By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
His voice moves up the scale and back down, bringing the audience into the soul of his life through his ballad. Then he moves into another of his originals, a toe tapping, finger snapping piece titled, “One More Step.” The audience moves with his spirit and offers up an applause at the end of each piece.
It’s Saturday night, and the moon is just a sliver. The weather is warm enough for shorts yet not to balmy for jeans. Huli Huli Hut, with open doors facing the American National Insurance building, offers a perfect place for a musician to draw in an audience.
“I just moved to Galveston and he’s the best I’ve seen so far,” said Brandon Fox, who is now a fan of singer/songwriter, Evan Carpenter.
Kat #1 and Kat #2, bartenders at Huli Huli Hut, both agree, “He has a really good voice.”
“He is so good looking and really plays the guitar well,” adds a female in the audience.
He’d rather play his own material than the work of others. But he understands, sometimes people want to hear what they know. So, he gives the audience an occasional familiar song, although he mostly belts out his own lyrics.
Branding himself as a country musician feels right for him. “I consider myself a Texas country boy. I like being out in nature,” said Carpenter. He’s worked on ranches, raised goats, rides horses and enjoys camping. He also recently returned from a camping trip in Moab, Utah.
Since moving to Galveston eight years ago, Carpenter has been making the circuit performing in bars, churches, and outdoor establishments. “I like being here, the audience is always changing because of the tourism, which means I get to meet people from all over the country,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter grew up watching the ebb and flow of modern life change the landscape of his hometown, New Braunfels. His first CD, to be released in June, will describe through his own words the evolution of his childhood stomping grounds.
He has been writing lyrics since he was 15 years old. Many of his songs were written while he was sitting near the Comal River. “I want people to feel the river as they listen to my CD (titled simply, Evan Carpenter),” he said.
Due to hearing loss in his left ear, Carpenter has learned to feel the vibrations of his guitar and knows the notes by how they feel, not just how they sound. “When I’m tuning my guitar, I press my chin to my guitar so I can feel the frequency of the note,” he said.
He’d rather not speak much about his childhood, other than to say it was a bit rocky. However, for his future, he hopes he and his wife can purchase a house in Galveston and eventually go out on tour.
