Evol Walks and we got a little bit of hype, but I’ve found that Evol Walks has been extremely well received. We released our first single for radio in September, and when it hit national radio, it exploded. People seem excited about our latest single which is awesome, because usually it’s just me being excited (laughs).”
Along with their success in America, Evol Walks landed themselves a massive producer in Brian Howes who has worked with artists like Nickelback, Air Supply, Simple Plan and Skillet. Leah told me what it was like to work with a major producer.
“I love working with Brian, he’s rad. He’s the nicest dude ever, and I was a bit scared going in there, because you hear horror stories about Hollywood producers being very intimidating and over the top, but he’s just a chilled out guy.”
“He has excellent ideas, great studio and great vibes.”
Still Leah said she’s never been worked so hard in a studio before in her life. “The pressure was on, but that’s what made it. You don’t want to work with someone who is complacent,” she said.
And with that, the stage is set for Evol Walks to trip around Australia plying their wares. The band is not only servicing the major cities, but are also trawling through regional locations like Bendigo and Toowoomba.
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Evol Walks hit Currumbin Creek Tavern on Saturday 14 March
AUSSIE ROCKERS EVOL WALKS TO SHOWCASE AT 2015 GLOBAL ROCK SUMMIT /February 26, 2015
Australian rock band, Evol Walks, are stoked to announce their invitation to showcase in the upcoming Global Rock Summit (GRS) to be held in Hollywood, California, April 24-25, 2015. Evol Walks are one of just eight bands invited to perform.
They're loud. They're raw. They're memorable. And it seems that A&R Worldwide/MUSEXPO Founder & President, Sat Bisla agrees that Evol Walks are a band on the rise. On the back of two successful single releases and an Australian East Coast tour, the Hollywood based rockers are confident and pumped to represent Aussies with their back-to-roots, riff-driven rock at the Summit.
“The band are pumped to showcase ballsy Aussie rock at the Global Rock Summit with huge riffs, raw vocals and heaps of energy!”
— Leah Martin-Brown, Evol Walks lead singer
A highly respected international music conference, The Global Rock Summit will see many of the major players in the multi-billion dollar global rock music industry come together "with a view of helping to further stimulate a very buoyant but often overlooked sector of the music industry."
Formed in Australia and now based in Los Angeles, these quintessential Aussie rockers have spent the past twelve months in Hollywood California, recording a new EP with award-winning producer Brian Howes (Airbourne, Hinder, Simple Plan, Daughtry). Evol Walks have shared the stage with some of the best acts in the world including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers and Dead Letter Circus and supported the likes of Everclear and The Presidents of The United States of America. Pairing impressive lyrics with powerful female vocals and catchy riffs, Evol Walks are set to create a buzz in the Aussie and American rock scenes.
“If Green Day and Joan Jett had a kid, it would be Evol Walks. ”
— GFM.FM Radio
Evol Walks have a few remaining shows in Australia before heading back to LA for the summit. They are then due to return to Oz in September to officially launch their new EP at the Mitchell Creek Rock N Blues Fest (18-21 Sept 2015).
Discovering Their Inner AC/DC
Evol Walks
Feb 12th 2015 | Michael Smith
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Fresh out of LA, Evol Walks is actually the raw, rockin’ vehicle of a young Australian singer-songwriter named Leah Martin-Brown, who fills in the blanks for Michael Smith.
"It all happened so quickly,” admits a still breathless Leah Martin-Brown, the Gold Coast-raised frontwoman of a five-piece called Evol Walks, based in LA. “I got a phone call in mid-December 2013 – they wanted me over there the first of January. So I kind of had been working on some stuff but hadn’t really finalised anything ‘cause I didn’t really think there was a rush, so I only had three ideas for songs when I went over there, maybe four.”
Martin-Brown had been gigging with a four-piece called Lilly Rouge, toured Australia three times and released several EPs when, as she explains, “I got noticed by some people over in the USA. So I went over and was working on some stuff and met my lead guitarist, CJ, and a few others and we started Evol Walks from a concept I had over here [in Australia] that kind of blossomed over there.”]
“I was originally writing stuff that was kind of metal-y but it wasn’t really me anymore, and I absolutely adore AC/DC… I can’t think of many bands that are girl-fronted that do that kind of sound"
Within four months of landing in LA, Martin-Brown got to debut Evol Walks at the Global Rock Summit, part of the prestigious annual Musexpo industry conference. Over the next few months, she and the band went into the studio with producer Brian Howes, whose CV includes albums for Simple Plan and fellow Australians Airbourne, releasing a debut single, Heartbreakin’ Woman.
“I’ve wanted to work with Brian for many years,” she continues, “and never thought it was an option, but the people who kind of found my work and invited me over, they teamed me up with a manager, Victor Murgatroyd, who is good friends with Brian and just thought we’d be a perfect fit. Everything he does is wonderful and his ideas are just great. We’ve finished an EP but we’re not releasing it until September, because we’ll be back in Australia for the Mitchell Creek Music Festival.”
Right now they’re focusing on the second single, Buzzed, while Triple M is currently playing Heartbreakin’ Woman, released in September last year, the song also getting thrashed on Hong Kong-based internet radio station HKG-FM.
“I was originally writing stuff that was kind of metal-y but it wasn’t really me anymore, and I absolutely adore AC/DC, I love Led Zeppelin, I love Black Sabbath, and I can’t think of many bands that are girl-fronted that do that kind of sound. So I kind of wanted to strip things back and make it very Australian pub rock, very unique to who I am, because I think I was just going in the wrong direction. I wanted something a bit raw and a bit more bad-arsed!”
The band now has two Australians in the line-up with rhythm guitarist Zac Bentley joining a couple of months ago. “I actually posted an ad in a musicians’ classified,” Martin-Brown admits, “and I met him and it was one of those things – he didn’t even audition, I just knew that he should be in the band. And then he did audition and we just get along like a house on fire.”
http://themusic.com.au/interviews/all/2015/02/12/evol-walks-michael-smith/