Evangenitals

Artist Information

Biography

The Evangenitals, founded by playwright/director Juli Crockett and opera, jazz & gospel singer Lisa Dee are an alt-country/Americana love revolution made flesh for your listening pleasure. On a quixotic crusade in the key of life hell-bent on breaking hearts open, they are a genre-bending, ever-creating force of nature.

Combining pioneer lineage with a love of performing arts, the Evangenitals push not only the frontiers of creativity, but strive to foster a renaissance of compassion, love and gratitude as the platform to engage in global collaboration, activism, and community building.

Filled with an insatiable desire to explore new forms of musical instrumentation and arrangements, the Evangenitals take listeners on a journey of passion and creative freedom, embracing all of life as source material, from the mundane to the sublime.

Ranging from truck-stop lullabies to Klezmer-punk-jazz, from ballads & barn-burners to hillbilly stomp, citing influences from the new-wave intelligentsia of the Talking Heads to the archetypal fire of Johnny Cash welded together with the mutant masterminds of Ween, the jukebox at the Mad Hatter’s tea party is the Evangenitals.

The Evangenitals were midwifed in 2003 at Mr T's Bowl, a defunct bowling alley in Highland Park, where they gave their first performance for a small mixed group of rehab refugees and listless drunks (and Arlo) for Christmas.

Since then the band has recorded three albums, created several plays and radio dramas, toured the U.S. in a bus of dubious reliability with The 1 Second Film, appeared at scores of clubs from Los Angeles to Louisiana, Northern California to New York, and traveled all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Instrumentation

Juli Crockett - Lead Vocals, Songwriter, Rhythm Guitar, Singer/Songwriter
Lisa Dee - Vocals, Percussion, glockenspiel, Rhythm Guitar, tambourine
Andrea Baker - Violin, Fiddle, Electric Violin
Kristy McInnis - Drums
Nathan Phelps - Upright Bass

Discography

"Evangenitals" - copyright 2009, Evangenitals
*** currently receiving radio play world-wide ***

"We Are The Evangenitals" - copyright 2005 - Evangenitals

"Everlovin" - copyright 2007 - Evangenitals

"Live at KXLU" - copyright 2009
- Evangenitals

Currently available at CDBaby.com, iTunes, on Internet Radio and other online venues.

Official Website

http://www.evangenitals.com

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Last.fm
• MySpace
• Evangenitals on ReverbNation

Audio

• Hello
  Listen  
• Hard Luck Song
  Listen  
• Home
  Listen  
• So Sweet
  Listen  
• Bad Town
  Listen  
• The Work Song
  Listen  
• I'm Sad
  Listen  
• How Can I Choose?
  Listen  
• The Hole
  Listen  
• Gasoline (Kleen Edit)
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Hello
• Hard Luck
• Bad Town
• The Work Song
• So Sweet
• Home
• I'm Sad
• Time to Go
• The Hole
• Gasoline

Video

Hard Luck live at Kulak's Woodshed

Don't Wake From Dreaming live at Kulak's Woodshed

Photo Gallery

Press

• Soul-Fondling [+ Show ]
  

  Their sound is a chimera of American music, a blend of country, bluegrass, jazz and rock, with soulf...Their sound is a chimera of American music, a blend of country, bluegrass, jazz and rock, with soulfondling lyrics, which might leave your skin wet from dancing and your eyes dripping tears of joy all in the same evening.

• Festival Magic [+ Show ]
  

  They should catch on very quickly and will, I guarantee, get any festival up and dancing, with clapp...They should catch on very quickly and will, I guarantee, get any festival up and dancing, with clapping hands, and a lot of smiling moon-eyes growing misty over the ballads. (FAME Review, Mark S. Tucker)

• Spreading the Gospel [+ Show ]
  

  We’re talking about alt-country at its finest, but that’s only the start. Influences of Southern roc...We’re talking about alt-country at its finest, but that’s only the start. Influences of Southern rock, cow punk and even a little klezmer pop make a tasty brew.

• Fun, Freedom and Freak Folk
  

  "This is fun, freedom, and freak folk all delivered with a huge capital ‘F’"

• Perfect Harmony [+ Show ]
  

  "When Juli Crockett and Lisa Dee come together vocally they deliver a solid harmony that captures th..."When Juli Crockett and Lisa Dee come together vocally they deliver a solid harmony that captures the mood of the song and lyric perfectly."

