Evan Greer's Tour Journal

Tour Udate (09-30-05)

2005-09-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Evan here. Thought I'd post a little tour update now that i've been on the road for about a week.So far things have been great. Traveling with Anne Feeney is loads of fun, and we're getting along great.Played a few fun shows in Saint Louis, at a house party and then at the September 25th anti-war rally there. (Which was kind of crappy since it rained and we had the "rally" inside a hotel... great folks there from the Jobs With Justice conference though.)After the Lou, we headed south to Cape Girardeau, MO, which is Rush Limbaugh's hometown. Played a nice, intimate house concert there for about 12 people at the home of these two fantastic and inspiring activists who get death threats from their psycho conservative neighbors all the time. Next morning we played in a Social Justice class at South Eastern Missouri University. Great to be able to get the message out to a bunch of students who aren't hearing it anywhere else.Next we headed off to Indianapolis, IN. Where we marched with SEIU Local 3 on their Justice with Janitors campaign, and walked with them and sang on their picketline. Really important work happening there. Later that evening we performed for about 30 folks at the Julia Carson Center during a meeting of the Indiana Democratic Club (allegedly not related to the Democratic party...) I was a little leary when the meetings started with the Pledge of Allegiance, but it all turned out well and the candidates left before i started playing. The people who stayed were all really into it even when i played my more radical songs like "ya basta." good times.On Wednesday we drove to Richmond, IN to meet up with kids at Earlham College, plus my friends who i met last time i was there. Awesome kids. I love em to death. The show was great, about 30 kids there. Afterwards we all went over to this new squatted social center they're opening and played music and told stories late into the evening. It rocked, and i was super sad to have to leave. ("by 8am we had all hit the road again, goodbyes are so short when you don't want to say them.") met some killer songwriters there who i'm hoping to get to play with in the near future.Yesterday we drove 9 hours from Richmond, IN to Kansas City, MO and got there just in time to give these labor lawyers a ride over to the Majestic Steakhouse (ugh) where the Worker Justice Summit (conference where we're playing tomorrow) was hosting dinner. We ended up getting treated to a very fancy meal and VERY fancy drinks. (I had a shot of $600/bottle single-malt whiskey that blew me away.) After dinner, we were invited to bring our instruments up to the members-only cigar bar. Anne and I played a bunch of old Irish rebel tunes, and then busted out some original material. It all went over great. My assumptions were shattered again.I'm currently staying at a friend of Anne's house on the Kansas side of the river (Kansas City, KS.) We're playing tomorrow at a UU church as a benefit for a local community radio station, and then we're off to Grinnell College up in Iowa.On Monday, we're going to be on National Public Radio in Iowa, on a show called Live From Studio One. You can catch it streaming online'>online here.

the tours, the new album, etc.

2005-09-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

Wow. I haven't updated this thing in ages. Apologies for that.

Europe Wrap-up
The long and short of it is that touring has been great. The Europe tour finished up beautifully at the G8 protests with some of the best and largest shows of my life. It was an incredible environment to be working in: camped out in rural Scotland with thousands of amazing activists and beautiful people. We managed to make it back to the $tates without too much more trouble from the authorites. There are some photos and such from the Europe tour here, courtesy of Christa Daring.

New England / Maine
Since I've gotten back I've mostly been playing around New England. Played a few great and well-attended shows in Boston. (One with Mischief Brew/Evil Robot Us'/Bread & Roses/Sharp Teeth and the other with Embryo/The Cliches/Amy Littlefield.) Did a stint of gigs up in Maine with David Rovics and also got a chance to play with Emma's Revolution (Pat Humphries and Sandy O). In Belfast, ME I also met a great songwriter named Olias Kraft. They don't have a website up yet, but check out the show if you ever see that name on a flyer.

JED Collective and the New Album
After gigging around Maine for a bit I went up to stay with Ethan Miller and co. at the JED Collective in Greene. Stayed for about a week and a half and it was just what I needed. Went swimming, did some work out in the garden and such and had a great time with amazing folks. Also, Ethan and I mixed and mastered the tracks that we recorded back at the first Riot-Folk! convergence, which we're releasing as an album called "Rise Like Lions". This is by far my favorite recording that Riot-Folk! has put out. It's more of a collaborative effort than a compilation, and has more of a "band" sound than other RF! releases. I play mandolin and lead guitar on several recordings, and there are new versions of "I Want Something" and "Punks With Clean Kitchens."

You can download the album for free at riotfolk.org/releases/riselikelionsdownload

What's next?
Well, right now I'm at my parents house in Massachusetts, where I've been holing up while I finish booking this next tour. I leave September 22nd to start on a several-week tour with Anne Feeney, who Utah Phillips says is "The greatest labor singer in North America." So with that reccomendation, I'm guessing it's gonna rock. That tour will go thru mid-October. At which point I'll be heading south for a little bit to play shows and visit friends in Knoxville and Asheville. Then back north and west via Chicago and Twin Cities, some gigs in Alberta and British Columbia, and meeting up with other Riot-Folks and what will hopefully be our next convergence in the Bay Area in late November. After that I plan on heading south down the California coastline and doing some gigs in the Southwest. As always, feel free to contact me about booking any dates in these areas!

That's all for now!
Safe travels and happy community building.

Love,
-Evan G

Riot-Folk Tour Detained by Police in Europe

2005-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Several members of the Riot-Folk! Collective (a collective of radical folksingers from the U.S. currently traveling around Europe and heading up to play some music at the G8 Protests) were detained today at Victoria Station in London by the London Police as we tried to get on our bus. Two cops stopped us and ran passports, claiming they needed to check our immigration status and make sure we weren't planning trouble in Scotland. They gave the usual story about how they have the right to "keep people safe", as though we we're en route to some gathering of how to rip off poor people (which we are, except that we are protesting it, not participating in it, like a few people I could mention).

As our ID's were checked, we noticed 3 other cops approaching us, one with a large camera. We realized that these were the same police that stole Evan's notebook yesterday and detained everyone they could leaving the Institute of Autonomy (a pre-Scotland convergence center in London). The cops literally stole the notebook through physical assault from the person who was holding it and used the itinerary inside of it to find us at our bus. The notebook contained a lot of important contact information that is now unfortunately in the hands of the police.

