James Evans

From frozen lakes to the ZepOcean

“It all started with that tone. The string vibrating over the fret board, being sustained over the bridge and sending these coloured frequencies into my ears, giving me a picture to the movements of those sounds to phrases.”

That comment from guitarist, composer and producer James Evans perfectly describes the passion James has for his instrument of choice and the impact it has made on the Canadian musician. And it’s a passion that started from a very early age…

Born in Windsor, Ontario, James was introduced to the guitar at the age of five. By nine he had achieved Grade 5 in Standard Guitar.

When James was fourteen the Evans family moved to Pinehouse, Saskatchewan where the young teenager was introduced to Country, Fiddle and Jig music. The precocious six-stringer entertained and competed in ‘best act’ contests at the town hall before a move back to Windsor saw James playing rock music with various three-piece high school bands.

By sixteen James was back in Pinehouse, playing guitar - and driving trucks (graduating as the youngest ever to become licensed at age seventeen). James found the isolation of driving through such beautiful surroundings an amazing experience and one that greatly built his character, but music was never far away…

James played guitar in The Roy Corrigan Band and the rock band Danger Street before a move to Prince Albert led to James playing heavy rock and pop. Returning home once more to Windsor he played in a number of heavy rock and metal bands and began classical training.

By the mid-80’s James was playing with Motown R&B band City Beat and in 1985 he appeared live on radio and cable TV for the African Relief Fund.

In the late-80’s and early-90’s, while recording and producing music for other bands, television and radio commercials, James became captivated by computers. In 1991 he obtained a Computer Technologist and Business Administration diploma and began laying the foundations of YSC Systems, which grew to become a successful computer wholesale, research and systems integration company.

But James never downed tools on the creation of music…

In 2001, the same year he sold YSC Systems, James released the mini-album Tradewinds.

Consisting of original, instrumental pieces Tradewinds was a musical expression of the years James had spent travelling and playing the guitar. It was infused with interesting musical accompaniment, including saxophone and world percussion. James also played Chinese Zither on the album.

James then became involved in a number of musical productions including designing entertainment programmes for corporate events and the development of musical themes for product launches and award shows. He also produced a number of independent Canadian artists.

In September 2010 James released his full-length solo album ZepOcean, an instrumental rock album highlighting the guitarist’s rock chops. The album included contribution from Brian Doerner on drums (Helix, Saga), Steve Hogg on Bass (Ian Thomas Band) and mixing by Richard Chycki (Rush, Aerosmith, Pink).

The quality of songs and performance is best exemplified by the fact that shortly after the album’s release the song After Burner won as a semi-finalist for the International Songwriters Competition for 2010. The competition involves around 110 countries and over 15,000 artists.

Only one month after the arrival of ZepOcean, James released Transform, a solo guitar and sitar mini-album. The tracks on Transform showcase a very different side to the guitar tonalities of James Evans – each piece was completely improvised and recorded live with no overdubs or edits.

James Evans has navigated frozen lakes and followed the Tradewinds to sail the ZepOcean.
But more musical adventures await, as yet uncharted…

• Tradewinds

• Alternative, Rock
• Various Artists
• 01/11/2008
• 

1. Maverick by Jim Evans
2. Asian Memories by Jim Evans
3. The Quest by Jim Evans
4. Dark Room by Jim Evans
5. Gun Ho by Jim Evans
6. Passages by Jim Evans
7. Take Me Home by Jim Evans
8. Farewell by Jim Evans

