Derek Evans

Itunes has NOW featured Derek Evans' Single "The Wind Cries" on the Singer-Songwriter charts! Get your copy here! For those who leave a review and give it 5 stars, we will send you 3 Live and Rare tracks from Derek Evans. Please email info@derekevansmusic.com once you have given your review AND rated it with 5 stars. The free tracks will be:

Itunes Features Derek Evans' single "The Wind Cries for the 2nd straight week! You can get your copy here

We are pleased to announce that Derek's single "The Wind Cries" has featured on Itunes!!! Check it out!

We are pleased to announce that Derek was featured in JPG Magazine's latest issue. The AMAZING photo was taken by photographer Kate Daigneualt(who we highly recommend you checking out now!) Kate has also featured pictures from Derek's upcoming album here!

Derek and JPG have also teamed up in for a very special offer for JPG Members only. Check it out here!

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Derek's was asked to do a guest blog about his approach to raising money for an album, engaging fans, and making a difference in peoples lives.

Derek Evans and Saxophone Player Steven Carter Will Be Playing Their First Show Together at Porters Pub at UCSD on December 1st, 2010. They will be headlining the show. This will also most likely be a full band show of all new material. Check out the Tour page for more information.

November 1, 2010: Released/Back to Health/19 Days/How 5 People Can Make A Difference

I hope you all are enjoying yourselves this weekend. I wanted to share some great news with you.

As many of you know, I became ill in June. Well, as of this past Thursday and just over 4 months later, I am now finally released from my doctors. I started this project facing many challenges. I knew I would not be able to perform live to help promote the project. I knew I would be in and out of the hospital and often times recovering. Furthermore, I would not be able to put my full attention on this project. I decided I would still launch the project with the hopes that people would help spread the word. I had hopes that people, who did not know me, would hear about my project and learn what I was about and make their pledge. In many cases this has happened. The word is spreading. However, we have 19 days remaining and we are at 32%. This is an “ALL OR NOTHING CAMPAIGN” This means that if we do not reach 100% no one will be charged and more importantly I will not be able to help these THREE charitable organizations. That was another challenge- most artists doing similar projects only donate to one charity. I was even advised to only pick one charity- but I stood my ground and chose three. I funded/will have funded the recording costs for the album myself. With that in mind, I figured I had a great opportunity to put my passions of music and helping others together.

Here is my solution to hitting 100% very quickly(and I am open to suggestions). What if every person who pledged told 5 of their closest friends about this project and told them about me and why I am doing this?What if those 5 close friends pledged 25 dollars. We would immediately exceed our goal. Another part of this project was to create a community of people with a common denominator/interest. If each of you told 5 of the closest people to you about this project and they made a pledge we would have a community of people. That, to me, is what makes this project stand apart from the others.

I believe you get my point. This is what 25 dollars will do by making a pledge: You will be helping three charities(Lemons To Aid, Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and The Dana Farber Cancer Institute), as well as, receive a hardcopy of my album signed with a post card. This proves how valuable 25 dollars can be.

That all being said- I am asking that you help spread the word to your closest friends and family. Let them know about this project. Let me know about me and why I am so passionate about this project.

I want to thank you all for your support. I KNOW we can hit 100%, but I absolutely cannot do it without you. It truthfully, would not feel as special if I did not have your support. Because now this is something WE are all apart of.

I hope you all had a great weekend and a great week ahead. I have noticed that, while many people have been spreading the word about “Music With A Cause” the project seems to be at a stand still. I have been asking myself over and over what I can do to maintain momentum. Here are a couple of my options:

1. Adding more incentives: This week I will be adding more incentives. They will include my all access pass from my show at The Fillmore with Blues Traveler signed by me.

3. I would like to put a show together where it will be donation only. I will play a full set- each person will donate however much they would like and they money will go strait to the “Music With A Cause” project.

I am 33 days away from this project being over and i want to be at 100% by 25 days. I want to exceed the goal. However, I am not able to do this without your help. I have a disadvantage by not being able to play shows due to my health. So please, tell me what incentives you think would help push this project.

p.s. I added a clip from The Fillmore show and added an exclusive demo track of Yellow Steps

September 29, 2010: Project Extended + A River Will Flow + Producer Dan Diaz- Pledger Exclusive

I wanted to bring you up to date on some changes with Music With A Cause. As you all know, I became ill and had surgery to have a tumor removed on September 8, 2010. This was unexpected and thus has caused a delay in my project. PledgeMusic has extended my project by 30 days- which means there are 52 days left.

A few months back my producer and friend, Dan Diaz, and I got together to talk about this album. I had some new songs that I had not really played live and needed a producer who could nurture my songs and bring new life to my work. That is something Dan does especially well. He has the ability to listen to a song, build a world around it without losing its meaning and without any compromise. We never expected that the project would take this long. In truth, we are very close to finishing this project. Most of the music is done. At one point we were trying to lock down vocals but I was having throat issues and you cant force singing when the throat is not working. As I mentioned, most of these songs have never been played live. I have added a song called "A River Will Flow" with scratch vocals, not mixed nor mastered. This is a rough version. I also added a video of me playing it on youtube. Listen to both- you will see why Dan is such a valuable asset to this project. He brought life to a very personal song. He added the very necessary touches to make it sound amazing.

So- where do we go from here. We have 52 days to change peoples lives for the better. Your pledge and support will raise money to help find a cure for my friend Jeff. Your pledge and support will raise money to help find a cure for Parkinsons- which took my grandfathers life on August 30th of 2007. You pledge and support will help www.lemonstoaid.org- an organization that takes our little heros of today and helps this became future leaders of tomorrow. Instills them with the importance of helping others.