So 2 of us we're cleared but Evan and Mark were questioned about our travels here and Evan had to fill some shit out to try to get his stolen notebook back from the cops. The police attempted to scare us by telling us how customs can detain us for up to 72 hours and that our immigration status was in question. There has been a lot of photographing of us and others and intelligence gathering going on in the last few days and we anticipate more of these fear-tactics as we approach Scotland.

We are writing this because we are concerned for our safety as far as illegal detainments go in times like these and we want to make public our movements so that if anything happens, lots of people know the truth. We are traveling through Europe, playing music that matters, learning from the people we meet, and voicing our opposition to a global problem. Our next stop is Nottingham tonight, Leeds tomorrow, and Glasgow the next day.

If George Bush and these 7 other shitheads can come here and plan out the further destruction of the planet, we can come here to stand up against them and promote the ideas of resistance.

For those who don't know, the G8 (Group of Eight) are the heads of the 7 richest countries in the world, plus Russia. These power-mongers meet each year in an official setting to map out how they will continue to fuck everyone over to continue being rich, powerful people. They have been cornered several times in recent years by hundreds of thousands of people who are fed up with their corporate bullshit.

From July 4-8, they will be kicking back at the Gleneagles Resort in Perth, Scotland. Gleneagles is owned by Diageo, which also owns Guiness, Smirnoff, and other brand name alcoholic drinks. Please see http://www.dissent.org.uk or http://www.indymedia.uk for more info.

IMPORTANT: If you put your email address down on the Riot-Folk! email list at any point during our European trip, the cops now have it. We feel like total shit for this and the guilt is causing us lots of arguments and stress. These addresses we're in a notebook that the cops stole from us and we are attempting to go through the legal bullshit to get it back. Unfortunately, the cops have it and there is absolutely no doubt that they are taking the names down from it. This is one of many tactics that government(s) are using right now to fuck with us and all of you.

just when you think things couldn't get better...

2005-04-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Wow.
Riot-Folk is exploding in ways none of us expected. The convergence was amazing and we made some fantastic recordings with all of us singing and playing various instruments. (I have acquired a mandolin and am starting to be able to play it reasonably well.)

Meanwhile, we've been getting noticed by some big name folks who seem to be really into our stuff. Bev Grant showed up at our Abc-No-Rio show in New York, and this weekend we're playing with Tom Morello, former guitarist for Rage Against the Machine (and currently of Audioslave)!

More importantly, though, Riot-Folk is growing closer and developing more of a character and mission. These are some of my favorite people in the world and I'm so honored and elated to be able to make music with them.

The European tour is coming along nicely as well! Here are the gigs we have booked so far:

June 11 @ London, UK
June 12 @ London, UK
June 15 @ Amsterdam, NL
June 17 @ Amsterdam, NL
June 18 @ London, UK
June 19 @ Dublin, IE
June 20 @ Belfast
June 22 @ Belfast
June 24 @ London, UK
June 25 @ Brighton, UK
June 30 @ London, UK
July 1 @ Nottingham, UK
July 15 @ London, UK

More info coming soon! Check out the website for details.

-evan

Mid-April Update

2005-04-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been quite a while since I've updated this here thing.
It's been a month of amazing shows and people.

Recently, me and Ryan and Mark opened for Amy Goodman (the host of Democracy Now! Radio) at a church in Baltimore. It was a great event and Amy said we were very talented.

Then, on April 16th, we went to the IMF/WorldBank protests in D.C. It was a fun event with lots of energy and we got a great reception when we played at the rally in Dupont Circle. Apparently people really liked it because 150+ folks showed up for our show that night at Cafe Mawonaj. It was the best show I've ever played. Tons of dancing, stomping, clapping and singing along. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun and the energy was just crackling through the air. We all played as if we were possessed. Thanks SO MUCH to all of you who came out and made that one of the best nights of my life.

More exciting stuff is coming soon, including Riot-Folk!'s first convergence, where we'll all be in the same place at the same time. NYC April 22nd - 24th. Check the Riot-Folk! site for show details.

tour update 03/06

2005-03-07T08:26:00.001-08:00

Wow. So far this tour has been really great.

The Jersey City show was small but fun. A nice intimate crowd.

Sarah Lawrence was probably the best show I've played in a long time. Lots of kids showed and there was more dancing than I've seen at a folk show in years, especially given that there wasn't any alcohol. To top it all off, three kids drove all the way down from MONTREAL just to see us play (it was one of their birthday's). That's love.

Last night we played Ramapo College in Mahwah New Jersey, which I now do believe exists, athough I was skeptical. It was a tough crowd at first but we slowly built it up and it turned out being a really good show.

So far we're all getting along, although we're hedging bets on who's going to get into a fistfight by the end of the tour. Current odds are me and Darren.

Tonight we're off to Kutztown to rock it with Erik Petersen.

Peace.

tour update 03/06

2005-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

a few things

2005-03-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

1. if you're going to be a patriarchal jerk, don't come to my shows. you are not welcome.

2. we raised a little over $100 for Philly Rage at the show last saturday with Erik Petersen. good times.

3. RIOT-FOLK! TOUR FINALIZED
March 4 @ Jersey City, NJ
March 5 @ Bronxville, NY
March 6 @ Mahwah, NJ
March 7 @ Kutztown, PA
March 8 @ Pittsburg, PA
March 9 @ Athens, OH
March 10 @ Bloomington, IN
March 11 @ Louisville, KY
March 12 @ Richmond, IN
March 15 @ Allentown, PA
March 16 @ Washington, D.C.

4. the prospect of two weeks away from school makes me giddy.

5. the prospect of the number of cds that i have to burn before tour makes me dizzy.

6. i like numbers.

7. not really.

-evan

Riot-Folk! Explodes...

2005-02-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

So Riot-Folk! got so many downloads yesterday that we had to double our bandwith. Then, by this morning, we had already reached our limit again. That means THOUSANDS of people are downloading this music!

If you ever feel like you're alone in your beliefs, think of that. We ARE everywhere, and we ARE sucking up all of Riot-Folk's bandwith.

love,
Evan

ps. if you haven't yet, do check out www.riotfolk.org

the story continues...