• Zepocean

• Instrumental, Rock
• James Evans
• 08/18/2010
• 

Liner Notes: Copyright 2010 - James Evans/Visor7 Records Publishing - SOCAN/Visor7 Records/James Evans Produced by: James Evans Mixed by: Richard Chycki Engineered by: Richard Chycki, John Nazario, Mark Fortuna, James Evans, James Im James Evans – All Electric Guitars, Bass, Acoustic, Keyboards, Programming (except noted below) Contributing Artists: Brian Doerner – Drums (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8) Ryan Abramowitz – Drums (tracks 4, 5) Steve Hogg – Bass Guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8) Dave Wiffen - Saxophones (track 8) Ian Yim – Bass Guitar, Percussions (tracks 2, 9, 10) James IM – Programming (tracks 2, 9, 10) Thanks To: Lileo, Gibson Guitars, Larrivee Guitars, Godin Guitars, Ernie Ball Guitars, D’adario Strings, Orange Amps, Dr. Z Amps, DigiDesign, Kris Thoroughgood, Fender EVH Guitars, Iguana Recording, RiversEdge Recording, Lerxst Music, Richard Chycki, Arlene Pastor, Syd Beder, MasterDisk, Andy VanDette, James Im, John R Nazario, Vic Branco, Mark Fortuna, The 12th Fret, Long & McQuade, Simon McAully & Carol Wheeler, Keith Kissner, Dave & Charlotte Dolson, John VanDerSluis, Burnzy, Samantha Pollard, Brent & Chris Doerner, Brian & Rose Doerner, Steve Hogg, Richard Hutt, Lloyd & Trish Walker, Julie Bednarik Cator, Naomi Evans, Renee Beach, Dan Momberquette, Ian Yim, Bill Koluk, John Kuntz, Charlotte Moller, Cindy Combes, Cory Barnes, Cyril Wheeler, Dave Chapman, Donna Afeldt, Dr. Sol Weis, Glenda Scott, Gordon & Charlotte Sinclair, John Farnsworth, Jon Jukes, Judy Gould, Ken Munshaw, Kim Poser, Marg Minster, Mike McAvan, Dan Loren, Nicolas Hernandez, Dr. Robert Ken Saito, Rivki Kutnovsky & Family. definition: ZepOcean, Karma, Nirvana and all that quests us from the time our souls leave this earthy place to find that core in the Universe. Being part of that energy in that specific portion of the Universe, we find our soul energy travelling faster than the speed of light entering the place from where we began. Space and time that the energy emerged from, ensued the chemical explosion that manifested the soul to be created and recreated for our journey. Among us lives a Generator. Recycling the souls to search out its home and to begin its cycle in time and place in the Universe. Our character here on this earthly planet gives us a representation of who and what evolves into energy creating external shells of carbon skin and processing minds. Humans. Our energy can manifest what our desires and beliefs should be. Karma brings forth the unexplained travels from our past to future in relation to time, but as the ZepOcean continues, our soul energies are becoming more at peace with Karma, and soon we shall all feed from the same source of energy, Love, Light, Peace and Happiness. ~ james evans ~

1. After Burner
2. Into The Night
3. Dawg Days
4. Zepocean
5. Don't Leave
6. 944
7. Passages
8. The Quest
9. Trashy Pumps
10. Waiting Desire

• Sugar Blues - Single

• Instrumental, Rock
• Christy Craig & James Evans
• 06/10/2011
• 

Liner Notes: Sugar Blues by Craig/ Evans (c)2011 James Evans- Guitars, Bass Christy Craig- Keyboards, Violin Brian Doerner- Drums Produced by James Evans Artwork by Lloyd Walker Design and James Evans Recorded at ARCC Sound Production Houston, TX and Iguana Recordings, Toronto Engineered by Mark Fortuna, (Kitchener, ON), Darius Szczepaniak, (Toronto) Mixed by Brett Paulin, (Toronto) Mastered by Andy Van Dette, MasterDisk, (NY, NY)

1. Sugar Blues

• Transform

• Instrumental, Instrumental
• James Evans
• 10/10/2010
• 

Liner Notes: Inspired by special people around James that gave light to new easy listening guitar music. This 6 track CD has had great response since its demo release just a few days ago. James would like to dedicate this CD to to those special people... All guitars by James Evans Produced and Mixed/Mastered by James Evans (c) 2011

1. Bring Me Home
2. Eastern Wind
3. Honest Heart
4. Leaving Time
5. Transform
6. One Way To Zepocean