M.E. Exposed

I’m an Independent Musician, so I guess if I don’t have a legitimate 9-5 job, the rest of my time I don’t really do anything, BUT:

1. Book rehearsal rooms

2. Coordinate musicians

3. Plan set lists

4. Get the show and promo flyers designed, proofed and printed

5. Get the show tickets designed, proofed and printed

6. Listen to mixes of songs for my new album with the precision to ensure I will be happy hearing them for the rest of my life

7. Distributing the printed tickets and flyers

8. Fleshing out logistical details of private and corporate events  at which I will be performing in the near and distant future

9. Social Networking on the major networks - Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and my .com, which not only involves posting, but responding to comments

10. Seeking potential sponsors for events

11. Building my mailing list and updating it

12. Building my media list and updating it

13. Managing my accounting and finances

14. Building a consistent brand image by carefully and strategically deciding what I share with my audience

15. Live performances and the rehearsals that accompany them

16. Songwriting

17. Supporting the shows, performances and other events of fellow artists

18. Providing advice to fellow colleagues about questions they may have about things in the industry that I may be familiar

19. Workout - Every performer should look as good as they can

20. Have a life outside of music

Hey in essence, since I’m an INDEPENDENT MUSICIAN, once I’m not at a 9-5 I really have NOTHING to do, since musicians don’t really do anything but waste their lives.

This post goes out to all the INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS and INDEPENDENT CREATIVES (poets, artists, dancers etc.) who actually get it.  Keep grindin’.  Keep pushin’.  The work has got to be done, and someone has got to do it!  Hard work does pay off!

Blessed love, 

M.E.

The Lance Armstrong interview definitely prompted this post. It scared me to see how he could have lived a lie for so long, and all the people he so confidently lied about in the process; tarnishing their reputations and totally denying the truth in their stories…Ultimately tarnishing his own reputation.

Also interesting is how compelled we as humans are to tell the truth at some point. Somehow the lie catches up with with us and engulfs us to the point where it has to be purged.

The lessons I got from this interview include:
1. No matter how much we get, many of us will still want more.
2. Greed and power can potentially become ugly things.
3. Nothing lasts forever…Nothing.
4. The truth will set you free.
5. The truth will cause you to lose many of your supporters, and living with it may kill you.
6. You can only share your truth when you want to.

At the end of the day I’m disappointed in Lance, but strangely not upset with him. As we judge, we forget how mortal each and every one of us is, and how elusive our perceived immortality is. Unfortunately public figures suffer from this judgement the most, and in the end get the most criticism for it.

I pray that Lance will be able to start over again after this purging of his demons, and that his family, friends and colleagues will forgive him, and still appreciate him for the good he has done, and not judge him for the mistakes he has made.

And to everyone reading this, before you judge another, take a moment to look at yourself and the demons you have, and hold that comment you were about to make, because we are no different from our fellow man.

Blessings,
M.E.

My year has been a roller-coaster of music, medicine, traveling, giving back, readjusting and simply learning more about ME, as a musician and as an individual. I am grateful for the experiences I had last year, and in life in general. We go through each day feeling like we haven’t done enough, but when you pause to reflect on the many blessings received, it really puts a new perspective on where you were and where you’re GROWING to. Words cannot express the impact that these events have had on my life, so here is a synopsis of my 2012. Enjoy.

JANUARY

Was featured in ma girl, Rajdulari’s (@rajdularimusic) 1st ever music video for her album title track, ‘Honeywine’. I’m singing backgrounds (See me at 3:46-3:48 :D).

M.E. and Terrell Carter, the leading male in the music video, and also known for his appearance in Tyler Perry plays, movies and X Factor.

Had a ‘Gone Until Next Time’ show in NY, as I prepared to move back home to Jamaica…A few days after this concert I officially moved back to live in JA.

M.E. singing to a full house at ‘Space On White’ in NYC, accompanied by Enrico de Trizio on piano.

