Welcome Back to Hell by Evan Toth

I expanded my musical obsession by buying armfuls of well-worn Beatles, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, etc. records wherever I could find them; they ruined me forever. My sordid, life-long affair with Ms. Music had begun.

Being the lonely, only child that I was (am), I took it upon myself to learn piano, guitar, harmonica and voice independently. Ok, sure, I took a few months of this and that here and there, but I never had the patience to go through months of lessons. I scraped through my Billy Joel songbook’s and, somehow, spontaneously ingested it all.

Anyway, I began high school where I played around in a gaggle of punk bands. The most constant of them being my own creation: The Derelicts. The band name wasn’t far from what we actually were; Catholic schools can be scary. Fueled by Kurt Cobain and plenty of good-old teenage angst we built up quite a reputation for ourselves as being a fun, solid Northern N.J. punk rock band opening up for such legendary bands as Dog Eat Dog, Reigndance, and Biohazard.

However, when school ended so did many close friendships. Things happen and people change. The Derelicts broke up and I was left puzzling over what musical direction to go in next.

Since I was the only writer I’d ever worked with I knew I had that gag in my arsenal. I also wanted to utilize my piano playing and bring it into the act. Although I loved the punk rock that I was playing at the time (and I still do) I wanted to get a little more creative and make some original, well-written, rock and roll music.

In 1998 this desire led me to enter a “sound-alike” contest held by the NYC metro-area Beatlefest. Yes, Beatlefest is like a Star-Trek convention without the Spock ears, but it’s still fun if you love The Beatles (and I do). Anyway, I managed to snag first-place for aping Paul McCartney’s Let It Be. 1000+ Beatles fans helped me win by audience participation. It was at this moment that I convinced myself that I might have a shot at making some decent music here.

After clawing through every piano bar in NYC I happened upon a shot-in-the-dark audition for Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding; the longest running comedy in Off-Broadway history. I won the role of Donny Dulce, the sleazy singer who fronts the party’s wedding band. Yikes!

I certainly can’t complain…the show brought me around America for six months, back for a limited stay in the NYC production and later they dragged (sic) me all the way to Fukouka, Japan. What a great run…

Upon my return to New Jersey I began making the rounds as a solo player (guitar, vox & piano). I even took a short tour to Nashville, TN and New Orleans, LA. Playing all alone on stage with nothing but my guts and a beer was fun, but I still hungered to have a group of guys who helped me get my tunes across.

At long last, it appears as though I’ve found them, and we’re ready to start ripping up the pavement in a neighborhood near you. I’m flattered and lucky as hell to have guys of this caliber who believe in my music as much as I do. It’s a great honor to bill myself as Evan Toth and The Excuses.

We’ve had some great success since we’ve begun! We’d played at The Newark Bears’ Riverfront Stadium, Hackensack’s Foscini Park; we’ve appeared on WMSU-FM & WFDU-FM, we’ve been written up in The Bergen Record, The Aquarian, and Kweevak.com. We’ve also been gaining a loyal following on the NJ/NYC original band circuit as our 900+ mailing list will attest. Our reputation to pack a bar and to give a blistering live performance is beginning to precede us.

I don’t believe these tunes are better than sliced bread, and they probably won’t bring about world peace. However, I firmly believe my music is well written, solid, full of integrity and sincerity and catchy as hell. How do I know that? Because that’s what people tell me.

So, enjoy the new CD, come out to a show, sign the mailing list, and buy me a beer. Let’s talk about life, people and the future, but have a lot of fun while we’re at it. That’s what I miss in rock n’ roll these days…fun…how ‘bout you!?

For More Information Don’t Forget To Check Out: WWW.EVANTOTH.COM

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