Guitar Aficionado

Flamenco guitarist Evan Christian performs solo at The Jazz Estate on Monday nights and Jackalope Lounj on Thursday nights. "I’m doing traditional flamenco, and my own material, which is blues, soul. Some of it’s in Spanish," Christian explains.

Milwaukee’s Evan Christian is driven to become one of the finest flamenco guitar players in the world.
And for Christian, practice makes perfect.
He began his musical rendezvous as an upright bass player in fourth grade. His skill evolved into a natural obsession. His burning passion led him to self-taught lessons of the bass, electric and acoustic guitar. Flamenco music spoke to him most intuitively.
"(Flamenco is) the highest level of an acoustic guitar player, I think. You’re using all 10 of your fingers at the same time," says Christian.
He has been performing and producing music for the past 10 years, touring the Midwest with his group, the Evan Christian Quartet. Last summer, he toured internationally with Milwaukee’s own R&B sensation Cincere, entertaining the armed forces in the Middle East and Mediterranean.
In 2004, he debuted with "Fuego," a CD taking listeners on a sensual journey of acoustic flamenco. He recently completed his second CD, "The Mosaic," which is more experimental and eclectic than "Fuego," and is working on his third. He plans to relocate and promote both CDs in New York and seek a record deal with national release. "A deal is just distribution," he says. "It’s a big part of it, but I’m not letting the fact that I don’t have one right now stop me."
Two years ago, Christian decided to take his music abroad and study flamenco in Spain. The trip took him on a journey of personal and artistic growth. With nothing but his guitar on his back and "Fuego" CDs in his bag, he voyaged overseas and immersed himself into the world of flamenco music. Although his original plan to attend school didn’t happen, he began an unofficial apprenticeship with local guitarists and masters of flamenco. During his eight months in Madrid, he proved himself as an artist, built a strong fan base, gained the confidence of performing solo and fraternized with some of the greatest flamenco players in Spain.
Christian’s eye-opening experiences during his study abroad in Spain and international tours with Cincere only reinforced his beliefs about the importance of practice. He practices three to five hours a day, every day, and when he’s not practicing or writing music, he’s performing.
"You can’t do anything on stage that you can’t do in your room," Christian says. "And the best ones are the ones that practice the most, and invest the most time."
Kenya C. Evans

A Little About My Son-Evan Christian

Lofty goals take flamenco guitarist to Spain and back

By Lilledeshan Bose
Posted: July 5, 2007


Don't hate Evan Christian because he's talented.

And don't hate this 30-year-old songwriter and flamenco guitarist because he knows exactly what he wants, either.

His goals may be simple, but they're in no way small. He wants to be the best flamenco guitarist in the country, then make a name for himself internationally.

"I want to blow people away," he declares.

It's a balmy afternoon in Bay View, and we're sitting on the floor in his studio, listening to tracks he just started recording on Pro Tools. These were raw songs, unmastered and unmixed, mainlined from his brain to his computer. And yet the musical precision - the high-speed tempo changes, the effortless fusion of jazz, flamenco, blues and even a little hip-hop - was all there.

"I don't have self-esteem issues with my music," Christian said. "I know what I can do. . . . I represent my music proudly."

As he should; it's rare enough to find flamenco guitarists in the Midwest. But a young, black flamenco guitarist from Milwaukee? Christian knows he's a precious commodity. "That's why I work so hard," he said.

Don't think he's an arrogant prick, either. He gives off a sincere, warm vibe that also comes out in his music. Growing up in Milwaukee, the south-side Chicago native picked up the guitar as a teenager and learned to play without formal training.

"I didn't set out to be a guitar player," Christian said of his musical background, "but I would hear a song and learn it real quick - I always learned by ear."

Oddly enough, a hair band inspired him to learn flamenco. When he heard Tesla's Spanish-influenced guitar solo on "Love Song" from the album "Five Man Acoustical Jam," he thought, "I gotta learn how to do that!"

The more Christian taught himself, the more he gravitated toward Latin sounds. "I understood that sound more than anything else," he said. He stocked up on flamenco CDs and practiced constantly, but he didn't get to play music full-time until he was 21.

That was when, as a bouncer at Cush on the east side, he auditioned for the club's owners and got a regular Sunday night gig.

"It probably sucked," he said with a laugh, "but I knew I had to do something!"

Performing regularly, Christian first played with a trio, then a jazz and blues quartet. In 2004, he produced the album "Fuego."

Last year, he moved to Spain to develop his flamenco-playing skills. He didn't speak Spanish and didn't have any friends there, but he bought a one-way ticket and stayed for eight months.

In Spain, Christian discovered a different way of life.

"(In Spain,) you do your thing," he said. "There are no qualms about it."

He did what he needed to get by, staying in hostels and moving around a lot. Sometimes he didn't have enough to eat; other times he ate like a king. Through it all, he soaked up as much flamenco as he could, eventually performing with renowned flamenco guitarists in the country and touring throughout Europe.

The experience, Christian said, forced him to grow as a person. "By not being comfortable all the time, you put yourself in situations that force you to grow. That's how you can eat in this business."

Although he's been back in the States for a while (he toured with R&B singer Cincere in 2006), his love affair with flamenco isn't over.

Christian practices flamenco guitar at least three hours a day. "You have to, if you want to be the best," he said.

In his studio, there's a stack of more than 20 notebooks full of songs. He writes tracks - hip-hop, alternative, R&B - and plans to sell them in New York City, where he's moving by the end of the year. It's another goal he's driven to meet.

And speaking of goals, Christian ultimately wants to take flamenco-playing in America to another level. He wants to sing and play flamenco guitar at the same time, a feat many would think is impossible.

"You have to believe in yourself," Christian said. "If you do, it's amazing what can happen."

The Evan Christian Quartet
w/Spoken Word by Edie2k2

I'm very proud of Evan...yes I am.

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Introspection

Entr'acte

  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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