If one word could sum up Evan Taubenfeld, former Avril Lavigne lead guitarist, it would be ""humble."" A single phrase to describe his music: Catchy as hell.
Taubenfeld, who left Lavigne's band in 2004, recently finished recording his forthcoming solo album, With a Wink and a Smile (Sire-Warner), set to release this summer.
Focusing on his own music has been a change of pace for this 25-year-old Baltimore native and multi-instrumentalist, who also worked with Tyga and The Pack, among others. ""All the other bands that I've ever worked with, they're really amazing artists,"" Taubenfeld said. ""So I've gotten to let them sing the song, take the credit and do the hard part because they were great at it and it was easy.""
A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Taubenfeld attests it's not that he was more critical of himself on his own record, but he takes the reaction to his songs more personally. ""I can't hide behind an artist anymore,"" he said.
Working with producer John Fields (Switchfoot, Jonas Brothers, Jimmy Eat World), Taubenfeld spent the last five years working on the record, hoping to carve out a place for himself in the world of pop rock. He described his relationship with the producer as two puzzle pieces, saying working with Fields was frustrating at times. ""We're both completely out of our mind,"" Taubenfeld said. ""Every strength I have compensates for a weakness he has and every weakness I have, he has a major strength for, so it's a very good match."" The end result, as he describes it, is ""perfection.""
This final product promises a collection of personal experiences for Taubenfeld, ranging from heartbreak caused by an unfaithful lover to coping with hurtful family secrets, like in the song Evan Way. ""It deals a little bit with alcoholism in and around me, and then it also talks about a tragic series of events caused by that that changed my life forever,"" he said. ""In my bigger circle of family, it was definitely like the unspoken thing and I definitely broke that."" Regardless of whether the songs provide closure, for him, they are as personal as they get.
Currently, Taubenfeld is traveling cross-country with The Academy Is... and This Providence as part of the Snakes & Suits Acoustic Tour, which stopped at The Loft in Madison on Friday.
Although it appeared that the majority of the audience members were there for Chicago-based The Academy Is..., Taubenfeld's laid back and welcoming stage presence drew the audience in like a moth to the flame. ""Everybody sing along,"" he shouted from the stage as he hurriedly explained the next part of the song that clearly called for audience participation. And willingly, the audience complied.
An ironically amusing point in the evening was when audience members wanted to sing Avril Lavigne's ""Complicated."" ""I've never done this before,"" Taubenfeld said laughingly, ""How do we do this?"" He started them off with a verse, but the audience took over from there, resulting in an impromptu sing-along.
For Taubenfeld, having an audience there for him is still surreal, but he is truly grateful for the people who choose to listen to his music and holds them close. ""I've said for a while that I don't have any fans, I have only friends and family,"" he said. ""So if somebody says that they're a fan of mine, I consider them a friend.""
His album release is still a few months away, but until then, Taubenfeld is reaching out to his fan-friends online and is looking forward to meeting all of them.
""Come be a part of my family—everybody is welcome and I hope that you can find at least one note of one song of mine that you liked and that's all I would want from you,"" he said with a gentle smile. ""And if you don't like me then just come out anyway because I'll say ‘hi' to you and try to change your mind.""
