When is the last time rock ‘n’ roll made you feel good? We’re talking heart-racing, headbanging, fist-pumping good? Sing-along, shout-it-out-loud, party-all-night good? If it’s been a minute, know that you’re not alone.
Also, know this: Gavin Evick has your back. The 22-year-old singer, songwriter and leader of the namesake Gavin Evick Band may be a child of the 21st century, but on his newest single, “Young, Wild & Free”, available today, Evick conjures the riff-tastic, hook-laden sound of the 1980s, with an arena-ready anthem custom built to blast out of car stereos on a top-down afternoon joyride, or soundtrack the most out-of-control, come-what-may all-night rager. Spiked with sticky-sweet melodies, wailing guitar solos from lead guitarist Gavin Hades, call-to-arms choruses, rousing riffs and pounding rhythms from Steven Hudgins, Max Myer, and Logan Blake , “Young, Wild & Free” implores you to, as Evick sings, “Forget about your problems, leave ’em all behind.”
It's a sound and style that Evick calls “windows-down” music. “It’s kind of a combination of '80s-style fun, rock ‘n’ roll music, plus a little take on modern country lyrics,” Evick says of the new single. “What’s great about all those '80s anthems is that feel-good summer vibe. And I love what modern country is doing in the sense of having lyrics where you can just sing along and stomp your feet. I try to do that, while still keeping things heavy.”
In essence, this is anthem rock for a new generation – a sound that has been absent from the airwaves for too long. “Usually when people my age want to listen to this type of stuff, it's all music that's 40 years old,” Evick says. “And that’s the music I love, too – those bands and songs are my influences. But I want to make music for people my age. I’m trying to fill that void that I feel is missing from modern rock.”
Even while Evick is looking to the greats of the past for inspiration, his music and lyrics speak from the heart, and are culled from his own life and experiences. “My ethos is like that old saying – ‘Put some dirt on it,’ ” Evick says. “Like, if you're hurt, walk it off, you know? That’s what I express in my music, too. Growing up, whenever I was sad, I never wanted to listen to sad music – I wanted to listen to music that would bring up my mood and make me want to have a good time. So I write songs that remind me of good times in my life. It’s all positive stuff.”
With that, get ready to roll down those windows and crank up “Young, Wild & Free”. As Evick sings, “You’ll know you had fun because you can’t see straight.” “It’s just good vibes,” he says. “That’s what I want to get across, and hopefully people listening can share in the same emotions I had while writing the song.”
At the end of the day, that connection – and that celebration of life through loud, heavy, raucous rock ‘n’ roll – is the goal. “I didn’t become a musician to get rich and famous,” Evick says. “I make the music I make because I want to get these emotions out, and bring people up the same way my favorite songs always did for me. A certain song can change someone’s whole day, you know?”
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