In Focus: Evership

Scott Rich

Atkinson is a seasoned Nashville-based musician and composer, whose career began in the 1980s. He played on various sessions, and wrote music for various commercials and theatrical productions. He also had a recording studio in the area. His music business connections led him to take part in an indie/alternative band in the 1990s called Curious Fools, where he played drums and contributed to the songwriting. They released two albums in that decade, a self-titled debut, and a follow-up called Read but didn't make it past that decade.

After the demise of Curious Fools, Shane, now a father to his first child, left the music business for a steady paycheck in the computer software industry. However, while he had officially left the music business, the music never left him. He continued to write and record his ideas in his free-time. After a few years in the software business, he had accumulated over 100 hours of material that he felt he had to get out there. In 2005, he sold his big suburban house, downsized his residence and opened a commercial film music production company to finance his recording project.

It took about a decade to complete, but finally in 2016, the self-titled Evership debut album was released and made waves in the prog community. Interestingly, during the making of the album, the vocals were intended to be sung by longtime friend and former bandmate John Beddoe. When Beddoe was forced to bow out of the project due to “life circumstances”, Atkinson felt he hit a roadblock, as Beddoe's vocals were “operatic and expressive”, and difficult to replicate.

That is until a friend and backing vocalist on the project named Mike Priebe introduced him to Beau West, who, much like Atkinson, had quit the Nashville music industry in frustration three years earlier. At the time, West told his wife that he no longer wanted to be a writer, but that he “just wanted to sing”. It was a perfect match. West had the vocal abilities to bring Atkinson's music to life.

By the time the album dropped in 2016, the official band members were Atkinson and West with several guests, including Shane's brother on guitars: - Beau West - lead vocals - Shane Atkinson - keyboards, drums, percussion, theremin, Chapman Stick, dulcimer, experimental guitar, sound design, orchestrations, vocals With: - James Atkinson - acoustic & lead guitars - Rob Higginbotham - classical, acoustic, electric rhythm guitars - Dan Smalley - classical guitar (5) - Brandon Vestal - electric guitar (5) - Jaymi Millard - bass - Nicelle Priebe - violin - Mike Priebe - backing vocals - Charles Heimermann - choir director (Live at Green Hills' Cathedral)

The music on the debut is nothing short of epic. The tracks (except the closing track which is basically sound-effects), range from over 9 minutes to nearly 14 minutes. While often compared to Kansas, it really doesn't ring that bell in my head. I think that is because they are an American prog band, and Kansas is the main point of comparison there.

The songs are expansive epics that feel open while Kansas' music (who are one of my favorite bands, by the way) is always tight and precise. To me, there is some Pink Floyd spaciness, yet with a bit more rhythmic propulsion. In fact I have a hard time comparing Evership with any classic prog bands in particular, yet all the hallmark elements of prog are there.

Three of the tracks on this debut album are multi-part suites: A Slow Descent Into Reality, Evermore and Flying Machine. I truly enjoyed every track on the album. It scored just barely under 4 stars on average (3.99) out of 5 stars on Prog Archives. Evership were invited to perform at the well known US prog festival “ROSFest” in 2017.

The band would follow up the debut with Evership II in 2018. This album only took 10 months, rather than 10 years to complete. The cover art was done by artist Peter Willis, who had also created the debut's cover. The line-up this time around was more like a band, although Shane Atkinson still handles both drums and keyboards himself.

• James Atkinson - lead guitars
• Shane Atkinson - keyboards, drums, percussion, vocals, composer, arranger, programming & production
• John Rose - lead, rhythm, classical & slide guitars
• Beau West - lead vocals
• Ben Young - bass, Chapman Stick

Guests include Joel Grumblatt on drums and Jesse Hardin for the guitar solo on track 1, Mike Prieve and Amelia West on backing vocals, the Charles Hemermann Chorale and a 5-piece orchestra section.

The music on the follow-up is similar to that on the debut. This album, however, contains the longest track of their career, thus far, the 28:27 closing epic Isle Of The Broken Tree which is a fantastic suite in six sections. At around 22:30 it even reminds me a bit of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. A reviewer on Prog Archives in a review of Evership II, writing under the screenname of Viana Proghead, has this to say about Evership's sound:

In recent years we have seen resurgence of the classic progressive sounds of the 70s, in many acts around the world. Almost all those acts drink their influences in the classic bands of the 70's. Evership started their journey from another angle. For them, it's more the prog of the US rock scene that proves their base, Kansas, Styx, Boston and, of course, many British acts, like early Queen. What is most interesting in Evership's music is they don't simply sound like they are trying to recapture the essence of that era, but they somehow manage to sound like they actually are from that era. Viana Proghead on ProgArchives

To me, that really encapsulates the Evership sound. It really sounds and feels like it was lost in a time-capsule sometime in the 70s and dug up and released in the 2010s and 2020s. Much like the first album, I have enjoyed every track on the album, but “Monomyth” stands out for me. The band performed at ProgStock 2018 following this album's release. The album was rated similarly to the first one on Prog Archives, receiving 3.92 out of 5 stars.