2005-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

The weeks go by and everything just gets crazier and crazier.

This weekend was the Ever Reviled Records Roots and Rock Dance Party, which was a quite excellent event with myself, Tom Frampton, Mark Gunnery, Zach Lost (of the Thoughtbreakers) and Darren "Deicide" Kramer.

Every show I play is more fun than the last with more fists in the air and more singing along. I could really get used to this.

On the international front, today I got wonderful e-mails about my music from hard-working hard-fighting people in four different countries.

My favorite was from the Czech republic:
"Please send me lyrics to 'The Good Fight.' Total DIY forever!"

In other news:
The Riot-Folk! site has been updated, so check it out and download everyone's free mp3s!

Hunter S. Thompson died today. A real tragedy and a loss of an excellent author.

coming soon: a rant about patriarchy and racism within the anarchist movement.

love,
Evan

MAKING FOLK A THREAT AGAIN!

2005-02-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

I've been much too busy to post lately. Playing 1-2 shows a week, going to school (sort of), protesting at the Inauguration. It's been nuts. But all in all things are starting to get crazy with this whole music thing. After this weekend at the People's Music Network, I'm feeling more confident than ever that this is really what I want to do with my life. Hanging around with the people I grew up listening to--Charlie King, Bev Grant, Anne Feeney, Tom Neilson--and having them sing with me and eat with me and tell me how excited they are about Riot-Folk, and playing shows with me and bla bla bla bla bla. It's nuts. I'm humbled and ecstatic.
If I can survive this semester of school, I think I can really make this work.

Love to all.
-Evan

The Frampton Sessions

2005-01-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

Sometime between the show at Hope House, an act of accidental tresspassing at the National Security Agency, and a fascinating and frightening tour of a Morman visitor's center, I found some time with fellow riot-folker Tom Frampton to record some new tracks in his basement. We also got some decent recordings of a couple songs from the Hope House show, so now online are:

Live @ Hope House:
The Ballad of the Last Six Months of My Life
Love Me, I'm a Liberal

The Frampton Session
The Picket Line Song (featuring Tom Frampton and Ryan Harvey)
The Ballad of Tundra
Fire and Stone
Hey Dad, I'm an Anarchist
Hitchin'
Rogues of Ferry Beach
Liberty is a Statue

These won't be the final versions of these songs. I'll probably be re-recording them sometime this spring for their eventual release on my next album "Folk from the Frontlines," but a lot of people have been asking for these tracks, so I figured I'd throw something together to hold you over until the big release this summer.

The new songs can be downloaded at my website.

Let me know what you think!
-evan

much to tell

2005-01-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

Things have been busy but fairly quiet in Evan-land. Played a wonderful informal welcome-home show at the 14 Lopez St. house in Cambridge, MA after the annual Radical Christmas Caroling event. Then just some much-needed time off catching up with friends and family and writing some new material.

I'm currently in Baltimore, sitting in Red Emma's, one of the most delightful anarchist cafes/bookstores I've ever had the pleasure of spending a lazy day in writing songs, updating the old tour journal and taking a nap on that lovely green couch. There's jazz playing in the background and the place is bustling. It's a Monday afternoon and there's about 15 people here. It gives me hope.

Last night there was a great little Riot-Folk! Show at The Hope House in Silver Spring, MD. Me, Tom Frampton, and Mark Gunnery all played, and Ryan Harvey even played a couple new songs despite his being deathly sick. We got some decent recordings of the show and as soon as I cut them up into tracks I'll have them up on my website and the riot-folk! website.

I'm going back to Silver Spring tonight to lay down some more new recordings, and then I'll be kicking around the D.C., Baltimore, Philly, NJ area for a few days before I head back to Boston one last time before school resumes on January 17th.

In other important news, I have now officially decided to take a possibly indefinite leave of absence after this semester and just focus on organizing and playing music. So starting this summer I'll be touring like crazy! Get in touch to set up shows.

-Evan

The Ballad of What's Happened Since the Last Post

2004-12-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, I always sort of forget that I have this thing, which is why I never update it. Since our last episode, much has happened.
It's hard to play gigs while I'm trapped at Swarthmore College, but somehow I managed to pull off quite a few (at great expense to my grades, but who cares.)
There was a more-or-less totally sold-out show at Bluestockings Bookstore in NYC, which was amazingly awesome. After the NYC show there was another Trees Not Walls Show at the Folk Factory in Mt. Airy, PA. Great show with Erik Petersen and the gang.
After that, I had a few informal housey kinda shows around the Philly area and at some colleges around there, which were all fantastic and often included 90's pop sing-alongs.
In the last week of November I headed to Baltimore for a kick-ass show at Red Emma's.

Okay, now onto the important stuff. I've got a record label now! A bunch of us lesser-known-but-still-with-some-following radical folksinger people have formed a collective for mutual aid and rocking out. So, introducing:

RIOT-FOLK! RECORDS!

An artist-owned-and-run collective of radical folksingers who are MAKING FOLK A THREAT AGAIN!

We are:
Anna Roland - folked up jazzy riot-folk fury from st. louis!
Evan Greer - agressive folk from the front lines outta boston
Tom Frampton - throws down. insanely eloquent in-your-face folk-punk from CT.
Ryan Harvey - phenomenal songs of uprising, resistance and revolution originally from Baltimore
Brenna Sahatjian - ethereal poetical and political songs from San Fransisco
Ethan Miller - hard-hitting and earthy radical folk from Maine
Haymarket - sing-along anarcho-country-punk from D.C.
Mark Gunnery - old-timey and refreshingly clever anarchist folk from NYC

Word. So check out the other Riot-Folk! artists, because they are some of the most amazing and talented songwriters and musicians I have ever heard. I can't explain how excited I am to be working with these folks. Keep your eye out for Riot-Folk! releases, shows, and distro.

Speaking of releases, (I know this is a long post, but it's been a while), I'll be hitting the studio in January to lay down about 30 brand new never-before-recorded tracks. I should have a new full-length CD out by March entitled "Folk From the Front Lines." Those tracks will be online as soon as i finish recording and mastering and such. I may also be releasing a split-CD soon with another radical artist.