Back in Jamaica, I started out by giving back, speaking to high school students at the HEART Trust/NTA Career Expo about life in the music industry.

M.E. posing with a few grateful students poised for the entertainment industry.

FEBRUARY

Shared the stage with some of Jamaica’s finest musicians at ‘Classic Duets - The Travis King Benefit’, the brainchild of Stephanie Maxwell (@StephSingsLove). It was truly an honour sharing the stage with many musicians who I look up to, and to raise funds for Travis who had recently had a serious car accident.

All the musicians united on stage singing the closing number.

MARCH

I got the pleasure of encouraging these young Jamaican boys to follow their dreams, and that they can do anything they dream of, at my alma mater (Mona Prep), for their Boys’ Empowerment Day. Click video to check out a clip from the day!

M.E. and da boys. And yes they have Mario Evon flyers :D

Also started working as a Medical Doctor again…Don’t worry it all came back, like riding a slightly rusty bicycle, and it’s def back now :D

APRIL

Got invited to share the stage with the amazing Althea Hewitt (@AltheaHewitt) at her ‘Intimate in Studio 38’ concert. Check out video clips here.

Althea Hewitt and M.E. singing ‘Endless Love’ at Studio 38 at ‘Intimate In Studio 38’.

MAY

Had my very 1st studio session for my debut album, at Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio in Jamaica. Recorded music for 3 songs, and got to work with the amazing Studio Engineer/Producer, Rohan Dwyer, as well as a cast of amazing musicians. I was nervous as hell being the point person for my own project, but at the end of the day I felt so accomplished. Looking forward to sharing. This wouldn’t have been possible without your Kickstarter donations. Thanks to the people who donated.

M.E. singing at Tuff Gong Studios. Photo by Randy Richards.

Did many weddings with the Downtown Fever New York crew mainly in Northeast USA - NY, CT, MA to name a few states. We always have a wild time. These people are awesome!

JUNE

Released my first music video for the single, ‘You Used 2 Love Me’ (Reggae Version), filmed and directed by my best friend, Reynaldo Martin. If you haven’t seen his amazing wedding cinema vids, then you need to click his name back there <—— :)

Interviewed by DJ Autograph (@DJAutograph) on RadioLily (@MissLilysChat) in NYC. As always, real good times!

DJ Autograph on the 1s and 2s at Radio Lily, NYC.

M.E. answering the questions being delivered by DJ Autograph at Radio Lily, NYC.

JULY

Had the 2nd studio session for my ‘Reggae-Soul Volume 1: M.E. On Love’ album, in NYC, getting to work with mainly amazing musicians from my alma mater, Berklee College of Music. 2nd time around went much smoother, and I started to really get the groove of being a producer.

View of the Manhattan Bridge from Atlantic Sound Studios. Garfield drawing on cup courtesy of Reuben Cainer (Bassist).

Enrico de Trizio laying it down in the overdub session at ‘The Audio Bunker’, NYC.

AUGUST

Participated in the Jamaica 50 celebrations, celebrating 50 years of Jamaican independence, at the National Arena in Jamaica. I got to entertain the crowd along with Ruth Royes (@ruthroyes) and Tina Mowatt (@TinaSimoneMowat), for 2 days. Was def great to be involved in such an important occasion.

Photo by STUSH.

Sang at the Grand Opening of the movie, ‘Sparkle’, in Jamaica, at the Carib 5 Cinema.  R.I.P. Whitney Houston.

SEPTEMBER

Recorded the hook on Fela Smith’s (@itsfelasmith), ‘I Used to Love Her’, recorded by Duncan Daniels (@dunkishrock).

The Taylor’s were kind enough to feature me in as a friend in their ‘The Taylor Family and Friends in Concert’ to raise funds for a family member. This was a truly special night!

M.E. and Anna-Kay Taylor-Christmas singing a duet.

OCTOBER

‘I Used to Love Her’ was released at the end of Fela’s October 8 birthday and the beginning of my October 9 birthday at 12 midnight. It’s called #LibraPower #Abovav. Check out this video here.

