Mike Evin wants you to know that the pop song still reigns supreme in his world. Citing influences of Elton John and Billy Joel, the Montreal-based musician has an excellent new pop record, Do You Feel The World, available now and is performing tonight with Andy Creeggan at Café Aberdeen, housed inside the Aberdeen Cultural Centre on Botsford Street. Having moved to Montreal from Halifax in 2009, Evin found himself struck by the songwriting bug, penning the bulk of the tracks found on his new record upon settling down in La Belle Province. Eventually, Evin selected the 12 songs that would make up his newest record and traveled to Nashville to seek out the production services of Brad Jones.
“I always really loved his playing but then I started seeing his name as a producer here and there and that piqued my interest.
“I was touring through Nashville in the summer of 2009 and reached out to him. We hit it off and ended up recording six songs in October of that year and then recorded the other half-dozen in March 2010.”
Evin says that the Jones-produced has more of a deliberate, produced feel to it as opposed to his previous studio effort, which had been recorded live off the floor.
“I do feel that it is my strongest record to date. The songs are a lot more personal and multi-dimensional than what has been featured on my previous records.”
While Nashville has the reputation of being known as Music City, most people associate the city of just over one million to country music, not necessarily pop music. Evin admits that it is a common misconception about the city and that Nashville boasts a deceivingly vibrant pop music scene.
“There is much more to the city than just country music. I try my best to educate people about the fact that it is not only a country music city,” he says. “The city boasts a lot of great songwriters of all genres and session musicians that play more than just country music. One thing that caught my attention was that there were very few big egos there; everyone is incredibly supportive of one another.”
Fans interested in purchasing Evin’s newest record have no fewer than six options available to them.
From the basic CD / MP3 package to the extravagant “Concert In A Park” package, which includes a private show, baked goods and more, Evin excitedly notes that offering people so many options to enjoy his music is his way to creating a connection with his fans.
“I think in today’s day and age, it is important to increase the value of what you offer fans since people are buying fewer and fewer CDs these days. It is nice to be able to give fans the option of getting something more than just a CD.”
Article published in January 21, 2011 edition of the Times & Transcript