By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The Evolution Band, you could say, has sort of evolved since 2012.
That’s when Steve Everett, a Decatur native, was invited by a friend to watch him play.
“I had been out of music for 15 years and Matt Motycka had been in a band for a few years,” Everett told WZBD.com. “He invited me to come watch him play with Craig Birch and Jarrod Meyers as an acoustic act.”
“As we talked over the next couple months, we thought it would be fun to play in a band together again and thought this format might be right for us. So we started Evolution as a two-man acoustic band.”
After a few shows, they decided to add a drummer. Another Decatur guy, Jarrod Meyers, was the choice. Like Everett, he is a Bellmont grad.
“And he was a great addition to the band,” Everett said.
A few years later, Motycka decided to move on from the bend. He called one night, however, and said that he had a friend, Rob Patrick, who played acoustic guitar and was looking to join a band.
“After a tryout, we hired him and he has been a great addition,” Everett said.
An Ohio native, Patrick currently resides in Modoc, Indiana, a tiny town in Randolph County, southwest of Winchester.
Everett is employed at Formula Boats in Decatur while Meyers works for FedEx and Patrick does band work.
Steve says the band usually performs once a weekend and, occasionally, twice. They played the Madison St. Plaza in Decatur on June 26.
They travel all around northeast Indiana, southern Michigan and western Ohio to entertain. Lately, they’ve been playing a number of shows around Grand Lake in Celina.
“We play private parties, class reunions, bars, clubs, festivals,” Steve said.
“We play an extended range of pop, rock, and country songs from the ’60s to present day. As a band we decided that no song would be off the table. Any one of us might suggest a song then we determine if the three of us can make it sound great.”
The band currently has a song list which numbers 80 and continues to grow.
“We strive to play the popular songs that not all other bands are playing,” Everett noted. “We receive a tremendous amount of positive feedback on the songs that we choose to play and how full the songs sound with just two instruments. We often hear. ‘I can’t believe you guys nailed it.’”
The Evolution Band has evolved to the point that they are nailing it every time they crank up the sound.
About the Author
