A band name isn’t all Florida hardcore band Evergreen Terrace seemingly borrowed from “The Simpsons.” With its number of ex-members (six) more than matching its current ones (five), the band took not only the beloved animated family’s street address for a moniker but also a similar affinity for a vast universe of secondary characters.
“It’s one of those thing where at first there is a little panic, but fortunately it’s never been someone who writes all the music or the face of the band ... it’s people that can be — in more ways than one — replaced,” said guitarist Josh James. “It’s cool, though, to have a new face, a new vibe in the band, because as of now, we’ve got a super positive feeling with the guys we’ve got.”
Most of the early casualties came directly from the unforeseen route the band took after its inception; a hobby that quickly became something much more.
“There was definitely not ever any intention of this being a full-time gig, or even putting out a full-length album,” James said. “We got enough songs for an album, album came out, decided we might as well go on tour, had fun and got back and it was like, ‘Want to do it again?’ It’s kind of like we never stopped for a second to really think about it. The three of us didn’t really give ourselves another option.
That’s just what our lives became.”
The core of James, vocalist Drew Carey and guitarist Craig Chaney has remained unscathed, and that’s helped weather the slew of departures over the band’s 12-year life span. The tight bond between the three has also allowed the quality of the songs and albums to only improve over time, especially with the past two releases, 2007’s “Wolfbiker” and 2009’s “Almost Home.”
They take a less common approach to songwriting, with all three contributing lyrics with the music coming afterward.
“When there’s more than one person contributing to lyrics, you can get different points of view,” James said. “We still get together and talk about them. It’s a collective experience. Some bands have no idea what the singer is talking about. Some kid comes up to you after the show and asks and you’re like, ‘I have no fucking clue.’ With our music, at least we all understand what we are attempting to say throughout the song and trying to express as a collective unit.”
With a stable lineup, which now includes James’ brother Caleb James on drums, the band is looking forward to getting back to life on the road with Bury Your Dead — including a stop on Friday at Diamond Ballroom — after a short, seven-week break. The next layover will have the band recording new material for an EP or another full-length that promises to make performances all the better.
“We feel more into our groove,” Josh said. “We are still in that path, but I think that we’re focusing on making strong songs we like that, if we were to hear at a show would pump us up. Things people enjoy listening to live.”
