It all started in the early part of the summer of '93 in Atlanta, GA when 2 distinctly different songwriters decided to join forces to make music. Their names were Evan and Jaron.
Before they even played a show together they decided to try their luck in the studio. The result was a 4 song demo tape that was released in Aug of '93 under the name Durable Phig Leaf. The production of this recording was kept to under 400 copies; all of which were sold in that 1st month.
They played under that name until the release of their 1st full length record on Nov 8, 1994. This new record, which was made at the request of the fans to have some new music that they could take home with them, was recorded live (straight to DAT) at a little coffee house in Decatur, GA called KaLo's Coffee House. Lois Fox, a co-owner of KaLo's, gave Evan and Jaron their first shot by allowing them to play every other Tuesday night. You see Tuesday night was the slowest night, so she figured she had nothing to lose; not to say, she enjoyed the guys' music immensely as well. Within 2 months time, Tuesday night became KaLo's Coffee House's most profitable night. Oh, and the record... it's gone on to sell over 15,000 units.
With the attention that "KaLo's" brought them, Evan and Jaron began to draw crowds in cities all over the Eastern half of the U.S. In the fall of '95, they decided to expand their sound by adding a band. This band would go through a couple of changes in personnel before it would eventually end up being the band that it is today.
In January of '96, under the name of The Evan and Jaron Band, the guys entered the studio to make "Not From Concentrate." This was the 1st time that fans would get a chance to hear Evan and Jaron's music on record with a fuller sound. By the time the record was released in March of '96 Evan and Jaron were already in negotiations with various different record companies -- none of which would end up being the one they'd sign with.
On a steamy-hot day in early June of '96, Jaron, while at home relaxing, received a telephone call from non-other than Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy had said that he heard about the band and was interested in seeing them perform live. On June 18, just a couple of days later, he got to do just that. After his performance at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA he went down to a great little club called Smith's Olde Bar to see them perform in a showcase set up for him. He was so enthralled with them, that he offered them a recording contract with his record company, Margaritaville Records the next morning at breakfast.
The story doesn't end there. A gentleman by the name of Chris Blackwell, who founded a record company called Island Records, was told by Buffett about Evan and Jaron. After Chris saw them perform he worked out a deal with Jimmy in which he could acquire the guys on Island Records. The rest of the deal took place behind closed doors, so I'm unauthorized to tell you more, but suffice it to say, everyone's happy.
So now that the guys had the backing of a major record company, it was time to make a record. Evan and Jaron enlisted the help of Danny Korchmar to produce the record and entered the studio in the fall of '97. Danny, a legendary guitar player who played with such greats as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Carole King, has also made a name for himself as a top-rate producer (Don Henley, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, etc).
