What: Rusty Evans and Ring of Fire in concert
When: 7 p.m. Sept. 20
Where: Azalee Marshall Cultural Arts Center, 3011 N. Third St. in Temple
Tickets: $25 for adults, $8 for students 18 and under
Note: For information, call 773-9926
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Rusty Evans has done a lot during his years in the music industry.
Evans started strumming country songs on his guitar as a child and later played rockabilly in the ’50s on “American Bandstand.” In the ’60s he hung out with Bob Dylan in New York’s Greenwich Village as folk music took over.
Later, he cruised out to the West Coast and found a career as a painter. But in the 1990s he decided to return to his country roots and honor one of the genre’s biggest stars – Johnny Cash.
Evans and his band Ring of Fire are set to bring their one-of-a-kind show to the Cultural Activities Center at 7 p.m. Sept. 20. In a recent phone interview, the singer shared some of the show’s details with the Telegram.
Q: When did you start the tribute band?
A: I’ve been doing the Johnny Cash tribute for about nine years now. Even before I was singing Cash’s songs on stage, Bob Dylan said I sounded like Cash and that I should sing country and not sing folk songs. In the ’90s a friend of mine said, ‘Hey, at parties you do the Johnny Cash stuff so well and people love it.’ With that suggestion, I entered a new realm of endeavors with my Johnny Cash tribute.
Q: What was the reaction from the audience?
A: People loved it. I knew a lot of the material to begin with so it was a no-brainer for me. I didn’t have to learn stuff that was not natural to me. It came easy.
Q: Do you do anything different with the music?
A: We pump up some of the arrangements but we stay true to the feel of the early stuff. We’re a four-piece combo: Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. We maintain the flavor of the early stuff, but we pump it up a little bit, which gets people dancing.
Q: Is there a difference between an impersonation and a tribute?
A: I don’t consider myself an impersonator. I am Rusty Evans carrying the torch and giving homage to a hero of mine. I do sound a bit like Cash and if people like to imagine I’m Cash while doing a show that’s their prerogative. But I’m not presenting it that way.
Q: What else can people expect from the show?
A: I tell a few stories. That’s always interesting to the audience to hear how a song came to be. The show is natural for me and people really appreciate the fact that this is not a contrived show.
I think that’s probably one of the more appealing aspects the show has, the authenticity of our love for country music and our love for Johnny Cash.
We’ve been doing this a long, long time - long before we were into a tribute show.
Q: Any other surprises in store for the audience?
A: Yeah, but I’d like to save them for the show.
rrenfrow@temple-telegram.com
