WORKING THE ‘HUMAN’ TOUCH: Sweet Eve. |
So here’s a good story. Sweet Eve, a local band, had been trying to make things happen since forming in 2005. They played the usual local circuit to get it done. Last year, the band took a shot and sent out press kits across the country in an attempt to cover more ground through touring. One of the long shots, the Whisky on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, offered a slot to the band, so they saved some money, built a tour around the LA gig, and headed west. One week before they had planned to leave, their bassist bailed. “We had to wander around asking peo-ple if they knew anyone who could play bass or guitar,” says guitarist/vocalist Tony Francis. “Then the next question was, ‘Are you willing to drop everything and come on the road with two strangers for over a month?’ ”
They found a guy who had a bass, but didn’t exactly know how to play it or tune it. They traveled America giving the new guy bass lessons. “The lessons didn’t take,” says Tony. “Every show on the way was ruined. He kept wandering off in cities, he spent all of his money on stupid shit. By Denver he was broke and we were only a week into the tour.” The other two floated him on their already limited funds. When they arrived in LA, Tony’s cousin helped the band find bassists to audition. “There were a ton of great musicians out there who didn’t have a band and a lot of them had never gotten to play the Whisky so it was a good opportunity.” The guy they found, Justin, learned all the band’s songs in three days. The gig at the Whisky went well. After the show, Delious, from the R&B group All-4-One (“I Swear,” “I Can Love You Like That”), approached Tony and applauded the band for their performance. “I asked him what he thought could make us better, and he said to me, ‘If I sang your music.’ ”
Delious invited Sweet Eve to stay in LA and jam. The day after the Whisky gig, they wrote a song, “Only Human,” in less than an hour. After they banged it out, Delious began calling in favors from friends to get the band a practice space and a recording studio. On Monday they were in a practice space; on Tuesday they were in a recording studio laying down “Only Human.” Two days later they drove 49 hours straight to get back to Rhody.
“As soon as we got back, we started making plans to get back to Los Angeles,” says Tony. “The only question was when.” They found themselves a bass player, Jimmy James, and put together a new demo to take advantage of the momentum their new alliance in LA provided them. In the meantime, Delious is polishing “Only Human,” readying it for his next single. On June 27, Sweet Eve started a trek — the “LA or Bust” tour — that will eventually land them back west.
