Guitar: Gene Evers
Gene Evers never imagined that he would end up as the guitarist for one of the most successful cover bands in New York. Like most young musicians he dreamed of becoming a rock star playing his own songs. Unfortunately things didn't work out that way and he had to change his plans. The result was the High Street band which has developed a large following around New York City playing covers from a variety of different genres.
Gene Evers was born and raised in New York City and has lived there his whole life. Like many kids he took an interest in music when he was young and got his start playing in the school band. After harassing his parents for months he got a guitar for his thirteenth birthday and immediately started taking lessons to learn how to play it. As he got into high school he joined what they called a cover band, although they really just a bunch of guys who got together to in a garage. Nevertheless this was enough to convince Gene that he wanted a career in music.
After he graduated from high school Evers choose to study music at college. While he was there he also got his first job as a musician playing in a cover band that did shows mainly at college events. After graduating from college Gene started to teach the guitar in order to make ends meet. At the same time he also started playing in local bands in clubs around New York. None of these bands were particularly successful however and the bulk of his income continued to come from teaching the guitar and his web site about online music education.
After a few years of playing with a number of different bands Gene decided to start his own band. This is how the High Street Band got founded. Originally the intention was that the band would perform original songs. Evers had written a number of songs over the years so he had plenty of material available. Unfortunately the High Street Band never really got anywhere performing their own material. Eventually they reached a cross roads where they had to decide what they were going to do. Ultimately the decision was made for them when they were offered the chance to work as a cover band.
Although Evers hadn't founded the High Street Band to be a cover band he had decided that playing somebody else's songs was still better than getting a real job so the band made a change of direction. They quickly established a reputation around New York for their skill as a cover band. Unlike a lot of other cover bands these guys are professional musicians all of whom have many years of experience. The result is a band that is much more skilled and professional than the average cover band, a quality that has won them a large number of fans.