INTERVIEW: Evaline

AMERICAN rock band Evaline recently wowed Bangkok’s music lovers with a thrilling performance at Parking Toys. Belting out singles from their debut album ‘Woven Material,’ bounding over furniture and pounding out drum beats on table tops and sofas, the band had their audience captivated from start to finish. Before the band took to the stage we spoke to guitarists Christian Lewis and Dominic Di Ciano to find out what they thought about Bangkok and also what inspires them. Here’s what they told us…

(Scroll down for a chance to win a free Evaline T-Shirt)

What are your first impressions of Bangkok?

Dominic (Above right): Well it’s extremely different from where we’re from. We’re from Turlock, a rural town in California, so cities always seem big, but Bangkok takes it to a whole new level of craziness.

Christian (Above left): There seems to be an organized chaos to it all you know – the traffic, the motorcycles – it can all bit a bit overwhelming. I mean you wouldn’t want to cross the street or anything (laughs) but it’s all really, really exciting.

Where are you guys staying?

C: We’re at Sukhumvit Suites, right near Soi Cowboy [Red Light District].

Have you been to Soi Cowboy?

C: Yeah. The first night we got to Bangkok our body clocks were all screwed up because of the time difference so we decided to head out for a late night walk. It was about 4.30am, so it was dead, but there were still women around grabbing us by the arms and wanting us to sit at their bars – very surreal.

D: Where we live we definitely don’t have anything like Soi Cowboy, so it was a bit of a shock to see it, but Bangkok in general has been a bit of a surprise, a real cultural overload. Everything about Bangkok is so fast paced, so overwhelming, it’s awesome.

You’re only here for four days. What do you plan to do in this time?

D: We’re going to do all the touristy things, like take a boat up the river and visit the temples.

C: We want to see the Thai boxing, and Dominic is going to get his first tattoo.

What tattoo do you want to get?

D: It’s basically a tree; a tree of life but in really simple form. I found the image online and then told the tattoo artist what I wanted based on that.

Bamboo or standard tattoo?

D: Is that the (mimics the bamboo tattoo method). No, that’s too scary. I’m getting a standard tattoo, and it’ll be on my forearm.

Have you seen anything in Bangkok that will inspire you to write new songs?

C: I think our time in Bangkok is going to be very inspiring, so I’m sure it will.

What do you think of the Thai girls, do you find them attractive?

D: Oh yeah, absolutely. We’ve been warned to watch out for the ladyboys though – they’re pretty hard to decipher.

What will you tell your family about Thailand?

D: The craziest thing for me really has been the food. I love spice, and even though I can’t eat too much of it, here you’re kind of forced to. Spice is in everything. Tonight I ordered green chicken curry, I don’t think it’s what I got, but I ate it anyway. And now I’m feeling the wrath.

C: One thing that’s stuck out for me is how friendly people are. At our hotel people have been so helpful. The hospitality here is amazing.

Did you know anything about Thailand before you came here?

D: I knew a little bit because we have a friend who’s got family here, but apart from that all I’d really heard about was the ping pong shows.

C: The only thing you hear back home when you tell people you’re coming to Thailand is “Watch out. Make sure it’s not a guy” - just the biggest stereotypes. But when you come here you realize just how exciting it is.

Excited about your new album?

D: Yeah absolutely. We’ve been a band for almost nine years now and we’ve never released a full length record, so this is a milestone for us.

Has your musical style changed a lot since you first formed?

D: Oh yeah. When we first started playing together we were only 15, and we were really bad. So we’ve definitely progressed a lot.

C: As we got older our tastes in music changed, and became more mature. As kids we were really into pop punk - bands like Blink 182 - but you kinda grow out of that because you can’t do it forever. For us we developed more mature tastes in music and obviously that’s where we get our influences – from the music we surround ourselves with.

So who are your biggest influences now?

D: For rock bands I always reference ‘At the Drive-In – Relationship of Command’ I think it’s one of the greatest modern rock records. It’s almost a little punkish, but that record for me really drives the rock aspect of our band. That’s where I really pull from, as a rock band anyways. Because we all listen to lots of different stuff, and a lot of it so different from what we play.

C: A lot of the good old rock bands are big influences, like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana. Maybe not necessarily so much musical, but just inspirational. They’re the bands that made us want to write music.

Is it a lot more difficult being in a band now because of the rise of digital media?

D: You have to be relevant on the social networking now as a band to survive. Labels are crumbling, no one buys records, so you have to immerse yourself in the internet or you won’t survive. Some bands can, but it’s rare nowadays.

C: As a band we didn’t know how to use the whole social networking thing for years, but our friend and tour manager Spencer who’s here with us has taken that over and made us relevant on the web. He’s constantly blogging and updating photos. It’s awesome to have.

C: Now we’ve got someone that’s savvy to all that it’s a really exciting new tool for us. Spencer got his Masters in journalism, so he gets to make us sound way cooler than we are – and none of us can do that (laughs).

So do you plan to come back to Thailand?

C: We’d love to. Playing again here would be great!

Evaline’s debut album ‘Woven Material’ is out now. For more info about the band see:
www.evaline.co.uk or www.myspace.com/evaline

WIN AN EVALINE T-SHIRT!

We have five Evaline T-shirts to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the question below and, if you answer correctly, you’ll go into a lucky draw. Winners will be announced August 1. 

Q. What is the name of Evaline’s debut album?

A) Stitched Fabric
B) Woven Material
C) Wookie Wear

Send your answer to thebigchillimagazine@gmail.com