Jody Evans releasing first album

By Maria Fields-Chism | For The Arkadelphian

Jody Evans is a busy man. In addition to serving the community as an officer with the Arkadelphia Police Department, the 2005 Nashville Star finalist and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story lead is set to perform live and to release his first studio album and his first music video this fall.

Evans and his band will take the stage at the 42nd annual Strawberry Jam Music Festival at the Grayson Farms Amphitheater in Bald Knob, Ark., Saturday, September 3, at 7 p.m. The festival benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

Joining Evans on stage will be Arkadelphia locals Paul Shuffield, on lead guitar and vocals; Eric Gomance, on fiddle and vocals; Jason Chism, on keyboards; Chris Bobo, on bass guitar; and Bill Halbrook on drums. Halbrook is sitting in for Evans’ regular drummer, Cameron Beene, but Halbrook already has a unique connection to the band. He’s “the guy who taught [Beene]” to play drums, Evans says. 

After more than a year since their last live show, Evans and the band are eager to perform live. “There’s nothing in this world like an audience that is receptive to not only your music, but your music, something that you wrote. [To] play other people’s music, that’s a rush in itself, you got a crowd going crazy for a cover song that you did. But when it’s a positive response for something that you created that is uniquely yours, there’s nothing in this world like it. It’s unparalleled, unmatched.”

The live show will feature Evans’ original songs as well as country and rock ‘n’ roll classics. Among Evans’ originals are “Regrets,” a song Evans says he’s “really anxious to deliver to the crowd,” and “Still Waters,” a gospel song. Evans says that for him, “the high point of the show is always the gospel songs.” 

Evans hopes that Good Sweet Rockin’, his first studio album, will be available at the show. 

Evans recorded Good Sweet Rockin’ at Family Rooms Studio in Nashville, Tenn., in January 2021. The album features original songs “that we’ve been playing for years, and then there’s some new ones that nobody’s ever heard before,” Evans says. 

Fans familiar with Evans’ sound can expect something new in Good Sweet Rockin’. “It’s still my sound,” Evans insists, but it’s also “a new sound, I think, because this is the first studio work I’ve ever done that I didn’t play lead guitar on.” Evans says that as he’s grown as a musician, he’s learned his limitations. “I don’t belong behind the lead guitar,” Evans says. “I dreamed of being a serious guitarist, but so did Elvis. [It] didn’t work out for him either, so, well, some of us are just destined to be behind that mic. I’ve learned that that’s what I should have probably been doing all along.”

“I played some neat licks through the years, but there was somebody else that didn’t get to play that was better than me all the while I was playing. Now I’ve stepped aside and let that person do their thing, and I just concentrate on my thing. It’s just the square peg in the square hole. Now it’s all fitting together so much better. And it took me a long time to learn that.”

Evans characterizes his music as “honest music,” saying, “the fact of the matter is those songs I’ve lived, every song that I ever wrote.” The song “Regrets,” for example, is about “a girl that I went to college with that really cared a lot about me, and I just didn’t fall in love with her in time. I was a little late,” Evans says. 

Evans explores this idea even further in the music video for “Regrets,” which Evans describes as “very artsy” and “Pinocchio in reverse.” Evans and his band recorded the music video for “Regrets” in March, and Evans plans to release it “before too long.”

In the immediate future, Evans plans to “focus on playing” and hopes to return to a stage in Arkadelphia soon. In the meantime, fans can find information about upcoming shows, Good Sweet Rockin’, and the music video for “Regrets” via Evans’ website, jodyevans.net.