Brian Evans was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. At age 11 he knew
there was something different about him. While most kids were spending
their adolescence listening to rock stations and rap, Brian was
listening to old-time crooners like
Frank Sinatra and
Dean Martin.
His long journey began as an actor, appearing on TV commercials for
candy bars such as "Twix," and for McDonalds, and Brian quickly moved
into doing movies such as
Death Wish 4 - Das Weiße im Auge (1987)
with Charles Bronson and
Nachhilfe in Sachen Liebe (1990), a movie
directed by Robert Shaye, the founder of
New Line Cinema, and also the man behind the "Lord of The Rings"
success. "Book of Love" remains the only film he directed for New Line,
casting Brian in the role of "Schank."
Brian then was asked to do a guest appearance on a new TV series called
"Beverly Hills Brats. He appeared on the pilot episode, which was a
90-minute TV movie, special later renamed "Beverly Hills, 90210." While
waiting to see what happened with "90210," Brian took a guest spot on
Full House (1987) playing the role
of Keanu, the boyfriend of Kimmy, played by
Andrea Barber.
It wasn't acting Brian longed to do, though, as his passion was to be a
crooner, like the ones he listened to as a kid. Brian moved to Canada
to spend time with friends, and decided to do a CD of big band crooner
standards. He didn't have the money to hire a full big band, so he
licensed karaoke tracks with the permission of the karaoke company. The
CD sounded great, but Brian was nervous about releasing it anywhere but
in Canada, figuring that if people didn't like it, he could always go
back to Los Angeles where nobody would know he released the album in
Canada.
He couldn't have been more wrong. The CD was released to rave reviews
in Canada, climbing to #1 of the HMV Music Chain charts for independent
musicians, and the funny thing was that reviewers raved about how great
the band was on this new CD, when the "band" was actually karaoke
tracks. That CD led to Brian being asked to perform at The Desert Inn,
where his idol Sinatra had performed for years (Brian Frank Sinatra in
1993 at a benefit for his wife Barbara's Palm Springs help center).
Brian couldn't believe that he was now playing at The Desert Inn, the
world-famous casino where he'd hang his hat for nearly two years. He
recorded an album called "Brian Evans - Live at The Desert Inn,". He
has since performed at Bally's, The MGM Grand and The Tropicana.
While performing at The Desert Inn, Brian signed a record deal to
record and license his albums, now more than 17 CDs, to countries
throughout Asia. His records are released in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong
Kong, Thailand, The Republic of China and The Philippines, and he just
released a new CD in the US to rave reviews, featuring his remakes of
such classic 80s hits as Van Halen's "Jump"
and The Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy," along with his
original song "You."
In fact, Grammy Magazine names Brian along with
Norah Jones and
Rod Stewart as among the newest
relevant crooners of our generation, and notable artists such as
Dionne Warwick,
Frankie Valli,
Rich Little,
Al Stewart,
Michael McDonald and others
likely agree, given they've allowed Brian the honor of opening for them
all.
He has also sung "The Star Spangled Banner" at 17 professional major
league baseball, hockey and basketball games, including ones at Fenway
Park for The Boston Red Sox, The Great Western Forum for the Lakers,
and GM Place in Vancouver for The Grizzlies. Also an author who
published "Dreamer" in 1994, Brian has seen his love for stand-up and
acting turn into a singing career.
Brian now lives in Wailea, Hawaii, and Las Vegas, Nevada, where he
shares homes. Brian and his band are already preparing to record a new
album and are readying for new shows in Las Vegas and around the world.
