by Lisa Morgan
The legacy of the musically magic Evaro family continues to grow and evolve as Gabriella Evaro’s dove-like voice and empathically poetic lyric sense join forces with the unique rhythm soundscapes of Daniel Joeright, former drummer for the Rentals. Helping them press deep into some uncharted pop-esque celestial folk rock are Be Hussey (bass), Esteban Chavez (synthesizers), Scott Schaffer (Theremin and modular apparatus) and Bob Villwock (keyboards). Evaro, whose signature voice known for its sultry gentility, shows a unique impassioned strength in this project as it soars above the fusion of rhythm and melodic-synth to frame the lyrical pictures of hope within the human experience painted by this ensemble.
Earth Moon Earth is the brain child of drummer/composer Daniel Joeright, and is the result of fate meeting years of experience. Joeright has been surrounded by some of the music industry’s favored sons. “I’ve been playing drums since I was about 5 years old living in Ohio,” he shared with CV Weekly. “My dad played drums in a band with his father in law (my granddad), and he would take me along to their rehearsals and gigs. Drumming just kind of rubbed off on me; it came real natural. I followed music to New York City where I was lucky enough to play with some great people, peaking at a session I was called in on by David Byrne of the Talking Heads. It was a session with singer/musician Terry Hall of the Specials and guitarist Marc Ribot who has played with the likes of Tom Waits and Elvis Costello. David Byrne was producing and also playing guitar. I was beside myself for those couple of days. Soon after that, I moved to LA and hooked up with the Rentals in 2006, mainly as the drummer, but before long, we were in my little garage studio recording the first Rentals music since 1999. It was an EP called Last Little Life. I co-produced and engineered that one in addition to collaborating on the songs and playing drums. My role after that, besides drumming, was pretty much as a quality control consultant, tweaking mixes and giving my opinions whether Matt wanted them or not! I left The Rentals in 2010, but some of my drum tracks are on the latest Rentals record which came out in 2014.”
When asked how this current project came about, Joeright shared, “Every year I throw a summer solstice party called, ‘Yucca Man Shakedown,’ and we have live music. Last year, I had a friend with a short wave radio and another friend with a Theremin, so I put together a pretty unusual drum kit – a Tympani; it’s a 28″ kick drum with some triggers for some odd ball samples. We did this experimental jam which went over pretty well, and we were able to create some really interesting sounds. The next day, I started recording the rhythms and sounds I had been playing but with a bit more structure, and that was the beginning. The first song I recorded was, “It Begins,” and it features the Tympani and Theremin. I continued to whittle away at stuff over the course of the year, and as this year’s Yucca Man party was approaching, I wanted to perform these new compositions. I started making calls and assembling a band and that’s right around the time I invited Gabba (Gabriella Evaro) down for the vocal session.”
