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| Brian Evans to Debut at Red Rock This Friday, Brian Evans begins a weekly run at the brand new casino "Red Rock Casino" in Las Vegas. "I haven't really performed in Vegas much lately, " says Evans. "I've been performing in other countries where my music has been getting a lot of attention. But Vegas is a town built on this style, and thanks to people like Barry Manilow, the music is coming back in a big way." Brian Evans has had a very interesting life. The singer has opened for Joan Rivers, Jay Leno, Dionne Warwick, Frank Valli, and Lou Rawls among others. In his teens, Evans guest-starred on shows "Beverly Hills, 90210, " and "Full House." In 1996, Evans moved to Canada and began singing the big band standards in various clubs, and when his debut indie album "Quite Frankly" was released, it was the # 1 best selling independent CD among the HMV retail chain. With the success of that album, he found the new CD released in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Republic of China. In 1998, he'd debut at The Desert Inn, where his stint as Jay Leno's opening act kicked in. Since then, Evans has recorded multiple crooner albums, and although he twice signed on for a major label project, both fell through for reasons relating to the producer but not the singer. "You obviously get your hopes up, but then sometimes life happens. A producer files for divorce or something, and that puts the entire project into crisis-mode, " says Evans. Evans is hoping the third time is the charm, as he begins working on his debut album headed for one of the big labels. The albums, mostly comprised of original music in his genre, will be finished sometime this year. "This will be the best work I've ever done, no doubt, " says Evans. Songs like "Planet Blue, " "Most of All, " "Place Your Bets, " and "Croonerman, " are all songs penned by Brian. Although he intends to include some old standards, he won't say which. "Whenever I announce songs I'm going to do, they end up on someone else's album first. So you'll just have to wait and see, " laughs Evans. With mostly original material, Evans won't have to worry much about that. Last week, Evans performed at The Mulia in Jakarta, Indonesia. With a travel warning advising American's not to travel to Indonesia, Evans ignored it and went anyway. He went to Bali, Indonesia and walked among the monkeys, hung out with a python, and sang in a country eager to hear the singer they've been hearing on their radio stations for the past year. Evans' version of "Don't Worry Be Happy" and "Jump" have been all over the airwaves in Indonesia. Songs the crowd were thrilled to hear the singer perform in front of a 25 piece big band. But Evans awaits his American debut. "I'm an American, and this style of music was born here. They tell real tales of our stories, " he says. "I'm certainly not going away, as the successes and failures of my life are what make the presentation of my interpretations of this music all the more real. The more you're kicked in the teeth, the higher you'll climb." Indonesia was compelling for this crooner. He witnessed poverty, but also a beautiful country. "Bali was pretty much as quiet as it's ever been, " says Evans, who himself ran for the US Senate in 2004, finishing fourth place of eleven candidates. He chalks his run up as something to do while working on an album as he resided on Maui that year. "I had some things to say about lack of health insurance, and decided to do rather than talk. I was broke for much of my young life, and who better to run for office than someone who felt as most American's do." Now with firm ground in Las Vegas, an album finally in the works, and a show schedule that will give him plenty of time to devote to the new CD, Brian Evans is ready to make his mark in Las Vegas and in the record industry. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |