Evil was a
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
band from
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, active between late 1965 and early 1967.
[ - Pg. 104 mentions information about their place of origin and details of their discography. In the section listing the top 1000 garage rock songs (voted on by a panel of garage rock writers and experts) "I'm Movin' On" is ranked in the top twenty five garage rock songs of all time—at #23 (pg. 385), and achieves the highest position of any previously unissued garage acetate. At the time of the publication of this book, the unissued acetate of "From a Cubstone" had not yet been released, but other sources, as well as comments from band members regard "From a Curbstone" also as one of their finest achievements.] They were known for a hard–driving, sometimes, thrashing
60s punk sound that combined elements of
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
,
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
, and
British invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...
influences (particularly the tougher sounding London-based outfits of the time, such as
The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...
,
The Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
,
The Pretty Things
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
, and
The Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ba ...
).
They recorded several songs, amongst which “Always Runnin' Around” and “Whatcha Gonna Do” were released as a single on Living Legend Records in 1966.
The band would eventually be signed to
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
, but broke up shortly thereafter.
In more recent years they have become particularly noted for several previously unreleased songs recorded in 1966, which have been released in recent years on various independent labels from acetates, such as "From a Curbstone," "Short Life," and especially "I'm Movin' On," which is now regarded as a garage classic.
The band was formed in 1965 by Stan Kinchen, who would play lead guitar on most of their recordings.
[60s Punk in south Florida: Evil (interview with John Doyle, former lead singer http://60spunk.m78.com/flpunk.htm ] one night that year, after dance, Al Banyai, the band's rhythm guitarist asked John Doyle to join as lead singer.
Doyle would come up with the name of the band: "We were looking for something dark and scary. We were all into Edgar Allan Poe, almost named the band that, then Raven, then just EVIL! The story is that we named it after the blues tune..."
Later in 1965, Larry O' Connell, on bass, and Doug Romanella, on drums, would be added to the lineup.
In March 1966, after winning WFUN's annual Dade County Youth Fair Battle Of The Bands, the band were awarded a chance to make several recordings in a one-day marathon session at the Dukoff recording studio in Miami, where they cut several demos and acetates.
Amongst the self-penned songs recorded, there were "I'm Movin' On," "From a Curbstone," "Short Life," and Always Runnin' Around.
Later that year Al Banyai, Larry O'Connell, and Doug Romanella departed and were replaced by John Dalton (rhythm guitar), Mike Hughes (bass), and Jeff Allen (drums).
Their new drummer, Jeff Allen, joined after the breakup of his former group, another Miami band,
The Montells
The Montells were an American garage rock band from Miami, Florida who were active in the 1960s. They briefly operated under the name H.M. Subjects and recorded a version of the Pretty Things's "Don't Bring Me Down (Pretty Things song), Don't B ...
. He would occasionally travel to England, where he was able to go to clubs and witness, firsthand, many of the latest British bands playing live and would then bring his observations back home to share with fellow band members.
Near the end of 1966, they would record again in Miami, this time at
Criteria Studios
Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...
, with their version of the
Small Faces' "Whacha Gonna Do."
“Always Runnin' Around” and “Whatcha Gonna Do” were released as a single on Living Legend Records in late 1966.[ By the end of the year they signed to Capitol Records, who re-released the same single on their own label, with the band's name mistakenly printed as "The Evil."] However, shortly afterward, in 1967, the band broke up.
In 2010, Jeff Allen, second drummer for Evil (and earlier with the Montells) died. On February 14, 2014, former lead singer, John Doyle, passed.[Lemlich, Jeff. "JOHN DOYLE of the Miami Band Evil--We'll always Remember You" Savage Lost (website) http://savagelost.com/john-doyle-of-the-miami-band-evil-well-always-remember]
Personnel
;First Lineup (1965–1966):
* John Doyle - Lead Singer
* Stan Kinchen - Lead Guitar
* Al Banyai - Rhythm Guitar
* Larry O'Connell - Bass
* Doug Romanella - Drums
;Second Lineup (1966–1967):
* John Doyle - vocals
* Stan Kinchen - lead guitar
* John Dalton - rhythm guitar
* Mike Hughes - bass
* Jeff Allen - drums
Discography
Singles
* "Always Runnin' Around"/ "Whatcha Gonna Do" (Living Legend LL-108, rel. 1967; Capitol 2038, rel. 1967)
* "I’m Movin' On" (Evil)/"You Can’t Make Me" (The Montells) (Norton 826–8, rec. 1966, rel. 1997)
* "From a Curbstone"/"Short Life" (Florida Archive Recordings F.A.R. 6601, rec. 1966, rel. 2012)
Albums
* ''The Montells/Evil'' (Corduroy, Cord 027, rel. 1997 on LP) (includes songs: "Don't Put Me Down" and "I Know I'll Die")
References
External links
The Limestone Lounge: Jeff Allen of the Montells & Evil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evil (band)
Musical groups from Miami
Garage rock groups from Florida
American protopunk groups
Norton Records artists
Capitol Records artists
Musical groups established in 1965
Musical groups disestablished in 1967