The State of Eve 6: Matt Bair to join Eve 6 in a permanent role?

UPDATE (1/30/08): Now we have the above professional band shot from Eve 6's Myspace to fuel this speculation along a little more. Plus, we have the following:

Apparently Matt "doesn't know" if he is going to be made permanent:

The new guitar player seemed really cool. I asked him if he was permanent and he said he didn't know. So I guess we'll see about that.

This is coming from the blog of Brian Trippe, a musician from Birmingham, AL who was at the show in Nashville the other night...

Interesting that Matt didn't concretely say NO, I am just a temporary member.

Original post (12/25/07):

Nothing like starting out Christmas day with a new Eve 6 Media HQ feature and some rumor mongering. On a very infrequent basis, I will post a longer, opinion based news item on the current state of Eve 6. This is the first installment.

Before I start, let me make it perfectly clear that UNLIKE most of what you see posted on this site, what I am about to type is without ANY inside information, or discussion with members of Eve 6.

First off, let me start with a small introduction of the ever talented Matt Bair.

Matt is currently titled as "touring guitarist/backup vocals for Eve 6" (not official, but what I would call him if there was an official title). As you all should know by now, Jon Siebels (former guitarist of Eve 6) decided NOT to rejoin the band when Max and Tony decided to start it back up in Mid-2007. That left a HUGE hole to fill at the guitarist/backup vocals position in the band. Luckily, there was someone who had followed Eve 6 since his pre-teen years, knew all of the songs front and back, AND was the charismatic and talented lead singer of a band called "Bandcamp" that was signed to a major record label (E.V.L.A Records, an extension of Atlantic Records). It also just so happened that same someone had built a friendship with Max Collins since his band toured with Eve 6 at the end of 2003 and was close enough that he featured Max's vocals on an amazing song called "Situation Lose Lose" on Bandcamp's label debut.

That someone was Matt Bair and when Eve 6 decided to play their "comeback shows" in October, 2007 he was the guy that Max and Tony turned to. After weeks of rehearsing and working out the kinks, Eve 6 along with their brand new "touring" guitarist Matt Bair ROCKED the house in their two performances, as evidenced by the videos on this site and on YouTube.



It was completely understandable for Matt to have played those shows - he was familiar with the music and he was a friend of Max. To top it off, his band Bandcamp was on a mini-hiatus as their label debut "Wanna Dance" had run out of steam after failing to gain much footing in the music world.

Fast forward to last week (Mid-December, 2007) and the Eve 6 community gets ROCKED with the news that Eve 6 is playing 6 (eventually 7) MORE "comeback" shows including 2 in the great white North of Alaska (BRRRRRRR). As an Eve6MediaHQ super-sleuth, I immediately texted Matt to see if he was playing the shows. To my surprise he responded immediately that he was. Matt's band has now been out of commission for almost half of a year, the other members are working on side-projects and Matt has recently stated that right now Bandcamp is in a "regrouping" mode. Now, on top of all that, Matt is playing 7 more shows with Eve 6.

To cut to the chase here, I honestly believe that an Eve 6 and Matt Bair "marriage" makes sense for all involved. Eve 6 needs a SMOOTH transition to a new guitarist, while sniffing out their new opportunities in a music industry that is in turmoil. Matt needs a gig after his long-tenured band, Bandcamp seems to have finally run out of steam.

I know there are a lot of you out there who believe that Eve 6 just isn't the same without Jon playing guitar and singing backup vocals. Before refuting that, let me state how much I enjoyed Eve 6 with Jon and all of the original members. Jon is a great person and gave us all many memories - including memories for myself not only a band member, but as a friend when I became close with the guys back in 2003.

Now let me state facts - Jon is a VERY replaceable guitarist/backup vocalist. Even if Max and Tony had EVER felt this way, they would NEVER say it because they are still friends with Jon and there is ABSOLUTELY no ill-will there. Max and Tony WANTED Jon to come back, but he is happy with his current band "Monsters Arw Waiting". However, the facts remain that Eve 6 has NEVER sounded tighter than at the two shows in October, 2007. Some of my opinion could be tainted because I hadn't seen the band perform in 3 years and was chomping at the bit for an Eve 6 show, but many in attendance at those shows would agree.

So, that brings us to today, Christmas 2007. This is as exciting of a time as there has been for the band "Eve 6" since the early portion of the Millenium. Shows are booked, fans are excited and they are only in their upper 20's. Now, they have a "touring guitarist" who isn't even 21 years old yet and oozes youthful exuberance. As a teenager, his older brother took him to Eve 6 shows and he sang every word, dreaming of one day being a rockstar like Max Collins was. Now, he is IN the band, even if it isn't permanent or official. There is no evidence WHATSOEVER that Matt even WANTS to permanently be in the band or that Eve 6 wants him to be the new guitarist. As a long-time Eve 6 fan and someone that knows all parties on a somewhat personal basis, let me be the first to implore everyone to simply make it official - MAKE MATT BAIR THE NEW GUITARIST FOR EVE 6!



Have beef with what I wrote? Have a strong opinion on this subject? Head over to the forums to discuss!