Evan Troop has been a musician for almost all of his life. Starting at age four with playing Piano, he later took on drums at age 11, and later guitar at age 18. Evan is a rock and country artist from Dallas, Texas. He spent time sailing the world as a ship’s officer aboard Merchant Vessels and has also served 8 years as an Officer in the United States Naval Reserve. During 2017 and 2018, Evan worked on crafting 14 demos at Duprey Recording Studios in Dallas. This ultimately led to him teaming up with multi-platinum and grammy nominated producer Bryan Todd in Nashville, TN. In the fall of 2018, the talented duo recorded the Evan Troop EP which was released in December 2019.
The single ‘’Whiskey Woman’’ off the Evan Troop EP is a smooth blend of country and rock. He sings about the mysterious Whiskey Woman who he seems to have an eventful relationship with. In the first verse he sings ‘’Now we’re on the run, desperate for each other, we face the rising sun, you go grab the whiskey, I’ll go grab the gun, set fire to the evening’’ chaos seems to surround the pair but he gets a kick out of it. One could almost say that he is addicted to her. It appears to be a love/hate relationship. He admires her by singing the lines ‘’she stripped right down in front of me’’ and ‘’Your hips are amazing’’ but at the same time he also acknowledges the fact that she could be bad for him through the lines ‘’That Whiskey Woman left her poison on my tongue’’ and ‘’5 o'clock this morning, the same time as before, I swore I wouldn't do it.’’. The song tells a twisted story is told in a beautifully catchy way and will keep you wanting to hear more.
Listen to "Whiskey Woman" here.
We would love to give you a warm welcome to BuzzMusic Evan Troop! We are big fans of your music and are thrilled to have you answer some of our questions. Can you tell us what your inspiration was being the single ‘’Whiskey Woman’’?
Thank you so much and I am very grateful to be here with BuzzMusic!
“Whiskey Woman” is actually a true story that combines two previous relationships. The first relationship was actually the next-door neighbor that I dated for a few months about 2 years ago. This gal (who shan’t be named) was a blast to hang out with however, she lived extremely fast. The lyrical content in the first verse describes several of the alcohol-fueled wild experiences that we shared. In verse two, the tone then shifts to the pain of missing her after she decided to move on.
Separately, the chorus is about a close girlfriend of mine here in Dallas that I dated last summer. When I originally wrote the song two years ago, the chorus was just going to be a long high vocal scream with a guitar solo underneath. That changed during a trip to San Diego with this gal to sail on a buddy’s 65-foot yacht for a week. The morning after the first night of sailing and dancing in San Diego, I woke up and the lyrics to the chorus came to me.
As you can tell from the lyrics, both relationships were a little on the wild side which gave me a plethora of inspiration. The energy and excitement of it all really comes across from the first power chord all the way through to the final strum.
What was it like connecting with Bryan Todd and how do you think this partnership impacted your music?
Bryan Todd is a multi-platinum record producer and songwriter who has worked with some fantastic talent over the years. Working with Bryan was an amazing experience, and I am so grateful that he was open to partnering on the Evan Troop EP. We recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, and we had fantastic musicians on the tracks including Pete Abbott on drums, Kenny Greenberg on guitar and Mike Rhodes on bass.
With regard to the impact on my music, I picked up some great recording and mixing tips that have helped me become a better studio musician. Prior to working with Bryan, my studio experience was limited to working in smaller shops here in Dallas. Ultimately, working with Bryan was a great confidence booster as he totally dug the tracks. Furthermore, having guys like Kenny, Pete and Mike be complimentary of the songs really gave me encouragement to continue writing and pursuing music.
We are aware of your many musical talents and instruments that you play, is there any one of them that you would say is your favorite?
The guitar is far and away from my favorite instrument. I was classically trained in piano from the time I was 4 years old and picked up drums at 11. I actually didn’t pick up a guitar until I was a sophomore in college at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
After graduating from the Academy and serving as an officer aboard merchant and naval vessels, the only instrument that I could feasibly pack was an acoustic guitar. As anyone who has navigated ships for a living can attest, there is plenty of downtimes. I found myself playing guitar 4 to 6 hours a day to pass the time. This is when I really got my chops as a guitarist and began writing songs in my early 20ies.
I love the guitar due to the fact that the instrument is unbelievably expressive. There are unlimited combinations/permutations of FX and amp setups that can create a wide array of tones. This along with the ability to shape voicings and bend notes creates an instrument that is unbelievably expressive.
The guitar parts for “Whiskey Woman” are actually in drop C. Alex Gerst who produced the single had this great custom guitar that could handle extremely low tuning without losing presence. This is ultimately what gives the guitar a super thick sound on the track.
What was the move like from Dallas Texas to Nashville Tennessee? Would you say this move had an impact on you as a person or musician?
I actually still live in Dallas however, I am looking to get a second-place up in Nashville as I’m traveling up there frequently. Up to this point, I have been an unsigned artist. However, with over 50k monthly listeners on Spotify, we are ready to start approaching labels to see about getting signed. I have written over 200 songs so I’m very keen to find the right partner that can help me get this content to our listeners and fans!
What can we expect to see from you throughout 2020?
Over the past two months, I have been working at Empire Studios in Dallas to track another 5 songs. As of the second week of March, we just finished the first round of mixing and we will be adding our finishing touches. I’m hoping to have the 5 tracks mastered in the next few weeks and we will start releasing a single a month starting in May.
I’m going to get back in the studio this summer to track another 5 songs so that we can continue to release a song a month through Feb of 2021. Stay tuned as there is some great stuff coming out! Thanks for your time.