Born to an Irish ship captain and an exiled Brazilian dissident, Evan Patrick grew up hearing stories of his rich family heritage. His father told him about his granduncle, Bucky Van Johnson, alto saxophonist in Woody Herman Jazz Orchestra. His mother told him stories of her struggles to resist Brazil's oppressive military regimes in the early 1970s. As a teenager, Evan briefly worked as a roadie for John Coltrane's drummer, Elvin Jones. The experience convinced Evan that music was his vocation. Unfortunately, Evan was careless at that time in his life. In the clubs, he would often run up large drink tabs, get repulsively drunk and scream "is that the fuck music??" at the bandstand. He was fired after only a week, but managed to make enough money to buy a one-way ticket to New York City.
Upon arriving, Evan immediately moved into a vegan commune in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. A brother in the commune owned an old Fender Stratocaster and loaned it to Evan. He spent the next few months tucked away, experimenting with guitar sounds while secretly snacking on dirty, fleshy veal. The bottom floor of the commune was a separately-owned used book and record shop. An older Jewish couple owned the shop and prided themselves on "being there before the yuppies." They lent out their vinyl to Evan in exchange for an occasional card game against their restauranteur French neighbors. The couple would always say "Those goddam French. They keeled over for the Nazis and now they're killing us again!"
Evan spent the next few years listening to records and writing songs. Evan drew upon on his jazz experience to combine improvisation with an aggressive yet dreamy rock style that contained quick shifts in dynamics and guitar tones. In 2003, Evan began recording his songs on a laptop and at the Dust Brother's studio in Los Angeles. He also put together a band to perform the songs live. The group performed as "Shaka Zulu Overdrive" until legal action was thretaened by relatives of the tribal leader. Evan decided to change the name to Red Lights to Rio, which is a phrase his mother used to say to him as a child: "If you get scared in the dark, follow the red lights to rio."
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