With the release of his new all-in-one CD/DVD single, Anguilla’s long-established country singer/songwriter, Evan Webster, may have hit on one of the real truths in life. It is that the positive behaviour of someone else can influence the behavioural patterns of another person.
Webster’s song, first released at the Seventh-day Adventist Crusade Gospel Concert last weekend, and then this week, on local radio stations, is entitled “Change In You, Changing Me”. Adorned at the front by his customary and striking artistic portrait, the 2017 CD & DVD production is one of a series of albums he has produced over the years.
In the first place, the single song double album is in fact a family initiative. It was written by Evan and his brother, Lyndon. The lead vocals were recorded at Elite Sound Studios at Island Harbour, Anguilla, and engineered by Evan’s son, Carland. This son also engineered, directed and videographed the single for his father, using a number of local actors as well as Vince, his brother, as his assistant video drone operator. The music and background vocals were recorded at Daywind Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, using some of Nashville’s top session players and singers, and produced by Rick Schweinsberg. The lead vocals were sent by e-mail to Daywind for mixing and final production. One of the features of the video is Evan’s capture of Anguilla’s beauty as a means of promoting the island in the tourism marketplace.
Evan Webster, whose Anguillian father, the late Gladstone Webster, was of Irish ancestry, says there has also been a connection between Ireland and country music and that touring country artistes enjoy a huge following among Irish people. Evan, whose mother, Mrs. Zelmera Webster, is of African descent, harbours fond memories of listening to the music of George Jones, Conway Twitty and Charlie Pride. They, and other country music legends, laid the foundation for country music’s major breakthrough in the 1990s.
Evan noted: “I’ve always had a ‘connection’ with country, Gospel and folk music as they were the earliest forms of music in Anguilla. Among the first settlers in Anguilla were seamen from an Irish ship which sank near Island Harbour in 1668.” He also had the opportunity to catch up on the latest musical trends in country music through his interaction with American tourists who visited Anguilla from nearby Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
His biographical notes stated: “Evan put his music aspirations on the backburner while he earned degrees in Accounting and Banking & Financing; and met and settled down with his wife, Avon, to raise their two sons, Carland and Vince, (the latter of whom is named after Vince Gill), one of Evan’s favourite artistes.
“Since Evan was twelve years old, music – particularly gospel and country music – have occupied his thought. He was known to sing at every opportunity, whether at a church event, social function, family gathering or an occasional gig at one of the hotels or restaurants in Anguilla.
“Evan is one of seven children (two sisters and a brother who still live in Anguilla, plus another brother who lives in Canada and two others who live in the United States). He was attracted to country and gospel music because of the message: often stories that spoke of common life experiences or contained spiritual or positive values.”
Evan has four previous CD albums to his credit. They are: “It’s About Time”; “When Jesus Called My Name”; “No Man Is An Island”, and “My Favourite Songs”. Like all of the others, this CD &DVD single, “Change in You, Changing Me”, is available at J W Proctor’s Supermarket and from Evan Webster himself. It will also be available at outlets in St. Maarten/Martin, various Caribbean islands, Amazon.com and iTunes.
