Mike Evin

Piano pop tunesmith Mike Evin hollers out to his bandmates and leads call-and-response singalongs and handclaps all over his new album, Good Watermelon, and with good reason: Everything on the album was recorded and mixed live onto two-track analog tape. Everyone in the studio was clapping, shouting, and singing together in one room, and on the likes of "Great Pop Song," "We Should Dance" and “Rockin’ Receptionist,” you can really tell. Although he’s variously made his home in New York City, Toronto, and Halifax, Evin returned to his birthplace and hometown of Montreal for two weeks in April 2008 to capture Good Watermelon, his fourth recording and his most mature and personal yet. In capturing this eclectic blend of memorable songs that celebrate life, Evin enlisted a gang of players/friends – including Montreal collective Ideal Lovers (Zac Decamp, David Payant, Mike O'Brien and Joe Grass), Andy Creeggan (former Barenaked Ladies), Emma Baxter (Orillia Opry), and Angela Desveaux – to be his backup band, while Andrea Dawes arranged a string section and Paul Forgues mixed and engineered the recording.

The live-to-tape recording style suits Evin well, since he’s as captivating a live performer as you’ll see, using his charm, energy, talent and good cheer to unfailingly grab hold of any and every audience. Evin is a pop eccentric and a true original, in the vein of a Jonathan Richman or a Harry Nilsson, bearing something of the former’s wide-eyed innocence and something of the latter’s melodic sensibilities. Evin’s previous three recordings are The January Muse (2001); his indie breakthrough album I’ll Bring the Stereo (2005); and a five-song EP of domestic love songs, Let’s Slow It Down (2007). Evin has recorded with Jim and Andy Creeggan (current and former Barenaked Ladies), Toronto guitar legend Kurt Swinghammer, Ron Sexsmith's touring band (Don Kerr, Jason Mercer and Tim Bovaconti) and has shared stages with Sexsmith, Amy Millan, Sarah Harmer, Jill Barber and Martha Wainwright. He's been played often on campus and community radio throughout Canada, and has played live on the CBC radio shows FUSE and Routes Montreal. He has toured extensively in Central and Eastern Canada, and has been warmly received in Nashville. His song "Soapbox Racer" was featured in a Red Bull ad campaign in 2008.

This year, in the winter of 2009, he’ll be one of the featured acts on the third edition of Barenaked Ladies’ “Ships and Dip” cruise of the Caribbean, along with Sloan, The Weakerthans and Great Big Sea. He plans to follow up the release of Good Watermelon this spring with a tour that will include dates all across Canada and the Northeastern United States.

Good Watermelon Video