Editor’s Note: The following post was written by special contributor to Eve 6 Media HQ, Jeff Sturman. Jeff is a longtime Eve 6 fan and active member of the Eve 6 Media HQ message board (username: jms999). He is also the rockstar Eve 6 fan who provided the kick-ass Eve 6 live videos from April 2011′s Eve 6 shows in the Carolinas. Jeff is part of a close knit group of Eve6′ers who stuck through the “dark years” of Eve 6 fandom and lived to tell about it. You can find all of his YouTube videos under the username GreatLiveMusic99. What follows is the history of Eve 6 from 2004 – 2011, as seen through the eyes of a creature we’re very familiar with around Eve 6 Media HQ – the hardcore Eve 6 fan.
The Breakup
In mid-2004 rumors began to fly that our world was coming to an end and one of the most underrated bands of a generation was going their separate ways. While no “official” announcement was made, some people “in the know” confirmed that the band was released from their record label and the band would be splitting. On July 15th, 2004, the world did in fact come to an end for Eve 6 fans when the band played their last show on a beautiful summer evening under the arch in St Louis, Missouri. There was no long speech, no sappy goodbyes – just a rocking set and some heart felt gratitude toward the fans and road crew who had supported them through the years. As the closing notes of “How Much Longer” faded, fans started to wonder if that was truly the end of Eve 6.
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Max Collins’ short-lived solo project – The Brotherhood Of Lost Dogs
For several months nothing was heard and then suddenly word came that lead singer Max Collins would be playing some solo shows out in Los Angeles. One of the songs that was revealed during those rare Max Collins solo acoustic shows was a complete version of “Mr. Bones” – a song that had previously made an appearance during the bridge of “Inside Out” on the final tour before Eve 6 disbanded (although during the Eve 6 days it was known by fans as “A Bell Rings” and was usually played much faster).
Shortly after these solo shows, Max formed a band called Max Collins & The Brotherhood of Lost Dogs with several other musicians from well known bands that had disbanded or gone on hiatus. Very few shows were played and no album was ever released but some really amazing tunes were written by Max during this period. A friend of Max named Thaddeus Bridwell filmed one of the shows and thanks to him the Eve 6 fan community was able to enjoy the songs. After B.O.L.D went their separate ways Eve 6 fans were left to wonder if these songs would be forgotten or if they would one day reemerge as part of another project. For a time it seemed as though the first option was more likely.
Max and Tony reemerge as “The Sugi Tap”
Then, in mid-2005 Eve 6 fans got some really good news- Max and former Eve 6 drummer Tony Fagenson would be working together on a new, yet to be named project. Nearly a year passed without any info and then all of a sudden, Tony announced a Myspace page for their new project called The Sugi Tap (later switched to “Sugi Tap,” and reverted back to “The Sugi Tap”). Over the next few months, the band released a new song when certain numbers of fans were reached on Myspace. These milestones were reached quickly, and in a short period of time several songs were released including “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Mr Bones,” “Good Associate” and “Little Tiny Everything.” The band actively engaged with fans and would even post songs very late at night only to remove them after a few hours to see if anyone was paying attention. One song called Pastoral Life was actually posted on the newly founded Eve 6 Myspace late one night and was gone almost as soon as it appeared – never to be heard from again. Plans were made to release a digital EP as well as a physical limited edition EP. After several delays the digital EP was released with an extremely positive response from fans. The EP contained six songs including, “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Mr. Bones,” “Good Associate,” “Little Tiny Everything,” “BOLD” (Brotherhood of Lost Dogs), and “Red & Black.” Shorty after the digital EP dropped, a final song was released called “Peace of Mind.” During this time The Sugi Tap played several shows in California as well as one in Las Vegas and another in Arizona. The band received some local press and a few interviews, but things never really “took off” for The Sugi Tap. The band never ended up releasing a physical version of their EP but VERY good news was just around the corner. [Editor's Note: you can check out music from The Sugi Tap by checking out The Sugi Tap page under the "Side Projects" section of Eve 6 Media HQ]
The Eve 6 Legacy Lingers
Around this time, Max started dropping hints that he and Tony were trying to answer some very important questions for themselves. Nobody knew it at the time, but discussions were taking place about reforming Eve 6. Both Max & Tony realized that they were working together, the demand for the band was still there, and that the name Eve 6 was much more recognizable than The Sugi Tap. While the songs that they had at this point were some of the best they had ever written, they both knew that launching a brand new band was quite a task. They already had a well established and extremely successful band that they had walked away from a few years prior. A band that sold millions of records, was an MTV staple, played shows around the world to countless fans, (including massive sold-out stadium shows opening for Bon Jovi in 2001). They had had a string of hit songs including chart-toppers “Inside Out” and “Here’s to the Night” songs that have stood the test of time and are still popular to this day. In an era when artists are forgotten overnight and new songs are released daily on the internet, Eve 6 had retained a huge fan base. Finally, in mid-2007, Tony made an incredible announcement that Eve 6 was back!