NOVEMBER

For their birthdays which fell close together, Chris Benjamin and Nadia Roxburgh came up with a show called, ‘Your Song’, to raise funds for the Curtis Bottom school that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. It was noble of them to donate all the funds to this charity, and it was my pleasure being a part of it.

Joy Simons Brown took me to her alma mater, St. Hugh’s High School, to share some music with the girls on their Cultural morning. I think the pic below says how much fun we had!

I was invited to perform at the Norman Manley Law School for their concert called ‘Ring Ding’ to raise funds for scholarships and bursaries. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Tari (@tarimusic), as well as many other talented guest artists and law students.

DECEMBER

Had my 3rd studio session in NYC, recording vocals with the also amazing Avi Gunther (Studio Engineer/Producer). I learned a tremendous amount about my voice and my capabilities and about hitting vocals hard in the studio. Always learning. Always improving #Leggo

@AviGunther and I in the studio at the Audio Bunker, NYC.

The food provided by the Lions Club wasn’t enough for the seniors of the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church and surrounding areas, who they treated in the Christmas season. I had the pleasure of topping up the food with a lil’ entertainment, which was very well received.

M.E. singing to the seniors and the kids that came to dance :D

To wrap up the year, I traveled to Texas to once again kick it with the Downtown Fever crew for NYE at the Gaylord Texan. $149 a head for patrons, big stage, huge ballroom, 4 great singers and a killer band…We had a damn good time!! HNY!!

M.E., Jaclyn Joyce, David Jiles and Jaime Woods (front) after the killer 3 set show.

THE OTHER COOL STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN THE YEAR…I CALL IT BRAWTA!

Got more serious about working out, and did my 1st 5K where I jogged the entire way in under 36 minutes :D

I discovered dope music, e.g. EMILY KING. Got to see her live, meet her, and get an autographed EP…Every now again you have to be a groupie, and I ain’t sorry. I love this album!! Honourable artist mention - Luke James, Lianne La Havas, and so many more…#GoodMusic

M.E. and Emily King in NYC after her show.

The signed ‘Seven’ EP - To M.E. :D

So in wrapping up my amazing year, I want to wish you an awesome new year, where everything that you imagine can be possible. Have vision, make goals, set deadlines, and most importantly, don’t let anyone deter you.

Blessed love,

Mario Evon aka M.E.

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Many probably are chuckling that I even decided to blog about this…Yes I hear you gym rats and people who run 5Ks with their eyes closed.  Hate on run-a-holics, cuz when I get this time down, we’ll see who laughs last! Ok i’m just kidding, you know I love to think I may have even an ounce of comedic value.

On to more serious things…I RAN MY FIRST 5K!! And I can truly say I ran it, well jogged it…the whole thing.  

Digicel was the main sponsor for an event they called ‘Take Back the Night’.  It was a huge success as over 5,500 persons registered to run or walk or wheel themselves for 5K through the streets of downtown Kingston (Jamaica)…at night.  The race started at 7pm and then was followed by an after party with music, food and entertainment.  This is a huge feat in a country with a high rate of violence, and where only a few years ago the same streets of downtown were under gunfire.

I put on my running gear and went to join a plethora of bright lights, people, security and good spirit for this historical activity.  Mind you, though I have been working out, general fitness and running a 5K are two different types of training.  Usually I have only been able to run about half of this without stopping to walk, but last night I thugged it out with my new running partner, Sonia.  We kept a slow and steady pace and jogged from start to finish. #CONSISTENCY :)

My time according to the MyLaps chip on my chest, was 35:25.  Give or take a few seconds, all that matters is that I finished, I jogged the whole thing, and I’m really proud of myself.  Best of all, the money from this event is going to special needs.  This includes organizations for the blind, deaf and autistic, amongst other groups.