Solidarity,
Evan

Spooky Benefit in Jersey City

2004-11-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Great show last night in Jersey City! Myself, the boogie-man himself Darren "Deicide" Kramer, folk songstress Catherine Moon, and a fantastic local performer named Karen all played the Trees Not Walls benefit at a little coffeeshop called Ground. The crowd was small but very lively. Thanks to everyone who sang along!

The money raised is all going to support the International Solidarity Movement's next Olive Harvest Campaign in occupied Palestine.

Lacking a costume, I borrowed a lovely dress from Geniveve, which fit me quite smashingly. Unfortunately no one had a camera, but it was great fun to play in a dress. I should do it more often.

Great times all around hanging out with Darren and my Jersey crew. See y'all down the road sometime soon.

'that's what's up.'
-Evan

the ballad of the last six months of my life (an 8.5 minute song)

2004-10-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

We talked as the moon disappeared
Discussed the finer points between honest and sincere
And she talked of how we are so alone
I said, hey at least they tap our phones
And listen in the walls
Did you hear that clicking on the line?
Yeah it happens all the time.
So I guess we must be doing something right.
I sighed and said to her I think my songs are all a lie
I won’t write another ‘till the day I die.
She said why? I said I don’t know it just feels wrong.
So she said write something new
Something made of me and you.
Something that’s free from the background noise of the machine.
She said every song you write can be a folksong.
So long as everybody can sing along and you
Don’t mind if they sing a little out of key.
I said how do you know me so well?
She said we’re all just the same in the end.
We just try to play the game as best we can.
As best we can.
As best we can.
I said to her this place is a machine
She said I know cuz I have seen what it has done to you
From the embers in your eyes to the bottle in your hand
I want you to know I understand
Why you had to die
Why you had to lie so many times before.
To transcribe my desire
Threw my guitar into the fire
Okay I lied it was just the fireplace
No it wasn’t lit, the truth is that it hasn’t seen flame in years
But at least my eyes saw tears
As they went streaming down your face
And we watched the wood and wire resting on the brick
I started to feel sick because I knew you knew I knew
That tomorrow I’d be back
Singing songs about Iraq, telling stories of train tracks
That I have never walked along
So I’ll write you a song that’s about ‘honesty’
And I’ll tell you to give it up
Because it’s just an empty cup
And when the whiskey is all gone it picks up and moves right on.
Like every drifter that you’ve kissed
And every greyhound that you’ve missed.
And every lunar eclipse.
When the shadow of the earth is plain for all to see
The fruits of this economy.
The earth is a black hole; a crater in the moon
An empty promise that he’ll call back soon.
It’s the most ancient of songs
The revolution that went wrong
When we forgot what we were fighting for
And we were passed out on the floor
When the cops broke down the door.
Confused by what they saw they slowly backed away
And went back to their cars.
Told eachother “We could take ‘em”
But they’re sleeping so why wake ‘em?
Then one came back inside and left a water bottle by our sleeping heads
Because he knew how it felt to try to drink yourself to death.
He knew that we’d need it when we woke up the morning
And then without warning, the house burst into flames
And he carried us outside where we slept for three more days.
We woke up and looked around the house had burned to the ground
And I was starting to feel free, when you said look and see
My guitar was lying next to me
So I picked it up started to play
And we sat there for the whole day
In the ruins of a prison we had built for ourselves
Of rhetoric and cigarettes
Empty bottles empty threats
And a thousand gallons of spray-paint.
Now all engulfed in flame.
So all we could do was laugh and claim it for the ELF
We burned ourselves out of our home
So that we would be free to roam
And I could start writing songs about wishing I had a bed to call my own
Wishing I had chains wishing I had a home
Because I lie but I am not a liar
I’m just so fucking tired
Of being a slave to liberation
A servant to the fire.
Because fire’s not a live it just does its best to pretend.
But we all know in the end
That it’s just a parasite like a smoker asking for a light.
It can’t live without some help
But then that’s what it means to be a live
Even when you’re DIY
Doing everything yourself gets lonely sometimes.
And how I wish that you were here
So I could spit upon my fears
Grab you by the hand and go underground to meet the man
Who whispers in my ear
And tells me that I should give up hope
That this is just my teenage angst
Well I’m almost 20 years old and the end is nowhere in sight
Maybe it’s around the bend, near that sign that says “The End”
I guess it doesn’t matter since this train shows no signs of stopping.
It’s headed straight for nowhere
But I hear it makes a brief stop in the South Poll.
That’s where I wanna go.
Where honesty will kill you because it’s honestly 65 below.
But before you freeze to death
You can read the writing in your breath
And see it was written by some ass;
No you’re not really on a train, you’re just skipping class.
That’s the closest I can get to the freedom of a kiss.
I had my dreams in my hand
And I crushed them when I made a fist
To shake at the machine that deprives me of my sleep.
This place is like a movie-set. The actors all have their regrets
And the camera sees it all from where it’s hidden in the wall.
And it thinks we’re all insane for not using our real names
As if they didn’t know what we do and where we go.
So I’m a little paranoid hey I’m just a little boy
Playing games with walkie-talkies in the streets.
When the weight of all our feet made cracks in the cement
And I could see what was underneath and it wasn’t the beach
It was the livid truth that I had lost my youth.
I’m older now than I have ever been before.
And time keeps marching on despite the teargas and orders to disperse
And things keep getting worse, or is it always just the same?
We declared war on standing still.
So long as we keep moving things will somehow get better someday.
So lets wait until the Chorus comes around again
Then throw our fists up and pretend that our voices will be heard
When everybody knows the words
And sings just like the birds that used to live in the trees
That once stood where this basement now explodes
And we all have punk rock shows
And everyone’s too drunk to listen to the bands
But the singer understands
He’s just the soundtrack to the progress of our deaths
Singing is just the mechanics of breath and melody
It’s a verbal remedy.
But I’m still so fucking lonely.
And I cannot remember what was wrong.
When I sat down to write this song.
That was so very long ago.

