Used with permission of CMA Closeup News Service
New Artist Spotlight: Carolina Rain
By Amanda Eckard
Rhean Boyer, Jeremy Baxter and Marvin Evatt of Carolina Rain believe if a trio is to have tight harmonies, it is equally helpful to forge tight friendships.
Evatt and Boyer met at Belmont University in Nashville where they worked as campus security guards. Evatt's background is musical theater, but Country Music is his calling. During down time, the pair wrote songs together in their squad car.
Boyer, who hails from Virginia Beach, met Tennessee native Baxter in a church choir in 1999. The karaoke stage was Baxter's only performing experience, yet the two became fast friends and Boyer invited Baxter to jam with him and Evatt.
The trio believed they had something special the first time they played together. That belief led the trio to form a group named after the first song they wrote together.
But they weren't the only believers. Equity Music Group, home of Clint Black and Shannon Lawson, quickly signed Carolina Rain as their first new artist.
Fusing their influences from Alabama, the Eagles, Flatt & Scruggs and Elvis Presley, the group's debut album, produced by Stephony Smith, features their distinctive harmonies. The album is set for release in early 2005.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
Who is your dream duet partner and why?
BOYER: "Alison Krauss, because she's Alison Krauss."
What instrument do you wish you could play?
BAXTER: "The drums."
What does Country Music mean to you?
EVATT: "Honesty, integrity and reality. I can associate different points in my life just by hearing a certain Country song from that era."
What kind of album, other than Country, would you like to make?
GROUP: "Bluegrass (New Grass)."
When they look back on your life in 50 years, what do you hope people say about you?
GROUP: "They loved."
