“EVE” is a local band made up of four college students, but their sound is anything but immature.
Even though Kyler Bleakman, Aaron Dunlap, Maggie Schneider, and Jack Wachtel only came together in December of 2015, they sound as though they’ve been at it for years. The members of “EVE” unanimously agree that their music benefits from their youth. The highs and lows that college and young adulthood provide serve as their inspiration, and writing and performing music serves as therapy. Performing a song about a stressful or emotional experience is very cathartic.
They also said that they’re grateful to have started so young, because they have a musical record of this tumultuous period in their lives. Wachtel stated that right now, they are making the soundtrack to their experiences.
All of the members of “EVE” were active musicians before coming together. Bleakman, Dunlap, and Wachtel were three fifths of the band “Absolutely,” and Schneider performed as a solo musician. Luckily, fate was on their side in the form of a musical theater troupe that brought Schneider and Wachtel together. When the two forces came together to perform a few cover songs in front of a crowd for the first time, their chemistry was so overwhelming that they knew they had to combine their powers to create “EVE.”
For the time being, both Schneider’s solo act and “Absolutely” have been put aside so that the members can focus on their current project, though the band does still perform some “Absolutely” and Maggie Schneider originals on stage.
If there’s one thing that “EVE” has mastered, it’s chemistry, both on-stage and off. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the band in concert twice, and both times they were full of such charisma and charm that I couldn’t help but love them before their music even started. Schneider and Wachtel crack jokes back and forth, which really helps warm up the crowd. Accompanied by Bleakman, the stoic guitarist, and Dunlap, the drummer with glowing drumsticks, “EVE” definitely fits the mold of what a band is supposed to be like; however, this is just about the only thing that fits the mold.
For such young and relatively inexperienced vocalists, Schneider and Wachtel both have very strong voices that carry emotion into the ears of the audience. The band told the audience what certain songs were about, but most were understood even without an explanation. When I asked “EVE” about their writing process, they told me that they usually create melodies first, based on experiences, feelings, and even landscapes. Because of this, the meanings of their songs are easily conveyed; what you feel when you are listening to it is what they felt when they wrote it.
“EVE” is definitely a special band. I knew this from the first time I heard Schneider and Wachtel’s voices during sound check. Their lyrics range from deep and emotional to light hearted and optimistic, and their sound is phenomenal. When asked to which bands they compare their sound, they provided me with myriad examples. Personally, I think they’re a mix of “Copeland,” “Paramore,” and something all their own. Of course, since they don’t currently have any music publicly available, the only way to know for sure what they sound like is to see them in concert, which I wholeheartedly recommend. For more information on EVE, make sure to visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EveOfficialBand/.