Update 10/28/04

2004-10-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Let's see. Much has happened and I haven't been posting anything!
A few weeks back me N Ryan Harvey headed up to St. Louis MO to perform at the protests surrounding the Presidential Debates there. That was quite a blast and it gave Ryan and I time to discuss our creation of a brand new anarchist record label: Riot-Folk Records will officially be the shit starting soon at a riot near you.
More on that soon. Other artists will include Haymarket, Anna Roland, Tom Frampton, and Mark Gunnery.
Also recently, I performed at the Million Worker March. Which had more communist vanguard groups than I have ever seen assembled in one place in my life, prompting me to soon begin producing buttons that read "No I Don't Want Your Fucking Communist Newspaper."
Also recently have been two Trees Not Walls Palestine Eco-Justice Soliarity Concerts. One in D.C., which was a great show and a smaller more mundane show here at Swarthmore. (Everything at Swarthmore is mundane.)
Coming up soon are several more trees not walls shows, and a few other political events.
I'm definitely looking for shows during the winter-break, so if you've got a living room, I've got a guitar. gimme a call.

-evan

Update August 17th, 2004: Defiance, Ohio, DNC2RNC and More

2004-08-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

As always, lots of catching up to do! I played a show last night with the fabulously catchy folk-punk band Defiance, Ohio at the Common Ground in Brattleboro, Vermont. Also opening the show were Jerkoff Jackoff Frigface (satirical country-punk), Deathfish (… no words to describe), Mantits (hilariously cynical folk-core), and Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains.

It was a great show, about forty kids packed into the small room, lots of dancing and fists in the air. The folks from Defiance, Ohio are great people too and we got a long really well. We’ll definitely be playing together again sometime down the road. Be sure to check them out and download their mp3s at http://defianceohio.terrorware.com

This little trip to Vermont, however, was just a hiatus from the more important DNC2RNC DEMOCRACY UPRISING March. Burned out from lots of walking and medic work, I needed a break, so me and a new friend, Jen, from Louisville, Kentucky hit the road and hitchhiked back to Boston from Hartford so that I could play a few shows and we could rest and try to get over the colds we both caught on the march.

The march has been incredibly inspiring. The responses we’ve gotten from the communities that we walk through has been overwhelmingly positive. We find help and support in the least expected places. The woman with American flags all over her pickup truck who stops to wave, and then comes back ten minutes later with the back of her truck full of water for the marchers. The steel-worker who comes outside of his house to look us over and ends up inviting us in for a beer. Everywhere we go the people seem to agree that they are not represented by either Bush or Kerry, and that they want something different.

It leaves me with a resounding feeling: we’re not as screwed as we think we are.

This will probably be my last post for a while. After today, Jen and I are hitching back to meet up with the march in New Haven, and then we’ll be walking the rest of the way to NYC for the Republican National Convention. I’m still looking for musical endeavors during the convention, so if you know of any planned or spontaneous actions that could use a neo-post-oi!-folk-core soundtrack, gimme a buzz (978-852-6457.)

See you in the streets of New York City.

-Evan

More Catching Up

2004-08-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

So the Summer Tour 2004 has officially come to an end.
My last gig was at Manning State Forest in Billerica, MA. Jim Perry invited me to play at a Pagan Ritual he was presenting. It was a phenomenal gig. At first I was a little leary about the crowd, as they seemed fairly staunch democrats... but Jim coaxed me to play my Tweedle-Dee Blues (the John Kerry Song), and the crowd went crazy. They actually demanded an encore of the song at the end, which is something that has never happened to me before.

The John Kerry song is a phenomenon that I think I must comment upon, because I think it is very telling. I don't think that this is by any means the best song I've ever written, but it is certainly becoming one of the most popular. It's only been online for two months now and already has been downloaded more than most of my other songs combined.
From wealthy Fairfax, VA to working-class Haverhill, MA to Bluehill, ME the song has received overwhelming adoration. To me this is extremely telling. Nobody likes John Kerry. Many people have resigned themselves to vote for him, but very few are under any illusion that he truly represents their hopes and dreams for the future.

This gives me a lot of hope. We are perpetually bombarded by the corporate media to believe that we are all alone, the only one's resisting. It's not true. The majority of people in this country are fed up with the hipocrisy of our government. It's just a matter now of taking action, and building communities that are strong enough that we don't need to rely on that government, or corporations to take care of us. We can take care of each other instead.

-Evan

Update of the Procrastinater

2004-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Far too long since I've updated this silly thing, but I'm still banking on the prayer that nobody reads it...

So the tour was cut a little bit short when Pat got the Flu after our July 19th show in Sheldon, CT (which was totally rocking, by the way.) Pat was pretty sick so I brought him home to Brattleboro, VT, where he could rest and then I headed back Boston to run around like a chicken with my head cut off doing final organizing preperations for Bl(A)ck Tea Society and resistance during the Democratic National Convention.

A week and a half of insanity ensued during which I seldom showered, shaved less, and essentially lived in Cambridge, going to an endless barage of meetings, fundraisers, etc. Meanwhile, I put the finishing touches on my street-medic kit and rehearsed some of my newer songs for the endless lineup of DNC-related gigs I had coming up the next week.

Needless to say, all of this was a little stressful.

On July 24th, I suppose my petty significance in the world of music increased when I played a show at the Middle East Club in Cambridge that was headlined by Billy Bragg. I can't say it was all it was cracked up to be, but after the show I enjoyed a pleasant night-time drive to Maine with David Rovics and his partner Maria. David and I played the WERU-FM Full Circle Summer Fair the next day, meeting up with Pat Humphries and Sandy Oh of Emma's Revolution as well as David Barsamian, creator of Alternative Radio and SONiA, renouned folk-rocker and performer of Phil Ochs tunes. It was one of the best gigs of the whole tour, a very appreciative (and large) audience, and just an overall great event.

The next day was spent resting, doing some final organizing and medic work, and getting mentally prepared for the week that was to follow. The week of the DNC.

On Monday I performed in the morning at a rally on Boston Common against Police Brutality, Prisons, and the Patriot Act. Turnout was fairly low, but it was still a fun place to play.

The rest of the day, I ran as a street medic. I highly reccomend against being a folk-singing street-medic. There are more conflicts of interest than you might think. Like when someone that you're treating recognizes you as "That Evan kid who plays the music." Yeah. That's no good.