Outside of my personal milestones, I commend Digicel, the sponsors and all the organizers for putting on such a wonderful event for charity, and for general nation building.  I had a good time, and I’m down for the next one.  

Set a goal or a challenge for yourself, and strive to accomplish it, and once you do, be proud of what you have done and then set a new standard.  Have a great day and thanks for reading.

Blessed love.

As I get older I realize that I only believe in 2 categories of people…Good people and Bad people.  As a Libra maybe this was how my scale was pre-programmed, but I’ve never made decisions about individuals based on their race, culture, religion, sexuality, social class, or any other of the many things that so many seem to focus on.  It simply has always been between good people, or bad people.

Good people in my experience tend to mean you well, are polite, mannerly, respectful, honest, reliable, trustworthy, genuine, fun, not jealous…Sounds like the perfect person, but most of the good people I know embody many of these qualities.

Bad people on the other hand are the exact opposite, and generally cannot handle feeling good about other peoples successes.  

I believe all the people I surround myself with are GOOD people, and I love them all, and through them I have attracted even more good people into my life, and for this I am truly truly grateful.  It is one of the best gifts life has provided me…the company of good people, who mean me well.  Bad people I say far from, as they suck my life energy and I have no time for them.  All the other things people tend to focus on really are not that important to me.

So what is it that you believe in?  How do you filter your circle?

I am Mario Evon, Jamaican Reggae-Soul Singer/Songwriter, Medical Doctor and today a philosopher.  These are my 2 cents…Take em or leave em, but I’m curious to know how you feel.  Blessed love, M.E.

It’s totally coincidental that Nigerian-American Rapper, Fela Smith and I are featured on his new single, ‘I Used to Love Her’, from his soon to be released mixtape. It is also purely coincidental that the single I released earlier this year is titled ‘You Used 2 Love Me’, which has a similar sounding title.  And finally Fela has his birthday on October 8 and I have mine on October 9, so it was only fitting for him to release this track to the world at midnight on October 8, 2012 #LibraPower.  

I met Fela Smith more than a year ago at an event called ‘Rock the Mic’ in NY, and we kept in contact and eventually he approached me to sing a hook on this cool song.  I was more than happy to be a part of the project.  There is nothing I respect more than artists who stay on their grind and push to make their dream happen…Truly inspiring.  On that note keep an eye out for my album, ‘Reggae-Soul Volume 1: M.E. On Love’ dropping in 2013.

I got the job of singing the Sean Stockman-esque hook on a song that speaks metaphorically about Fela’s loving, falling out of love with and being uncertain of his love love for music.  Check out the song below:

If you haven’t yet seen my music video, for ‘You Used 2 Love Me’ (filmed, directed and edited by Reynaldo Martin), check it out below and show it some love:

Bless,

M.E.

I truthfully generally hate being poked and prodded by the public, but there are days I don’t mind because it inspires me to blog.  The beauty of this blog is that it isn’t so much a vent as it is about me making a few salient points that I want anyone who is creative to take into consideration.

A friend of mind recently said to me that I was not serious about my music.  I took some offense to this, but not in the old hyper-sensitive, defensive way I used to.  The thing is this person knows nothing about what I’m working on or doing right now with respect to my music, nor did the person preface that very definitive statement with a question about it.  The only reason I wasn’t more upset was because I could understand why they felt this way based on what they knew about my career.  The statement was made because:

- The person hasn’t been seeing me perform lately (Which is quite intentional as I spend time building my brand and developing my product.  Don’t be the common fowl.  Try to be the unique Rooster, at least when you crow in the morning people will know it distinctly…That is far more important than being everywhere and having little effect).

- The person implied I was getting older so I should hurry up (I’m getting older yes.  I’m in no rush.  I’m not trying to write a hit LMFAO song that people may forget in a year.  I’m trying to create something that represents me and that people will like, but will have longevity.  That does not always happen overnight.  Let no one rush you into any project or in any directions that your gut is not comfortable going in.  I didn’t do music to become a star.  I create music because it is a part of me and a gift God has given me to share.  I do monetize my craft, but that is not the focus of this journey.  Money will come.)

