Happy Monday, After Hours readers! We are almost a week away from Live Mic Music’s Battle of the Bands and in order to give you a taste of what to expect, here is The After Hours Review’s first artist feature for the event, Evan Petruzzi!
As the only solo artist on this bill, her music is indicative that she really holds her own. Hailing from Plainview, New York, Evan always knew she wanted to pursue music from her father being a trumpet player and her mother a vocalist. I think what really drew me to her music is how powerful her voice is and the raw emotion you can feel in her songs. Particularly, her newest single Sideshow gives me very strong Alice Merton vibes and the accompanied music video really pulls all of the “washing away of toxic relationships” and “finally being independent” moods together. Though she only has two singles released, you can tell that there’s more to come from her and I absolutely can’t wait to hear it.
Check out my interview with her below and be sure to support her on Wednesday, January 30th at the Battle of the Bands!
image by: Tom Flynn
Artist: Evan Petruzzi
Band Members:
Evan Petruzzi – Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar
Justin Scheidling – Drums
AJ Vita – Lead Guitar
Richard Giordano – Keyboards/Backing Vocals
Mike Hall – Bass
Band Social Media:
Where can we find your music:
All digital services are under the name Evan Petruzzi. Check out their latest single, Sideshow!
Established:
2015
image by: Ryan Burke
Describe yourself in a few sentences or less
Me in a nutshell is basically, I sing a lot, I write a lot, and I make a lot of puns, haha. Music has always been my safety net so to pursue it as a career and to be able to share my own personal experiences through music with the world is the ultimate dream. The fact that people are listening to and coming to my shows is an amazing feeling and I’m incredibly thankful and excited that this journey is only getting started!
Are you affiliated with any label or music group? If not, do you have any plans to?
No label at the moment! Currently I’m doing everything by myself. You never know what the future holds but I wouldn’t be against signing with a label if the opportunity came up and it seemed like the right time.
What is your process for music writing?
Honestly, I write everyday. Some songs I bang out in 5 minutes and some take more time. A lot of my writing is personal and just for me, but sometimes I will jot down a random word, phrase, or even emotion and it’ll spark a song. Same goes for a melody or chord progression; I’ll sing it in my phone so I don’t lose it.
How do you feel your music has changed since you first began making music?
I think my music still comes from the same place; I still love writing about real world issues and personal experiences, but I’ve definitely found my sound and how I want to go about expressing my message to whomever is willing to listen. At the beginning I think my music was a bit scattered because my thoughts were everywhere, but through experience I’ve managed to hone my craft and settle into who I am as a musician.
Check out the music video for “Sideshow” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuUMNq1axDI
What inspired the song Sideshow? Additionally, what inspired the music video for it?
So, Sideshow is about constantly being pushed aside for someone or something bigger and better. It’s about always being second place in any relationship, which I think everyone can relate to. Sideshow calls for a cleansing of the toxic relationships we find ourselves drowning in.
Whenever I envisioned the song, I always saw rain especially with its thunderous beat. With that “cleanse” I mentioned, I always imagined just standing out in the rain and letting it wash away any issue or problem and wiping the slate clean, which we captured in the music video. It was a really fun shoot to do with our director, Tom Flynn. He took everything I saw in my mind and created a beautiful masterpiece.
What has been your most memorable moment performing your music?
I think one of my most memorable moments was performing at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. It’s such a legendary place and just the fact that I was able to walk inside and see the history in person was great, but playing on stage for other songwriters who truly love their art as much as I do, it was unreal.
image by: Ryan Burke
What are you most excited to do music wise this year?
I’ve written a lot of new music recently so I’m definitely excited to lay those down and release them. I’m also excited to play more shows and hopefully tour around a bit. I’d love to go back to Nashville and head to the west coast to play.
Aside from this event, where can people see you for your next show?
We have two shows in February coming up! February 4th we’ll be a featured act in Mike Geffner’s Inspired Word in NYC at the Parkside Lounge. We hit at 7pm. Then on February 23rd, we’ll be back at one of my favorite places to play, Rockwood Music Hall, in NYC and we’ll be hitting at 8pm!