Veteran rockers with a DIY ethic

The Evens bring their sound everywhere.

By Joey Vergara

Published Nov. 6, 2007

Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina are The Evens. They've been in other bands you might have heard of but that is entirely beside the point.

What does matter is the fact that The Evens are trying to make music they love, and in doing so, are taking it to their fans in ways that are beneficial both to them and the artists themselves.

So what happens when a punk luminary grows tired of playing shows by the rules of what he considers a corrupt industry? In MacKaye's case, he packed up a small PA system and headed out in a van to begin playing some of the most untraditional venues (libraries, museums and even bakeries) with Farina.

"I felt frustrated because I didn't think music should have to be always presented off in that world (of traditional venues)," MacKaye said. "If anything, this band, because of the way we approach the music, the kind of music we do play and because we have decided we don't want to play in regular rock clubs, we have cut the cord. We can basically play anywhere, and that's really liberating."

The Evens came together in 2001, but they did not play their first show until 2004. They released their first self-titled album a year later. Their self-produced second album, Get Evens, followed this past year and continues in the same vein as the first.

"With Amy and I, initially we weren't thinking about making a band," MacKaye said. "We were just thinking about playing music together. We weren't thinking about playing shows. We were just wanting to play music, and we were finding in each other, like, a good friend for that."

What organically came from the duo was a deceptively simple, angular sound. There are only two instruments (four including vocals) in the band, yet it is still highly nuanced. Farina's resourceful drumming takes the lead just as often as MacKaye's baritone guitar does, and the two share vocal duties. It is an approach that has been taken before, but one that gets the message across best.

If not musically, MacKaye and Farina tread familiar ground lyrically with The Evens. Still, MacKaye said he believes most people can relate to their songs.

"Music is a universal language," he said. "Even though occasionally we might invoke the word 'Washington,' we're not singing specifically about Washington (D.C.). We're singing about the human condition for the most part, and I think that everybody is afflicted with that condition."

Comfort in his own skin and accomplishments aside, MacKaye remains more concerned with his time in The Evens than reminiscing about the past.

"I do remember things, and I don't have any issue with anything I've ever done," MacKaye said. "I see it all as part and parcel of who I am today. I do actually on occasion take exception to the idea that what I've done is more important than what I'm doing. If that's the case, then I shouldn't do interviews. Obviously the past is never as important as the present. The past is finished, and the present is the only thing we can do any damn thing about."