For more than three decades, you have been hearing- or at least hearing of – the legendary rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Now, chances are, you will soon be hearing about the band’s newest member, Columbus area resident Wayne "Ean" Evans, who plays bass guitar with the band. This week, Evans launches a solo career with a new CD.

From his early childhood in Atlanta, Ga., there was never any question that, whatever career New Hope resident Wayne "Ean" Evans would pursue, music would be at its center.

Evans’ mother had placed a music box in his crib when he was an infant, hoping he would someday become an orchestra conductor. His Father supported his interest in music, encouraging him to play trumpet in the school orchestra.

But in 1976, when Evans was 16 and when the music store did not have the trumpet he desired, his father bought him an electric guitar instead. A Year later, Evans left home to join a touring rock cover band called "Five Miles High". His career path was set.

This week, he will leave again to embark on a rock tour- this time as the bass guitar player for Lynyrd Skynyrd, an icon of Southern rock music that has survived, despite ups and downs, for more than three decades.

Encompassing some 60 cities nationwide and lasting through October, the tour will involve five transport trucks, four tour buses and 35 technical and support crew members. The band will play five shows a week, performing to crowds averaging 10,000 of fans 12 to 60 years old.

As he joins band members in performing the anthem LS song "Freebird," Evans, at 41 is impressed with the fortune that has smiled upon him, aware of the events that brought about the unexpected opportunity, and optimistic that 2002 will be his own year to take flight.

"It is the greatest experience imaginable, to be a part of one of the few southern rock bands I have favored as a kid," he says. "I am a band member, but I’m also a fan – I guess you could say I have the best seat in the house."

The current tour is not Evans’ first experience with Lynyrd Skynyrd. In 1987, he had joined a band called The Outlaws. Moderately successful with several hit songs, the band went on tour with Skynyrd and opened shows for the better known band. Later, The Outlaws leader, Hughie Thomasson, joined Lynyrd Skynyrd as a member of the band. The connection led to Evans’ selection as a fill-in musician, as needed, for LS bass player Leon Wilkeson.

He was needed more than once. The fated October 1977 plane crash in a Mississippi swamp not only claimed the lives of three original members. It also injured Wilkeson and left him with plaguing aftereffects that sometimes hampered his ability to play.

Last year, Evans was invited to join Skynyrd performances on stage during a two-week tour in Canada. It proved to be an opportunity that sealed his fate.

Carrying the Torch

Wilkeson died in July 2001. "During the time we were together, Leon Talked bass guitar to me and showed me how to play the parts," Evans says. "Then he showed me again, live, on stage. Five weeks later, he died. I believed he knew his time was coming, and he selected me to carry the torch. What shoes are those to fill! It’s kind of tough."

During tour breaks, Lynyrd Skynyrd will be completing a new album as well. Begun before Wilkeson's death, the album slated for release in December will include several cuts with Wilkeson on the bass guitar. Evans' plays bass on the rest. With several tracks yet to be recorded, the titled song has not been selected, nor has the album been named.

On stage with LS, Evans attempts to adopt Wilkeson’s playing style, and some of his on-stage mannerisms. He admits that he feels a "spiritual connection" with his predecessor. And he does not lose sight of the fact the he "fell into" the bass guitar position initially due the crash and the later because of Wilkeson’s death.

In preparation for the 2002 Lynyrd Skynyrd Tour, Evans organized an Internet website contest to locate the best picture of Wilkeson he could find. Columbus artist Sami Austin was hired to reproduce the photo portrait on a white precision guitar face. The prized guitar and a second one now under way, will be used as a prop in shows.

In honor of the man who provided him an opportunity of a lifetime, Evans will switch and tip the guitars to the audience as he walks across stage. For longtime Skynyrdfans, the gesture will recall the hat switching and hat tipping gestures for which Wilkeson was famous, and the "Madhatter" walk that signaled the end of each show.

Some on-stage gestures reminiscent of Wilkeson are not planned, Evans says. At times, particularly when he is lost in the music and enjoying the performance, he feels the spirit of his mentor on stage. He will suddenly realize he is holding his guitar in an unaccustomed manner – an abnormal position which is not only difficult for him, but also uncomfortable.

The upward tilted position was employed by Wilkeson after the accident and injury to his arm.

"It usually happens when I get into the music and close my eyes," Evans says. "I will open my eyes and feel his presence with me. His style takes over. I feel I’m being altered in the way I play, but not in a psycho way."

Evans hopes to continue playing bass with LS for another decade or so, and he will continue in Wilkeson’s style as much as possible. "I hope to keep his memory alive," Evans says. Next Year, following release of the new album, Lynyrd Skynyrd is planning a worldwide tour of more than 200 shows.

On His Own

Meanwhile, however, Evans’ solo music career, playing lead guitar, is taking off as well. His album/CD of original material, "NOON" will be released this week. A second solo album is expected to be released sometime around Christmas.

His personal playing style incorporates a variety of influences from the rock music genre and his southern roots, he says. "My style is more Skynyrd meets Metallica," says Evans. "It’s more heavy metal rock, but still with good down home lyrics."

Much of the material for the two albums originates from Evans’ Columbus home base, he says.

"NOON" was begun in 1997, and Evans mixed many of the tracks himself in a small recording studio adjacent to his house.

He enjoys not only performing but also creating music and lyrics, and his modest country home near New Hope is a perfect backdrop for creativity. "I wrote almost all these songs sitting in a rocking chair, with an acoustic guitar," he said.

Down Home

"I’ve been a Mississippi boy since 1995," says Evans. "I’ve always been a southern boy, but when you are a musician, home is where you lay your hat. I feel a part of this community more and more."

He married his wife, Gaye, a Columbus native, in 1984. They have two teenage daughters, both of whom attend Victory Christian Academy.

Evans says the opportunity to play with the legendary band is a blessing, and one he does not take for granted. "I enjoy playing music, and I ‘ve been set on doing this, so I enjoy having the opportunity to create and have people enjoy it. It’s like your belief in God – the more you put into any relationship, the more you get out of it."

The inherent challenge of touring, however, is being away from family. So regardless of the tour schedule, he makes a point to have family with him at least every couple weeks. "The good thing about this band is they welcome family," he says. That family atmosphere – a far cry from the stereotypical rock band image – is important to Evans.

Skynyrd is a clean band – they have been clean for years, and it is a law in the group. They insist on it. Because they are a clean band, they have endured. They are still alive and well, though there have been deaths in the band and tragedy."

"Thanks to the interest of the LS fan base, a limited early release of Evans’ "NOON" has already sold several hundred copies. It is available now thru the website eanevans.com. A second CD, "NOON II" is slated for release this winter.

The musicians assembled for the CD include Rick Craig, vocals, lead guitar; Ray Noe, drums and percussion; and Rush Anderson, guitars and vocals; And because Evans has a dual role, he appears twice on the CD cover – as Ean Evans on lead guitar; and Wayne Evans on Bass.

Evans characterizes the title song "High Noon," as a ballad – "a thinking man’s story with blazing guitars at the end." The CD was originally to be called "High Noon," but the named was shortened when another band of that name emerged just before the CD went into production.

Although the 2002 tour schedule is not completely set, Lynyrd Skynyrd is expected to appear in Tunica at the Horseshoe Casino sometime in August.