Jody Evans
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Jody Evans (born November 15, 1976) is an American country music performer who first gained national attention in 2005 as a contestant on the third season of Nashville Star, where he finished in third place out of over 10,000 auditioners. Evans was raised in Donaldson, Arkansas where he later became a police officer in nearby Arkadelphia, Arkansas. His musical style is influenced by Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Marshall Crenshaw and Elvis Presley, and is considered to be a style of Rockabilly. Dale Hawkins (Suzy-Q 1957) proclaimed Jody as the best song writer he ever heard.
Prior to Nashville Star, Evans had written a song titled Sittin Pretty, which was recorded by country music legend Dwight Yoakam. Jody Evans electric style of music is such that the crowds seem to get up and dance when he is on stage performing. When he was informed that he had been chosen to participate on Nashville Star, members of his police department donated their vacation time so that he would be able to take off and attend. Following his third place finish, and prior to a Nashville Star tour, Evans returned home and performed in concert for the local community, with all proceeds going to charity. He has since resigned his position as police officer, and is pursuing his music career.
[edit] Personal life
Evans grew up in the community of Donaldson, Arkansas. He started his own band at a young age, and although dreams of becoming a successful musician never left his mind, he also aspired to be a police officer. His first duties in law enforcement were as a police dispatcher with the Arkadelphia Police Department, in Clark County, Arkansas, and he worked part time with the Hot Spring County, Arkansas Sheriff's Department.
Evans never made it a secret that he was heavily influenced by local police officers, whom he often looked on as bigger than life. When two police officer friends of his, who locally were relatively well known for their police exploits, left local law enforcement to serve overseas with the International Police, Evans was quoted as saying "It's guys like that who are heroes. I just entertain, and hope people like what they hear when I do". [1]
Evans is known by friends as being quite shy. Likeable and quiet, Evans was never shy however when it came to breaking out a guitar and putting on a musical show for friends. Friends say his down home country attitude makes him an easy person to like, a feeling reflected in the reaction of fans during his Nashville Star run. In a 2004 interview for Nashville Star, Evans stated that "I love to sing for people, more than anything in this world. And it seems like sometimes when I sing for people it makes people happy. And so anytime there's an opportunity to do that, I wanna do it".[citation needed] Evans stated in that same interview that he does not feel pressured to find "the right girl", and that when it's the right time, it will happen. He did attend a prom in 2004 as the date of the Nashville Star season three winner, Erika Jo. But the two are not believed to be linked romantically.
[edit] Recent performances
Jody went on tour with the 2005 Nashville Star tour that wrapped up in September, 2005. Evans is also well known for giving back to the community which supported him before stardom, and he participates in benefits in his home state, specifically Clark County and Hot Spring County, at every opportunity. He's recently been in the production "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" at the Roxy, a theatre in Clarksville, Tennessee, and in 2006 he was the feature at the Forrest Festival in Gurdon, Arkansas.
