Folk and film

Local artist gives cafe crowd a multimedia show

MOSES LAKE — Ron Evans rumbles with a baritone that seems at odds with his quiet jitters before his second show at the Noon Moon Coffeehouse and Dessert Bar.

The solo gigs are a new realm of performing for the habitual band member.

Friday night, he is beginning his stage set with two short films that he produced with the help of family and friends. The first is a featurette that Evans calls a long music video. It is moved along with his instrumental compositions and showcases silent acting by all the characters. Evans has shown the film at a few small film festivals. It has been received well and he is anxious to gauge the reaction of the cafe crowd.

Directly following the first short, entitled "The Autumn Woods," Evans will premiere another short film, "Nuisance," that follows an 80-year-old man throughout his daily errands and ends with a well delivered monologue about the man's life.

Both films pack a punch in differing ways. "The Autumn Woods" is a dark, artsy film with masked characters and death. "Nuisance" is paced with more action and a semipolitical message.

After the shorts, Evans plays a stage set with a combination of his own compositions and covers that have been interpreted by his unique ear. He says it is easy to fall into the bleeding heart, coffee shop singer cliche and uses humor to lighten an otherwise dark set. "Who can't laugh at a kazoo?" he asks.

When asked about his influences, Evans chuckles and lists Beck, Ween and Woodie Guthrie. He says the amalgam of the three is the genre he plays.

The solo shows began as an accidental wedding gig. Evans maintains that, while wedding gigs sound a little lame, most people are happy to be there and that makes weddings the best shows to do.

The discomfort he speaks of experiencing before the show, is not in evidence as he sits atop his stool strumming through mesmerizing folk songs that hold a twinge of humor and call to be listened to.

The acoustic set appears to be ideal for Evans who moves through each song with ease and concentration. In fact, he says he enjoys the spontaneity and intimacy of acoustic sets in lieu of more structured shows.

The combination of his short films and music leave the viewer engrossed and enlightened, as though there is no where else that would be a better place to be. It is evident that this stems from Evans' self-proclaimed equal passion: "I am as passionate about filmmaking as I am about music because I can do both."

Evans gives new life to the idea of multimedia artist with work in film, music and sketch art. The best place to preview his work is on his Web site, boronfilms.com.

Currently, there are a few things in the pipeline for Evans; a possible video-feed show in an art gallery, more music and two films, a "romantic zombie" flick and a series temporarily titled "A Series of Shorts Based on a Character Named Miranda."