Eugene Edwards

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ABOUT EUGENE EDWARDS:
Elvis Costello. Squeeze. Nick Lowe. Foo Fighters. Tom Petty. Marshall Crenshaw. The Guess Who. Even the Beatles. Yeah, Eugene Edwards could hide from the comparisons he gets, from both fans and critics alike, but hes not like that. Edwards, whose debut album, My Favorite Revolution, is out on Tallboy Records, wears his influences unapologetically on his sleeve. And just as often as he hears, You remind me of so-and-so, he also hears a comparison to an artist hes never listened to before. "Depending on the age group of the listener," says Edwards, "thats what they walk away with as their comparison. The baby boomers say I sound like The Who, the Kinks, the Beatles. The gen xers Squeeze, Elvis Costello. Teenagers now hear Foo Fighters, Strokes, even Weezer. Theyre hearing something, theres something thats connecting. It seems like its the music that mattered to them deep inside, and they hear a bit of it in my record or hear it in the live show. For people to connect to it on that level youre reminding them of music that matters to them. Its a pleasant surprise."
Through the course of a run with the country band and subsequently joining several roots bands, Edwards landed in Los Angeles (where he is based now). Eventually, he came into his own as a songwriter and started performing his own songs, first as a solo singer-songwriter, and later with a band. "I had recorded a three-song demo and started booking gigs around town pretending I had a band. The songs I had written were written with a band in mind. So I had to put one together." The original demo didn't entirely suit him, so he then recorded a four-song demo with Dave Peterson, a former neighbor and music producer, at the helm. Edwards finally felt he was on the right track.
That demo got Edwards some attention on the Audities scene, and all of a sudden I was getting emails from people in Boston, Japan, asking where they could get a copy of this four-song demo theyd heard about. And also the International Pop Overthrown people got ahold of it at the same time. A buzz had started there. Tallboy Records approached me and said, If you ever do a record, we want to put it out.
Produced by Dave Peterson, My Favorite Revolution, immediately came to the attention of the local press: the Los Angeles Times said, Its easy to see why Edwards has become a favorite on the L.A. pop scene his revved up live shows and sterling guitar licks put muscle behind his melodies. The Pasadena Weekly called it, A satisfying, unapologetically optimistic rock n roll platter. Opined the OC Weekly: "He and his group play flat-out fun pop music with a deceptively sharp bite." Britains Uncut Magazine trumpeted: "Blaring forth with assured vocals, cutting guitar figures, and a melodic sense that marries Tom Petty to Squeeze, Edwards spills out 14 flawless songs obsessed with jaded romance and, occasionally, even sadder affairs of the heart." The OC Weekly also commended his live performance, saying: "Edwards brought loud, ornery, impossibly catchy melodies to the stage, and he played everything with the passion of a man who was combusting right before you he's a killer guitar man."