• Best Party Band [+ Show ]
  

  "If you get a chance to see these gals you'd be a fool not to. They put on one of the best parties y..."If you get a chance to see these gals you'd be a fool not to. They put on one of the best parties you can go to. Great crowd, good music and a sure-fire fun time. I'm a believer..."

• Female Old '97s
  

  "had me thinking a female Old 97's"

• Spontaneous Sing-Alongs [+ Show ]
  

  "The Evangenitals are a folk rock band best taken with a whiskey neat. The mishmash of styles and ec..."The Evangenitals are a folk rock band best taken with a whiskey neat. The mishmash of styles and eccentric personalities makes for an entertaining night filled with spontaneous sing-alongs, hearty laughs and masterclasses in guitar, upright bass, and drums."

• all that matters is the music [+ Show ]
  

  "Will the band name hold them back? Who knows and...who cares? The only thing that matters is the mu..."Will the band name hold them back? Who knows and...who cares? The only thing that matters is the music. And in this case, these seven tracks kick ass."

• Mainstream Music Scene
  

  "they can take the band out of the bar and into the mainstream music scene"

• Underground Bohemian Diamonds [+ Show ]
  

  "I hope these underground bohemian diamonds stay true to themselves; they should never be tampered w..."I hope these underground bohemian diamonds stay true to themselves; they should never be tampered with."

• Aaron James [+ Show ]
  

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

• Evangenitals EP Review [+ Show ]
  

  "Transports you back to a time when the music came from front porches and folk gatherings that allow..."Transports you back to a time when the music came from front porches and folk gatherings that allowed for the songwriting to take center stage."

• Steve Almond [+ Show ]
  

  "The Evangenitals... sound sort of like a cross between Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks and L’il Kim. I ..."The Evangenitals... sound sort of like a cross between Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks and L’il Kim. I bought their album."

• Writer Colum McCann on the Evangenitals [+ Show ]
  

  For pure craziness, there are lots of other bands, including one that I can't write to but I've beco...For pure craziness, there are lots of other bands, including one that I can't write to but I've become a big fan; they're called the Evangenitals. They're from Los Angeles. One of the front singers is a former boxer-slash-philosopher. She's a fantastic singer. Her name is Juli Crockett.

• Room Respect [+ Show ]
  

  In a very small series in a club here in LA I went to see two shows within a couple of weeks. One wa...In a very small series in a club here in LA I went to see two shows within a couple of weeks. One was an able band that was playing loud, not even too loud, just nicely up there. Their songs were compelling, the playing was good. Lots of conversations going on throughout the show.
  
  Two weeks later the "Evangenitals" played the same venue. Almost at "classical chamber music" volumes. Barely audible as far as clubs are concerned. Similar type of music, similarly centered around the quality of the writing and the emotional depth of the performance. Result: Nobody whispered a word, 100% attention from the entire audience throughout the whole set. Remarkable.

• Freaky-hillbilly-punk-rock-hippie-love [+ Show ]
  

  Billing themselves as “the love child of Frank Zappa and Stevie Nicks,” the Evangenitals fly the fre...Billing themselves as “the love child of Frank Zappa and Stevie Nicks,” the Evangenitals fly the freak folk, alt-country, hippie love and punk rock banners, cite influences from the Violent Femmes to Dolly Parton and Devo, and are thoroughly allergic to pigeonholes, which isn’t that surprising when you consider the band’s original members started making music more or less on a dare while working at a Silver Lake sex toy company.
  
  At the time, songwriter/lead vocalist Juli Crockett, vocalist Lisa Dee and guitarist Brett Lyda were living in an apartment complex near Mr. T’s Bowl in Highland Park, which has since become a home away from home. Per Crockett, a onetime amateur LA district champion boxer and playwright/director with prodigious amounts of energy, their band name was a product of a work-related brainstorming session. It’s gimmicky, but it set the tone for the irreverence that’s become an Evangenitals hallmark. This is, after all, the boho crew that transformed OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” into a whispery country-noir ballad, skewered Ron L. Hubbard’s legacy in “Ode to Scientology” (“I want to be clear/ I want to be here/ Whatever it costs to stop this aching”) and whose promo poster (for last year’s “Everlovin’”) featured band members arrayed in a tableau evocative of the Last Supper.
  
