OC Music Magazine

David Sachs

I recently had the privilege of performing at one of Orange County?s hidden gems: eVocal. By far one of the most intimate venues this musician has seen, eVocal brings you the closeness and familiarity lacked by arenas, while also providing a solid and stable fan base lacked by an ADD coffee shop crowd. The gathering at eVocal?s Wednesday night showcases are 90% regulars that come out like clockwork for the pure enjoyment of seeing live music in unique setting that cannot be seen elsewhere; all of the artists ? ranging from singer/songwriters to rock bands to speaking poets ? feel immediately comfortable and the whole audience can feel it.
But eVocal is so much more than an intimate venue. In fact, eVocal is a ?brand that is known for representing the artist,? creating and building the creative arts lifestyle. When asking founder Brett Walker what eVocal truly is, he replied, ?we?re embracing all things creative arts, all forms of expression. You get to select from a diverse range of styles and ideas and communication methods. We bundle that up and communicate it as more of a lifestyle that people live.? Simply put: eVocal is ?creative art as a lifestyle brand.?
eVocal is not new to Orange County; Walker has been in the same building (814 19th st., Costa Mesa, CA) for eight years, doing ?freelance design for everybody in the industry, mainly in apparel and graphics.? The roots of eVocal rise from an all too familiar question: why is it that creativity is stifled by means; why must artists suffer poverty in their struggle? While it?s true that commercial artists and musicians are by no means struggling (can you say commercial hack Thomas Kinkade?); music written for music, and art for art, is no commodity and therefore not respected by society. Knut Hamsun and Lewis Hyde have addressed this question yet the mystery remains. eVocal provides artists with an alternative to the industry standards of branding, all while creating a community of artists and building a unique lifestyle.
As far as the music industry is concerned, most people are aware of power labels and distributors, but the monster of marketing is often left untouched. This is where the heart of eVocal comes into play: ?As long as the artist maintains the power over it and benefits from it once they go onto that level, then our work is done. The pie will be cut into more slices, so the monsters will be smaller and have less teeth.? By giving power back to the artists, eVocal hopes to take power from an out of touch corporate industry - like a modern marketing robin hood.


Photo Credits: myspace.com/eVocal