The only downside in all of this was that Jon Siebels would not be part of the reformed band. Jon was busy playing with a new band called Monsters are Waiting and producing some bands out in LA. The discussion quickly turned to the topic of who would be playing guitar in Eve 6 “2.0.” To hardcore Eve 6 fans, a familiar name surfaced as an interim replacement – Matt Bair. Matt had previously co-written songs with Max, played in a band that had opened for Eve 6 called Bandcamp, was a huge fan of the band growing up in Long Island and had formed a strong friendship with the band.
Eve 6 Reunites Without Jon Siebels
Finally on October 20 2007, Eve 6 played their first show together in over three years to an extremely enthused crowd at The University Of Mary Washington in Virginia. Fans quickly warmed up to Matt and the band sounded great. The biggest surprise of the night was when the band finally answered fans’ pleas to play the popular non-album Eve 6 song called “Anytime” – a track that was featured on the soundtrack for the movie “Out Cold”. It had been played live once and was promptly dropped from setlist rotation. Fans would regularly yell for the song at shows but until that night in Virginia, Max never obliged. During the three hiatus, the song had actually grown in popularity and the band took notice. In an exclusive interview for Eve 6 Media HQ, Max he said the song had really taken on a life of its own and it took the band completely by surprise. In addition to Anytime being reintroduced into the Eve 6 setlist, a new song called “All These Things” made its debut at The University Of Mary Washington. Over the next several years Anytime would go on to become a staple in the band’s live set (much to the delight of fans) while All These Things was locked away in the Eve 6 vault, said to have actually been written for another artist. Although Max and Tony have the key to this vault, it is unknown whether or not Eve 6 fans will ever hear this song again. There is always hope, however as in the past some Eve 6 songs just need a little time to gel and evolve before they eventually return in an evolved form.
Eve 6 Hits The Road During The Matt Bair Years
From early 2008 through 2010, the band played a steady stream of live shows and has launched several mini regional tours throughout the U.S. Shows have been played as far away as Alaska and even in Japan. The fan response was nothing short of incredible and by many accounts the band sounded better than they ever had. During this period a bevy of brand new songs emerged including “What Do You Think of Me Now” (which evolved out of a bassline and some lyrics that Max played during soundchecks in 2008), “Bad News,” “Underachiever” and “Lost & Found.” The last of which was introduced as an online video from the demo studio while the band recorded the song. Also, several songs that were assumed to be defunct were dusted off from The Sugi Tap and Brotherhood of Lost Dogs archives, including “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Little Tiny Everything,” “Red & Black” and “Victoria.”
Label Showcases, Departures From The Band, JON SIEBELS RETURNS TO EVE 6
In late 2010, rumors started to swirl that interim guitarist Matt Bair would be leaving Eve 6 to focus on solo projects, including a forthcoming release with his band “The Sequel.” Long suffering Eve 6 fans couldn’t help but wonder if this would further delay new music by the band, or perhaps even jeopardize the future of the reformed Eve 6. After playing a rare double header show in New York City (later confirmed to be a label showcase) in November 2010, Tony announced in a blog post that Matt was indeed moving on. After playing one final unannounced show at the 2011 NHL All Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina, Matt’s Eve 6 days officially came to an end and Eve 6 was once again without a guitar player. For over three years Matt had helped to reenergize the band and the fan base, bringing a sense of youth, excellent backup vocals and masterful guitar skills. Just as longtime fans became accustomed to his presence in the band, he was gone. Inevitable speculation bubbled up on the Eve 6 Media HQ message boards, with some fans wondering if Jon Siebels was waiting in the wings to complete the reformed Eve 6, but it seemed to be a pipe dream. Jon himself had stated many times that playing with Eve 6 was not in the cards and there was no tangible reason to think otherwise. Then, seemingly out of nowhere an Eve 6 video log (Eve6log) was released by the band announcing the surreal news that Jon was finally rejoining the band. On March 13, 2011 Eve 6 3.0 began.
Eve 6 Signs With Fearless Records
Shortly after announcing Jon’s return, Tony hinted that really big news was coming soon. Several short delays followed (something Eve 6 fans had grown accustomed to), but it was promised that the news would be well worth the wait. It certainly was. On May 3, 2011 the band issued a press release announcing that Eve 6 had signed with Fearless Records and would enter the studio in June with producer Don Gilmore to record the new album. A release date hasn’t been set, but fans have high hopes for an album sometime late in 2011 based on an Eve 6 tweet that said “Happy 2011 to all of the Eve 6 faithful. If 2012 rolls around and we still haven’t put a record out, you all have the permission to knock us on the head with the Whack-A-Mole hammer thing.”
The Future…
Fans have long speculated about what songs will be on the forthcoming new album and because of the long hiatus and side-projects, the band could probably release a solid double-album and still have good songs left over. And this is only considering songs that we know of – the band likely has at least a handful of new songs that haven’t yet been heard. To provide some perspective, Tony stated in a 2003 interview that over 50 songs were written for the album “It’s All in Your Head.”
For Eve 6 fans who stuck through the thick and thin, it has been a long road and now we play the waiting game yet again. In the coming weeks, we’ll break down some of the songs that we’ve heard over the past eight years and take a “best guess” at a track list for the new album. Hopefully you’ll join us for the ride!