Tuesday was the Really Really Democratic Bazaar, which was the best event of its kind that I have ever seen take place. There were at least 2500 people on Boston Common and a phenomenally diverse crowd with fantastic booths, music, gifts, activities and fun. I gave up my slot on the stage to Emma's Revolution and decided to simply play with a tight circle of dedicated fans on the grass of the common. It was much more fun and, in my opinion, more conducive to the spirit of the Bazaar.

On Wednesday, David and I led a "campfire style" sing-along in the convergence space. We all got together to belt out old Wobbly favorites like "Solidarity Forever" and "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back" as well as David and I playing requests of our own original songs. The sing-along was cut short by some police activity down at Government Center, which turned out to be nothing but resulted in a fabulous un-planned march/dance through the streets of downtown. ("VIVA VIVA ANARQUIA!!!")

Thursday was the day of decentralized action, so of course I spent most of my time in the streets as a medic. I did manage to save enough energy, however, to perform a few songs both at the ending rally on Boston Common and at the DNC2RNC March Kick-off at Spontaneous Celebrations, with Ethan Miller, Ryan Harvey, Thistle, David Rovics, etc. The performances at that concert were recorded, and as soon as I get my hands on the live recordings I will make them available on my website.

Check IMC for updates about what happened on the day of action. Solidarity to Jake. I'm far too tired to explain anymore.

I'll be catching up with the DNC2RNC: DEMOCRACY UPRISING March in Sterling, CT on August 7th. Until then, it's just running around tying up loose ends here in Boston and starting to get remotely prepared to go back to prison, er... school at the end of August.

-Evan

Up the Kids!!! (in CT)

2004-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

New Haven, CT is hereby my favorite venue in the Northeast. On a Tuesday night with no advanced planning on my part, over 35 kids showed up at the stage on New Haven Green to hear Pat the Bunny and I perform. Huge thanks to Scott who organized the show!! I went on first and played a decent set (with 2 broken strings) starting with Rogues of Ferry Beach and trying to carry that energy all the way through to finishing up with a sing-along cover of Erik Petersen's "Roll Me Through The Gates of Hell." Pat had similar trouble breaking strings, but he was in his element and everyone seemed to be really into both of our styles of music.

The ultimate irony, however, was when in the middle of my set, a familiar face came running across the New Haven Green towards us; it was none other than Sally O'Brien, my old musical partner, banjo-player and song critic extraordinaire! After exchanging brief dual-amazement at this chance encounter, we both launched into our anti-Swarthmore rock anthem: On the Road Again: A study of the socio-religio-political patterns of othering in postmodern academia. It was a hit as always, despite our lack of practice, as Sally has been in the Republic of Georgia for the past month. She will probably be performing with me at the show in Shelton CT this Sunday.

I sold a bunch of CDs and a t-shirt, plus gave a ton of stuff away as always. After the show I had the privelege of meeting Kat and Emily, two more of the organizers of the dnc2rnc March: Democracy Uprising!!! (This is one of the best ideas I've heard of in a long time, so get your butt over to www.dnc2rnc.org and check it out.) Hanging out in a studio-space of an abandoned factory, we had a wonderful night chatting politics and music, cooking deliciously dumpstered vegan food and just having a grand old time in general.

If only every show was like this...

Update

2004-07-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

Being on the road makes updates difficult. But now I am back in my element at 14 Lopez Street, in Central Sq., Cambridge. We're all sitting around attempting to draw a guitar-wielding turnip for a flyer for the July 16th Vegan Foodfest.

Let's see...

The July 8th Show was great. Much thanks to the Catbox for risking it all to let us have it there. Erik Petersen and Evil Robot Us' both played fantastically and there were plenty of people there. We made $100 for BTS.

Later,
Evan

Tour Update Number Two

2004-07-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

The tour continues! Despite some personal-life issues that have stolen some of my energy, the gig in Montauk went well. Thanks to Bob Ficarola for setting that up. The money made will probably pay for gas for the next leg of the tour. Lots of CD sales too, which is always a good thing.
The next couple days will be spent chilling in NYC with Pat and some of our new friends.

This week I will be featured on Joel Landy's award-winning TV Show, "Songs of Freedom."
In Manhattan, see it on Time-Warner Cable: Channels 34 or 107 at 7:30pm on Thursday or 11:00am on Friday.
In Queens: see it live on Channel 34 on Wednesday at 7:30pm.
In Staten Island: 7:30pm on Channel 34, next Tuesday.
The Bronx: See it next Wednesday at 4:00pm on Channel 70.
Brooklyn: 1:30pm or 9:30pm on Channels 35 and 68.

The next big show is @ The Catbox in West Philly on July 8th with Erik Petersen!! Hope to see some of you there.

Playfully Dangerous: Day 2

2004-07-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Pat and I had our first gig of the tour last night at the Flywheel Arts Collective in Easthampton MA. The Flywheel is an amazing space with a fantastic bunch of people running it. Unfortunately we underestimated the effects of the 4th-of-July Weekend and even though Helen did an excellent job promoting the show, turnout was fairly low.
I still had a pretty good time playing though, taking the crowd into the smaller front room and going unplugged.
Charlie King and Karen Brandow were kind enough to help us and we give them many props!! They were quite excellent.
All in all we made about $100 for the Black Tea Society.
After the show we crashed with some of Pat's friends in Northampton, then got up bright and early this morning to head for New York City.
Currently we are at the home of the lovely and talented Katherine Sydenham, and this evening we will be performing at another Black Tea Society benefit, this one at the Bluestockings Bookstore in NYC. Catch us there with Joel Landy and Fred Arcoleo!

Later,
Evan

Kill your TV, but watch me first!

2004-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I headed down south, first to play at the Amnesty Underground Eviction Party, (more cheap beer than I'd ever care to see again), and then to head down to the Washington D.C. area to play a few gigs set up by Ken Meyerchord, a video-activist and volunteer for FPA-TV, (Fairfax Public Access.)

