With his hand shaking over his head singing, “The devil is a dangerous, dangerous man,” Grant Fater doesn’t let on that his voice will erupt into piquancy like an old Southern spiritual once his and Richard Tanner’s hands fly in tandem across their strings with relentless drive.
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Evening Grey
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 Entertainment
 Art
The Empty Bottle
Chicago, Ill.
July 1, 2007
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The speed of play from these two is reminiscent of a storm obliterating the make-up of a corduroy road until there is nothing left but mud and debris.
Miraculously, this is a band who performed like this when Tanner broke his tailbone a while back even though he could hardly adjust his pedal settings let alone move or sit. Tanner was worried despite what physicians told him, he wouldn’t walk again, yet he healed in less than two months and a performance never suffered. In fact, they have never cancelled a show and have always astounded a crowd live. This my friend is Evening Grey.
Evening Grey is one of those bands who began in Lawrence, KS and then migrated to the big city of Chicago with the dream our city’s prime indie label, Flameshovel Records, would hear them. So while they wait for their big break, artists and fans are falling in love with Evening Grey’s furious machine of dramatic vocals and fully-automatic guitar riffs at the smaller venues our city has to offer.
Being The Empty Bottle has become the premier house to see some of the most talented bands in the business, vibe and rhythm geniuses, The Armor Class suggested Evening Grey join them again to showcase a crackerjack far more entrancing than anything Flameshovel has currently under contract.
Tanner and Fater had been talking for a while about how they believed the original rhythm section who moved from Kansas with them was not what they had in mind for the long run. Still to see the original line-up, only the musicians felt anything was in disrepair. While Tanner was recovering and Fater was away in Alaska, Tanner met two seasoned artists, Ben Mazza (bass) and Josh Turner (drums.) Josh Turner knocks back his drink, puts his hand to his lips, and jokes, “It was musical adultery. It was band adultery.” Tanner grins and carries the bit, “I am the little spoon…so, I was scrambling like mad to teach these guys all the songs.” Tanner did such a great job; Mazza and Turner seem like founding members themselves these days. Not to mention they have an excellent rapport with these friends of friends and Ben Mazza actually studied music business. Mazza not only knows music, but he knows the beast everyone excuses as a business, which is enlightening and harboring for Tanner and Fater who come from a part of the country rooted in the principles of being hospitable and open-minded to the endeavors and dreams of others.
Evening Grey now seems to play together with a connectivity and completely synchronistic movement amongst each member. The rhythm section is notably more mature and distinct, presenting. With a cellist, they would be unstoppable. Practicing three hours a day or more, they operate more like an orchestra than a rock band. This combined with a sound comparative to nothing in the Chicago or Lawrence scene aside from holding some of the fervor of original Get-Up Kids recordings and melodic surrealism of Appleseed Cast tracks from Low Level Owl and Mare Vitalis.
“Evening Grey has gotten a lot better; they’re really amazing,” remarked a member of The Armor Class. However, Evening Grey was always incredible. But now they’re very dangerous, dangerous men. See them in the confines of a small musical venue while you still can.
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