When Orcas high school grad Alice Evans takes the stage for her very first CD release concert, her long-time friend Grace McCune will be there to cheer her on – and to warm up the audience by opening the show.

“She’s definitely my sister in song,” said Evans. “We run a lot of brand-new material by each other before any audience hears it. We’re such close friends, we really just want to share what we’ve come up with.”

Evans will release her album, “Alice Evans,” at Orcas Center on October 17, at 7:30 p.m.

She describes her style as “lyric driven, intimate rock and roll for people who love to listen to the lyrics and the composition. It’s kind of a take on classic rock. People say it’s eclectic; I’ve got a straight ahead rock song, a tango, a gospelly tune, a jazz tune, some Tom Waits.”

Her favorite song she will perform is “The Tango”.

“It’s not really quite a tango; it’s more of a rock song that has tango in it, really a mish-mash of styles,” she said. “The guitar part for it is spaghetti Western, with a Quentin-Tarantino feel.”

Evans’ band includes guitarist Maximillian Keene, drummer Bryan Ubaughs, Victoria Mjolsnes on backing vocals, and bassist Izzy Rehaume.

Orcas Days…

When Evans was 15, she saw McCune perform in Steel Magnolias at Orcas Center.

“I went up and told her I thought she was amazing. She just took it with a smile. She was so great – I was 15, she was 21. We’re six years apart,” said Evans. The two soon became fast friends, exchanging songs and performing together in the Orcas Center plays like the ThreePenny Opera, when Evans was 17.

Evans recalls a favorite memory from theatre performances with McCune, saying, “She was Polly, Mac the Knife’s wife; I played Lucy, his whore. We (got) into this catfight and we got to pull each others’ hair and kind of musically scream at each other. It was hilarious. We still talk about it.”

“She’s sort of a little sister to me,” said McCune, who remembers evenings of singing and sharing fettucine alfredo together. “We (still) throw things back and forth at each other a lot to get feedback and inspiration. It’s a very male-dominated profession, so to have another woman who’s also a songwriter and singer, to talk to about her process, on a creative and soul level, to know you’re not alone, is really special.”

“She kind of changed my life musically,” added Evans. “She brought out a creativity I don’t think I would have found… I was heavy into Jewel, but when she introduced me to Tori (Amos), it was all over, and I had to switch from guitar to piano.”

After high school Evans earned her degree in composition from the Cornish College of Fine Arts, graduating in 2005.

“At Cornish I kinda had to ditch how (Tori Amos) approached songs, and I fell in love with Lucinda Williams, so now I describe my music as a little bit of Tori, a little bit of Lucinda,” she said. She also names as influences Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, and the Dave Matthews Band.

Her vocal coach from Cornish, Kelly Harland, co-produced the album along with the band’s guitarist, Keene.

“Kelly Harland helped improve my songs; they just evolved and grew and became complete with her. Without her they would have been different songs,” said Evans.

The first tracks were laid down in Jim Bredouw’s Orcas island studio.

“The island embraced me when I was a teenager up there doing theatre,” said Evans. “(It) holds a special place in my heart and I wanted to have my first CD release on Orcas.”

The concert date also holds significance: McCune released her debut album on the same date in 1999.

“So, it’s a celebration of her debut as well, and of course our friendship,” said Evans.

McCune will perform at the Madrona Bar and Grill the night before Evans’ gig, October 16, along with violinist Joel Gamble, and Evans will join the show for a set as “kind of a sneak preview,” said McCune. “I’m really proud of her, and this CD that she’s putting out is so polished, I love listening to it. I think it would call to a lot of different people and age groups; I think it’s pretty universal, from the heart,” she said. “She rocks the house.”

Tickets to the Oct. 17 show include an album and are available at the door or at Darvill’s Bookstore for $15, cash or check only. Evans will be signing CDs after the 7:30 p.m. show.

For more information on Alice Evans’ music, visit http://www.myspace.com/aliceevans2. For more information on Grace McCune’s music, visit http://www.gracemccune.com/.