The next Evership album would appear in 2021, titled The Uncrowned King - Act I (bet you can guess what the next one after that will be called). While often considered a rock opera, it does not have different singers performing the different characters as Arjen Luccassen's Ayeron would do. Beau West performs all the roles as it were. But, the album (and its follow up) is a narrative based on Harold Bell Wright's 1910 novel of the same name. A quick internet search tells me the book is an allegory in which "A Pilgrim journeys through symbolic lands, encountering mystical beings and learning that true kingship is an internal state of being, not an external title".

The lineup is similar to “Evership II”, with Mike Priene on backing vocals, the Charles Heimermann Chorale again, and Matt Harrell providing 12-string guitar on track 1. Then there is Poem Atkinson as "The Voice Of The Evening Wind". Rather than artwork by Peter Willis, they opted to employ photographer Rory White who created unique story-book style covers for this and the follow-up.

The opening three part suite The Pilgrimage is absolutely blowing me away as I listen to it. I believe anyone who loves classic symphonic prog will truly enjoy it. There are some shorter tracks connecting the longer pieces on this album, but they are no less prog! Tracks 3 and 6 are presented as two-part medleys rather than a suite with an umbrella title. Track 3 is titled Crownshine / Allthetime, while 6 is called Yettocome / Itmightbe. Track 6 is also the longest on the album at 16:42, and a great, dynamic epic it truly is!

Beau West really shines on this album, as his vocals keep getting stronger and more dynamic. As much as I enjoyed the first two albums, I think I am enjoying this one even more. Track 4, The Tower has been released as a music video.The album ends with a shorter track called Wait but it is full of amazing vocal harmonies, and a fantastic performance from Beau West.

For whatever reason, this album scored slightly lower on Prog Archives than the previous two, coming in with a 3.72 out of 5 stars; way too low in my opinion. This album is a masterpiece.

As one might expect, The Uncrowned King - Act 2 followed in 2022. The line-up remains pretty stable for this album, and Evership seem to have found their winning team with James Atkinson, Shane Atkinson, John Rose, Beau West, and Ben Young.

Notably, however, there is only one guest musician on board this time. Michael Sadler has been the singer of Canadian prog stalwarts Saga from the beginning of that band's long history (with one exception when he temporarily left the band). This is the first time they have utilised the services of someone from another well-known prog band.

The average song length on Act 2 is noticeably shorter, with the longest clocking in at 8:31. The relatively short opener The Voice of the Night starts with clean classical guitar lines but degenerates into a sound of madness. Missive Pursuits follows directly with an energetic drumbeat from Shane giving the impression of someone running. His keyboard parts are also a key element. Track 3, The Law Of Ages begins as a piano ballad, then wonderful harmonies join in towards the middle. There are no orchestral players listed on this album's credits, but there seems to be a violin solo in the song as well. Guitars and drums enter about two-thirds of the way in and the song explodes. The song also has a music video as well.

If track 3 was more mellow, track 4, Coronation is certainly rockinh! It goes through many prog-tastic segments and is a stand-out track; the note that Beau hits near the end is ungodly! As noted, The Voice of the New Day gets a new voice, that of Saga's Michael Sadler. The song has a royal fanfare quality to it. Nobody brings things back down again with another beautiful ballad. There are several meter changes during the guitar solo. Fading Away is based on a syncopated guitar riff, with alternating piano sections in waltz-time. Uncrowned has an a cappella intro and leads into a mid-tempo 6/8. Shifting meters occur as the song proceeds and functions as a grand finale for the two albums. The shorter Pilgrim's Reprise gives us the final resolution of the two-album story arc. Another brilliant album from Evership.

While that brings us to the end of their existing catalogue, the band's Facebook page is full of posts and pictures that Shane and Beau are working on Evership album #5! Great news from a band whose first four albums are great prog from start to finish. I will say, however, that while the first two albums have a wide, expansive feel, the Uncrowned King albums seemed to have tightened up the sound just a bit, with a slightly more modern sound. But no matter where you start with Evership, you are going to get some truly great prog rock!