  It’s also the band that learned by doing — first at open mic nights, then at myriad clubs across LA. And Crockett & Co. swiftly learned how to use laughs to provoke tears. “The Work Song” transforms the recitation of a bland daily schedule into a mantra as poignant as it is funny. Wisecracks take a back seat on “Time to Go” (“If this is love then I’m sorry we’re in it”). “I Just Forgot” blames the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice on male ADD with a sweet country lilt over a tick-tock rhythm that gradually evolves into an audience sing-along.
  
  Things have changed since their beginnings five years ago; Lyda, for instance, has departed, and ubiquitous Eastside guitarist Henry Bermudez has signed on. But the collective resistance to pigeonholing remains. Crockett’s likely to snarl like a punk rocker one moment and then yodel the next, while pulling off an odd dance that’s part Appalachian stomp and part shadowboxing bravado. Her harmonies with Dee occasionally suggest a more tuneful Freakwater, but they so exuberantly flout genre conventions that what starts out as a pretty ballad can end up a raucous, multi-instrumental jam. It’s hard to know what to expect from their live shows — and, while their recordings are fine, the Evangenitals are best experienced live.

• Church?
  

  What the hell kind of church service is this?

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Setlist

We have played in large venues, small venues, coffee shops, backyards, churches, old folks homes, on top of buses, and more.

Sets can range from 45 minutes to 3 + hours, depending on the needs of the venue and can be 100% family friendly or nice and naughty.

We can deliver 3+ hours of music, often broken into our infamous "Hippies and Hillbillies" sets, which features dynamic song arrangements, dramatic peaks and valleys, ballads and barn-burners, and are known to induce dance parties.

With 70+ original songs and some well-chosen and "Evangenitalized" covers, we can pretty much tailor a show for any setting, and have.

Fronted by the harmony rich duo of Juli Crockett and Lisa Dee (aka Evangina) we also occasionally perform singer/songwriter focused crooner serenades, replete with a few well-timed jokes and contextual insight into the origin of the band and songs.

A typical set could consist of:

Opening with either a slow, smooth Evangenitalized cover song such as Girl U Want (Devo) or Hey Ya (OutKast) or a smokin' show tune (Sun is Shining), a dark and stormy pirate tune (Drunken Sailor) depending on the vibe of the crowd. Do they need to be shaken to attention or warmed up with some foreplay? We are responsive to the needs of the current situation.

The Evangenitals care, deeply, about the audience experience, and with lead singer Juli's background in Theater and a Master's degree in Directing, we carefully consider the way a set list unfolds and the overall musical journey the audience takes with us.

After the intro, we may pick it up with an alt-country doo-wop number "Never Again" then get all Good, Bad, and Ugly with audience favorite "Sergio"

Anyone who has ever had a job can relate to the horrific repetitive angst of "The Work Song"

Then we play upon the audience's heart strings with "We Just Get Along", often featuring Brian Landers on the Pedal Steel.

The audience is transported to a psychodelic space with the Herman Melville-inspired oceanic love song "Quee Queg"

At last, it is time to start a revolution with either the popular Jack and Diane love song/Epic Rock Anthem (and audience favorite ) "F@ck 'em All" (if appropriate) or the Klezmer-mayhem of our "Proud Mary" version of "The Hole"

When minds seemingly couldn't be blown any further, we pull out the epic LEE SHORE (inspired by one of the shortest chapters of Herman Melville's Moby Dick) and demonstrate the full range of our quixotic madness.

From there, we explode into hillbilly heaven whilst a hoedown erupts in the crowd with our classic closer "Gasoline"

For encores/cool downs, we often pull out a fun cover song, such as Weezer's "Beverly Hills", the Flaming Lips' "Yeah Yeah Yeah", Dion and the Belmonts' "Runaround Sue", or our infamous Klezmer version of Prince's "Purple Rain."

Other cover tunes we have played include tunes from Ween, Devo, Motley Crue, The Cure, UkeFink, Low, Disney Tunes, the theme song from the Jeffersons, and more.

Basic Requirements

Calendar