Music With A Cause has kept me strong. Although, I have double vision in both of my eyes right now, I am tirelessly working hard to get the word out. I have a network of radio stations, tv stations, fanbridge.com, pledgers, fans, and other companies helping me and spreading he word to over half a million people about this project. That is why you always hear me say "Together We Can Make A Difference."

It is about 1:30am in San Diego and I am up thinking about my Music With A Cause Project. We have raised 27% of the goal and have 24 days remaining. In the past week I have received support from many people, including Mix102 fm in Providence, RI. I had a great conversation with the program director yesterday. Long story short- they will be playing my music and help spread the word about this project. The people from Fanbridge also helped me out by making me Artist of the Day last week. Very soon, more people and companies will start spreading the word. It is because there is this common denominator we have. Until now, I have never dealt with any of these people but we share a common goal to raise awareness for others. While I am passionate about making this album and being a musician, I would feel selfish if I did not use my name to help others. This current project is raising money for Lemons To Aid, Michael J. Fox.org, and The Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I am now going to put all pledgers in a raffle to win a signed pair of Toms Shoes. I want you all to understand how important it is for me to raise money for these organizations. That is, by far, my biggest concern. The additional incentive is that you will get a great album in return. I believe in this project, I believe in you to help make a difference and spread the word. So please, spread the word, make a pledge, tell your friends and family. I need your support to make this a success.

I am pleased to announce I am the artist of the day on Fanbridge. They are huge part of what makes maintaining my relationship with my fans so easy. Be sure to check them out. As a thank you for their support and yours, I will be offering a free download every month if you join my email list. Most will be rare versions of songs. This month I added a very new and rare version of my song "High School Walls" it is an acoustic version- but it feature my saxophone player Steven Carter. This is a demo version....but one of my favorites. Enjoy

Also- if you want to get my upcoming album free I am working on a project called Music With A Cause. Please see below. In short- if you make a small pledge, you will get a free album and helping various organizations and people. Take a look and help make a difference today!!

Hi Everyone, I hope you all have had a great labor day weekend, hopefully, continuing through tomorrow. I wanted to bring you to speed on something that will be happening this week. On Wednesday I will be having surgery, furthermore, I will not be doing many updates this coming week. I am told it could take about 7 to 10 days for me to recover. The question now- is how do WE keep Music With A Cause moving? I have been asking myself that more often this week and prior to launching this campaign. I made the decision that the people who follow me would keep this project alive. That is one of the things that make PledgeMusic so unique. It is not only about me, it is not only about the project, it is not only about you, or the charities involved. It is about everyone. PledgeMusic has provided a situation where everyone can work WITH each other. We have complete control over this project. I have the opportunity to share the recording process with you, my passion for these organizations, and you get to understand who I am and what I am about. Over the past, almost, two weeks we have raised 19% of our goal. That is truly amazing! So now is the time, more than ever, where I need your support. I need your support in help spreading the word about Music With A Cause. I am hoping that after my surgery and recovery this project will still be strong and growing. I might actually have some do an update for me during the week.

Thank you all again for your support. Together we can make a difference.

Much Love,

Derek Evans
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/derekevans
http://www.derekevansmusic.com

p.s. I added a sample of, the audio only, The Wind Cries on the pledge page. Below is a video a fan took of me playing the song at a private event.

What a fantastic first 10 days! Last night alone, between the hours of 9:30 p.m. - midnight, pledges just exceeded $400!!! That is amazing. I cant begin to tell you all how excited I am to be able to share this experience with you. I have never really been much of a blogger, but I am almost at the point where I want to write something everyday!!! You all are amazing. Lets keep spreading the love and make a difference AND get free music out of it!!!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/derekevans

http://www.derekevansmusic.com (Get a free download from the website)

Hi Folks-

I know you are saying to yourself “Did you not just make an update?!”
Well yes I did. I made an update about the album progress. But this project is not just about music. That is why it is called “Music With A Cause.”

I wanted to do a separate update about the charity portion of this project. As I have mentioned, portions of the proceeds will be going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in the loving memory of my grandfather, Marvin Lee Churney. It was, at this time, 3 years ago today that he passed after his long battle with Parkinson’s. You will continue to hear me say this- but I will not settle to just be a musician. I want to be a musician that will nurture great causes.

One of my greatest memories of my grandfather is that he would take me and my cousins to baskin robbins. It was a ritual everytime we would visit. Today, everyone in my family, are going to baskin robbins in his memory.
Making a pledge to this project will not only give you an album to listen to- it will help find a cure for this Parkinson’s. Every dollar helps.
I believe in my art, I believe in my passion, I believe that together we can make a difference.

Respectfully,
Derek Evans

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/derekevans

http://www.derekevansmusic.com (get a free download from the website)

Hey Folks-

I added another track “Yellow Steps”. This is a rough/not mastered version. I hope you enjoy. If you have not already, make your pledge today! Things are coming along great and I cant wait to share this project with you!

Below is a clip of me playing this song live at The Fillmore in San Francisco opening for Blues Traveler last year.

Enjoy!

Derek Evans

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/derekevans

http://www.derekevansmusic.com

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to say thank you again for a great first week. We are at 11% of our goal! That is fantastic news! I wanted to share something with you real quick. For those of who plan on or are considering pledging-or even those who are not able too- if you go to my new website you can receive a free download of one of the bonus tracks from the album. You can also make a pledge right now from my website. It is the original version of "High School Walls." Thank you all so much for being part of this. I look forward to hearing from you and appreciate the support!

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