So it was that deep in the stronghold of white elitism, I set up my guitar and amp and, with a meager crowd of my DC-area friends who had come out to see me, I started playing radical songs in the middle of Lake Anne Park in Reston, VA. The response was surprising. Several people came up and told me that they agreed with my views, including one woman who said that she had stood on the Lexington Green with John Kerry but now totally agreed with what I had to say about him. It was a heartening experience to say the least.
The filming at FPA studios also went well and Ken filmed the performance later that night. Hopefull I will have video clips of some of the new songs (Tweedle-Dee Blues, Fire and Stone, Rogues of Ferry Beach etc.) up online soon!
The show, "Songs of Significance," will air on channels 10 and 38 sometime in the future. I'll let you know.

Overall it was a good trip. Lots of neat people down there doing good work in DC for the summer. We met a bunch of Greenpeace folks who worked on the huge banner drop that they did last week. Thanks to everyone who fed us or let us stay in their house!

David Rovics and I are searching for a Boston venue for a show on July 30th. If you can help us, please let me know!!
I also need a venue for a Vegan Foodfest/Benefit Concert for July 16th. Help!!

Solidarity,
Evan

The Harsh Realities of... Capitalism

2004-06-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

The past several days have been spent preparing my CD, Songs of Solidarity for mass production at Artist Development Studios in Framingham, MA. The costs of this, in conjunction with rising gas prices, my new guitar, and lack of a steady job have me focusing far too much on the harsh realities of capitalism. While I'm sure I'll pull the money together somehow, it's currently unclear how I will have enough cash to pay for the transportation while on tour.

The new, fully produced, CDs will be available within a week. If anyone would like to pre-order a CD and front me the money, by all means do so. You can send checks, barters of artwork, and your siblings' phone numbers to:

Evan Greer
76 Spring Grove Rd
Andover, MA
01810

The CDs are sliding scale $6-$15. Pay what you can afford.

Also: I don't have a pay-pal account to set up a virtual guitar-case, but if any of you who download the music feel inclined to make a donation, please send me a check or well-concealed cash.

Also also: if you can provide a place to sleep / eat at any of the destinations along the tour, please let me know!

Thanks for your support,
Evan

TOUR DATES SO FAR for July:
Click Here for more details.

July 2nd @ Flywheel Arts in Easthampton MA (with Charlie King, Mascott, and Jennifer O'Connor!)
July 3rd @ Bluestockings in New York City, NY
July 4th @ Still booking in New York City, NY
July 5-7 @ Still Booking in NY, DC, NJ, or PA
July 8th @ Rotunda or Code Space, Philadelphia PA (with Erik Petersen!!
July 9th @ Chit-Chat Lounge in Haverhill, MA
July 10th @ Still Booking in Boston, MA
July 11th @ Still Booking in New England
July 12th -- Travel
July 13th @ TBA in New Haven, CT
July 14 @ Still Booking in CT, RI, MA, etc.
July 15th @ The Blackstone in Providence, RI
July 16th @ Taste the Revolution Vegan Foodfest, Boston MA
July 17th @ TBA in CT
July 18th @ Still Booking in CT, RI, MA, etc.
July 19th @ Acoustic Punk Show in CT
July 20th @ Gutter Rock in Brattleboro, VT
July 21st @ Common Ground in Brattleboro, VT
July 22-23 @ Still booking anywhere in New England
July 24th @ The Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge MA (with Billy Bragg!!)
July 25th @ WERU-FM Summer Fair in Blue Hill, ME (with Christine Lavin!!)
July 26th @ Anti-DNC March in Boston, MA
July 27th @ Really Really Democratic Bazaar in Boston, MA (with David Rovics, Ethan Miller!)
July 28th @ Boston Social Forum in Boston, MA
July 29th @ TBA in Boston, MA
July 30th @ End-Of-Tour DNC Legal Benefit Party, MA
July 31st @ Lughnasadh Family Picnic in No. Billerica, MA

The Harvard Square Dilemma

2004-06-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago I was set up busking in Harvard Square after the BALM Squad Street Medic Training there. The night went phenomenally well and I made more money than most paying gigs and got plenty of new e-mail addresses for my e-mail list.

So here's the problem: I was also approached by someone from the Cambridge "Arts Council." AKA, the people who tell you what sorts of art you're allowed to do where. AKA art-fascists. If I want to continue playing in Harvard Square, I'm supposed to pay $50 to get a little permit that says I'm allowed to exercise my 1st Ammendment.

Clearly, ideologically speaking I am entirely against such a thing. No one should need a permit to make music in a public space. However, the Square provides an excellent place to spread DIY politics and issues through music and literature.

What should I do?

Chilling with Pete Seeger and Friends at PMN

2004-06-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

Legendary Folksinger, Pete Seeger

A weekend beyond description at the People’s Music Network Gathering in Walden, MA. I spent the two days singing, strumming, and talking politics with the likes of the legendary Pete Seeger, Charlie King and Karen Brandow, Tom Neilson, and Bev Grant.

I drove down to the PMN gathering with Ethan Miller, one of the friendliest, most thoughtful and talented people I have met in quite a long time. During the round-robin open mic, Ethan’s new song, “White Lies” brought the whole house to its feet in applause. Ethan and I are now discussing possibilities for a future tour with another young person that we met at PMN named Barry Weber. Barry’s great voice and hilarious lyrics are really something new to be treasured. Go to their websites to check out both Ethan and Barry's stuff, as they both have lots of free mp3s!

The highlight of the weekend came at the end, when someone told me that Pete Seeger wanted to have a word with me. A few minutes later, beyond all expectations, I found myself sitting around a picnic table out on the porch with Ethan, Barry, Pete Seeger, and his longtime friend Randolphe Harris II. Apparently many people had told Pete about the quality of the songs that we three were writing and he wanted to meet the young songwriters. We ended up talking with Pete for almost three hours about everything from white privilege and the Democratic National Convention to Woody Guthrie and his recipe for strawberry shortcake. As Pete says, “There are those who play a better banjo, but there’s nobody who makes a better strawberry shortcake.”

