Evan Taubenfeld, having acquired recognition during his touring days with Avril Lavigne, is currently building his reputation as a solo artist with a vocal sound close to that of Teddy Geiger and Ashley Parker Angel.
The self-proclaimed “work in progress” explains that, although he has been touring since he was 18 as Lavigne’s guitarist and now has his own tour alongside Secondhand Serenade, he still feels unsuccessful. However, he received a lot of attention for his singles “Boy Meets Girl” and “Cheater of the Year,” landing him on MTV’s Buzzworthy, AOL’s Popeater and in an appearance in J-14 Magazine.
“If I were to read you my list of goals, you would laugh,” Taubenfeld said. “I dream big. So far, I’ve had a great start and done a lot of cool things. No Grammy, no [Video Music Awards], I have a long way to go.”
The Baltimore native taught himself to play guitar at age 13 and has not put down the instrument since.
“I just kind of picked it up and went for it. I am, I guess, good at it,” he said.
Since then, he has been performing and writing music. Aside from serving as lead guitarist, he also assisted Lavigne as musical director, co-writing songs such as “Don’t Tell Me” and “Hot.” Before releasing his solo album “Welcome to the Blacklist Club,” Taubenfeld wrote and produced for a number of other musicians as well.
“I collaborate with a lot of other really talented writers to compose songs,” Taubenfeld said. “It is really challenging to make the absolute best possible music, but at the same time it’s a really cool job. I guess I am pretty lucky.”
Taubenfeld confesses that the toughest part of the industry for him is writing the songs, despite the fact that he got his start in entertainment as a producer and writer, as the writing process takes copious amounts of time and thought.
Although he finds writing the toughest part of being an artist, he says that recording is his least favorite part, as a lot of time plays into getting music just the way it was originally meant to sound and ready for the public.
Performing is what truly grabs Taubenfeld’s attention and drives him to be a successful artist.
“When I perform, I like to show my music, energy and attitude all at once to my audience,” he said. “What I have is a little bit different than what’s out there. It is hard to sound 100 percent unique nowadays, but if you have your own twist, then you are off to a good start.”
Taubenfeld is set to play with Secondhand Serenade at Pop’s in Sauget, IL on Sept. 30. Visit www.popsrocks.com for more information about the venue.
Visit www.myspace.com/evantaubenfeld for more information about Taubenfeld or to hear samples of his music