- The person suggested I sign to the label of another artist looking for acts to develop (Sounds glamorous, and the artist def has a lot of clout right now.  That said I have never had the intentions of being any other artists entrepreneurial project.  I can see how it could be beneficial to creating a hype around me, and maybe I would consider it if the contract was reasonable, but I’m here to create my own label, own my publishing company, write and produce my songs.  These are some of the things I enjoy doing in music.  I don’t wish to be molded when the mold of my vision is already so vividly clear in my mind.  That said constructive criticism is always appreciated from people who matter.)

So at the end of the day I will conclude that I am and have always been serious about my music.  If I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have gone to music school, or made it to the final pre-TV round of X-Factor, or the final round of Apollo, or opened on the stage of Jamaica Jazz & Blues festival, or be working on my debut album, all in 4 years.  Many artists have devoted way more than that to a career and done less.  

So give yourself credit for all you have achieved, and don’t let anyone detract you with statements that come from a place that lacks insight.  The hardest part of the music industry is definitely knowing yourself and knowing what you want, so spend some time thinking about that, and be sure about it.  Keep that vision at the forefront of your mind.  If you need external help then get it, but if you can execute this dream on your own, then make it happen, and never make anyone for the slightest moment imply you are not serious about your craft because they are not aware of you.

#RemainFocused

M.E.

1. Make him feel guilty for not spending time with you - If you don’t know him well, making him feel guilty in round 1 about not spending time with you will definitely have him running fast.  Expectation Drowning = Definite turn off.

2. Not Making him feel like he’s in control - From what I have heard, women hold the handle, but us men just feel like we do.  Any woman in a successful relationship is smart enough to make her man feel like he is making all the decisions even though she is.  It’s a necessary art probably passed down from good woman to good woman.  Go search for tha old journals and find the secrets…I believe this works.

3. Be Too Forward - This again comes back to control and the law of the jungle.  Most men want to feel like they initiated an interaction with a woman that they like.  If you make all the first steps, you’ve left nothing for him to do.  Constantly being led by you, he will start to feel emasculated quicker than Jamaican DJ Tommy Lee’s rise to fame (which was probably faster than L.A. Lewis’).  Let the man make the moves, almost always.  If he doesn’t move, then he’s just not that into you…Move on.

4. Challenge His Sexuality - Hey if you are so worried your man could be gay, then you shouldn’t be with him.  Being direct and up front in a committed relationship is absolutely necessary, and if there is grounds for that question in such a relationship, then the conversation definitely needs to be had.  I definitely never think this is a good thing to do in Round 1.  Talk about want your cake and eat it…”Hey I like you, and I think you’re cute…Are you gay?” Yup, I get that it’s 2012, but that still doesn’t mean you don’t respectfully take time to get to know someone before you make assumptions about them, and turn them into a census.  You wouldn’t want to be someone’s checklist.  Highly Assumptive Behaviour = HUGE TURN OFF.

5. Tell him everything about your past - 1st dates can go in many directions, but I am still old school in the getting to know you department.  So you have 5 kids, have been divorced twice and were treated for Chlamydia at 18…This doesn’t mean you couldn’t be the greatest person in the world, better yet my soul mate, and best yet at a place now in your life where you have learned from all of your horrible mistakes.  You deserve a chance too, so don’t tell him everything on date 1, or even date 2.  The key is to be honest and forthcoming without giving him your entire journal.  It’s a date, not a job interview.  Relationships are supposed to be about friendship, connections and hopefully love, not chores or making money.  Don’t make yourself into a checklist.

I’m Mario Evon. I’m a Jamaican Reggae-Soul Singer/Songwriter and Medical Doctor.  I’m just a Libra man who feels he has a balanced outlook on life, but if you want a real shrink call Dr. Phil.  Otherwise take my opinions with a grain of salt :D