Pete is one of the most fascinating and knowledgeable men that I have ever met. His grasp of current politics, working-class history, and world music and culture is astounding, and his stories of his days with Woody Guthrie are simply a pleasure to hear. Pete has been playing folk music for over sixty years and he has never lost his values or his DIY spirit. Despite being signed to several major record labels, he and Randolphe still release a DIY CD that they burn from their own computers and cut up the labels for. Pete really seemed to take a liking to Ethan and I and he assured us that we would be seeing him again in the near future.

The gathering was a fireball of radical energy. Very few people there were fooled by the tweedle-dee-tweedle-dumb campaign of Bush-Kerry. The hours were simply packed with songs of freedom and struggle, old Wobbly songs, Phil Ochs tunes, and old gospel and hobo songs. I have never seen so many vintage guitars—beat up old Guilds and beautiful ancient Gibsons—in my life.

I spent a good deal of time also with songwriter Tom Neilson. Tom is a fantastic guy with a lot of stories and experiences to tell. He’s also a great songwriter. I sat around with him while Ethan helped him work out harmony for his new song: (“When freedom is outlawed, only outlaws will be free.”) Tom and I are talking about setting up gigs and benefits together this summer, and he’s planning to play at the Really Really Democratic Bazaar during the DNC. Check out Tom’s stuff at www.tomneilsonmusic.com

Well, to be sure I will be attending all People’s Music Network Gatherings in the future. The next one is in January in New York City. Everyone should attend! Especially young people. This time ‘round, Ethan and I were by far the youngest folks there. The average age is probably sixty. But I have to tell you, these are the hippest old people I’ve ever met!

To register for the next PMN gathering go to www.peoplesmusic.org

New Guitar: Photo from Massive Con

2004-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

May 29, 2004 @ Clara Barton Center, Photo by Gaby

Here's a photo taken by my friend Gaby at the Massive Con Concert last weekend at the Clara Barton Diabetes Center in Oxford, MA. This was taken before I decided to go acoustic and get off the stage. This is also the first photo online of my brand new Martin D-16 Dreadnought guitar.

My guitar needs a name, so if you have ideas, let me know.

Not too much coming up. Mostly catching up with friends and organizing with the Bl(A)ck Tea Society. This weekend I'll be driving down to New York with Ethan Miller, one of New England's finest radical folksingers. We will be headed to Walden NY for the People's Music Network summer Gathering, an incredible weekend gathering of musicians and songwriters working for social change. Previous workshop leaders have included Pete Seeger, so it promises to be an excellent event.

Other than that, check the gigs page to see what's coming up later in June and I hope to see you somewhere this summer!

-Evan

Summer Tour Update: 5/30/04

2004-05-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Much news to report.

After the demise of my old Ibanez at the Roots N Rock party in NJ, I am now the proud owner of a Martin D-16. A really beautiful instrument and much nicer than my previous tool of the trade.

Last week was spent mostly on producing the new CD and frequenting open mics (several of which lead to offers for paying gigs...) Several new shows have been set up, so check the gigs page of www.evangreer.com to see what's up.

Last night, I performed at the Massive Con 2004 "Battle of the Bands." This was definitely the best show of the tour so far. Despite a faulty P.A. and two broken strings the audience was with me the whole time. I ended up forgetting the P.A., jumping off the stage and playing totally acoustic to a crowd of about 100 people. We ran out of CDs to sell after about ten minutes and had to start taking down peoples' addresses. Great show and made up for some of the money lost driving to New Jersey and back. It was also great to see all my UU buddies, Caitie, Erin, Bonnie Rovics, Chris, Bill, Elise, etc. Thanks for singing along guys!

Next show will probably be the open mic at Club Passim.

-Evan

Summer Tour: Day Two

2004-05-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

After a long and wild night of music and fun, I left the House of Strife and its lovely residents around 1pm to drive to Danbury CT and meet up with the Amnesty Underground and Analog Enemy to play a benefit for the Madhatter's Independent Media Center, one of the only IMC's I've heard of that has a regularly issued print newspaper.

The show took place at Trash American Style, a radical bookstore / independent record store / pseudo-hardcore headshop. The owner, hearing of my troubles, offered to sell me his old beat-up guitar for $60. I declined the offer, but did end up using the guitar for the show. Analog Enemy, a melodic teenage hardcore band started the show with about 20 people standing amongst the aisles of the bookstore. I played a short set in between the bands, and despite the unfamiliar guitar and lack of energy due to the long drive, all went well.

I have to take a moment here to plug Amnesty Underground. These guys are really good. Incredibly innovative and driving rock-punk-metal genius. Amazing bass, great vocals. Good stuff, definitely check them out. www.amnestyunderground.com

After the show I hung with the guys from AU for a little while and ate some vegan Chinese food before hitting the road again to head back home to MA.

It's now 1:09am, and if you don't mind, I think I'll be getting some rest before my gig tomorrow in Cambridge.

Summer Tour: Day One

2004-05-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

First gig of the tour:

Ever Reviled Records
The Roots and Rock Party
@ House of Strife, New Brunswick NJ

This was a bittersweet gig. Great turnout, great people and tons of fun. The show kicked off with some spoken word, then I played my set, which was very well received. My new song, "Rogues of Ferry Beach" seems to be a hit. The room was small enough that I went acoustic, which is my favorite way to play. After I finished, a guy named DJ played and then Darren "Deicide" Kramer got us all dancing with a little roots n' boogie and Erik Petersen (Mischief Brew) finished the night with his incredible energy and impressive songwriting ability.

Then tragedy struck. My faithful guitar, which I have had since I started playing three years ago, somehow fell over and the neck split beyond repair. This was a problem, since I had another gig at 5pm the next day...
The ER people were great, and they passed a hat to help me out. There are good people in New Jersey, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

The Journey Begins

2004-05-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,
So this blog thing is new to me, but Liz, (www.urbanaddiction.com webmistress) suggested that I keep a tour journal this summer as I gallavant around the country.

The tour begins in my car. A tragic and ironic beginning perhaps, but New Jersey is a little far to walk and I wasn't about to hitchhike there alone. If someone wants to teach me how to hop trains, please let me know.

The drive was long, but fortunately I had Katherine to keep me company for most of it, and with Erik Petersen and Porcupine Tree blasting from my speakers, I rolled into New Brunswick, NJ, after only being lost for about an hour. (That's pretty good for me.)