By Scott Cronick
When it comes to making music, Billy Evanochko says there is one thing that makes his music evolve: living life.
After two divorces and a cocaine addiction that he has been kicking for about two years, the frontman for Billy the Kid and the Regulators thinks he and his band have never sounded better.
There may be no better proof than his latest album, “Nice Ain’t Got Me Nothin’,” a nine-song ball of energy that showcases the Pittsburgh-based guitar slinger in his best form yet, perfectly represented by the fantastic title track where funkiness meets a classic heartbreak song.
Billy the Kid and the Regulators will show off the new album – as well as some of their past goodies – 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, with openers The Jeff Carraway Band and Chip Rishell.
“When you compare where I am now as opposed to a decade ago, I think the thought process of how I write songs has not really wavered, but the subject matter has,” Evanochko said. “I am still just as hungry, but I am a little more seasoned. I lived a lot more life, and those life experiences have made me more open-minded musically. I am willing to try things that I was either afraid or too arrogant or stuck-up to try. It happens to every good guitar player. You get a little taste of it and you think you are hot stuff until you get kicked in the teeth. I always pride myself as someone who never loses … I live and I learn.”
A Guitar Slinger is Born
Evanochko credits his start to his parents having great taste in music. He remembers rifling through their record collection, and he treasures the times his dad would take him to see local blues artists around the very underrated but thriving Pittsburgh blues scene.
“My dad came home when I was 11 or 12 years old – around 1989 – and he had this VHS tape and said, ‘You gotta watch this. You gotta see what this guy can do with the guitar!’ And it was ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan Live at the El Mocambo.’ And my mind was blown. I have never seen anyone other than Jimi Hendrix who affected me like that as far as the power and magnitude of it all.”
But Evanochko didn’t pick up a guitar until his late teens, instead relying on his voice that he would showcase at school and church or by performing “The National Anthem” at local baseball games.
And while he loved football in a football town – Mike Ditka, Darrele Revis and Ty Law are all from the town of Aliquippa, Pa, where Evanochko grew up – he knew he wasn’t going to be the next Pro Bowler.
“I played football and loved football, but I am 160 pounds soaking wet, so there was no chance of me going to Division 1 or anything like that, so I joined the service.”
His first station was in Texas, and before he left, Evanochko’s mom bought him a Guitar World magazine that was largely devoted to the guitar god that his dad once showed him on their VCR.
“At that time, I had a Fender Squire my dad bought me when I was about 19, so now that I was 22 and in the service, I needed to motivate myself. So, I sold the Squire and bought the guitar I wanted, which was a Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Model Stratocaster. I got a credit card with 20 percent interest, and I said, ‘If I am going to motivate myself, I am going to buy the guitar I wanted.’ And I did.”
He lost that guitar in one of his divorces, but he wishes he had that guitar back. He remembers paying $1,599 for that beautiful guitar, which is worth significantly more money now, but more importantly, has a lot of memories attached.
Speaking of Guitars
Losing that guitar, of course, is part of Evanochko’s life that makes him a better songwriter.
But he has certainly made up for that.
He owns a Strat that he purchased from one of his mentors, Glenn Pavone of Glenn Pavone and the Cyclones, and he has another Black Telecaster from another mentor, Norman Nardini, from Nardini’s days playing at the Diamond Reo.
But, more recently, he acquired a guitar that he can’t put down: a first-year reissue of the Gibson 335 replica from 1959.
“It was the first Gibson I bought back when I started, and I got it with a broken headstock repair because I couldn’t afford one at the time in tip-top shape, but I wanted a Gibson so damn bad that I had to have it. It would be worth like $5,000 now. But it got destroyed. And then a friend of mine came on hard times and hit me up to get the same guitar. And I couldn’t say no because I knew I would never come across something like this at the price I got it for ever again. And I can’t wait to play it in Atlantic City.”
So, why does this guitar mean so much to Evanochko?
“I was talking to my keyboard player, Fred Delu, who is a major mentor of mine,” Evanochko explained. “He’s Italian, so I call him my consigliere. And I told him even though I have all of these great guitars, I only want to play this one. And he said, ‘You learned to play the guitar on that same exact model, right?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he said it was like going home. And he’s exactly right.”
Billy the Kid’s Evolution
Evanochko remembers his first paid gig, and it was certainly one to remember.
He got a call from the late Chizo Charles, a Pittsburgh blues legend who was dubbed an elder statesman of the blues before he died.
“He called me, and he said, ‘Are you free Saturday night?’ I said, ‘I am.’ He said, “Do you remember how to play those songs?’ I said, ‘I do.’ And he said, ‘Put on your Sunday best and I will see you at 7 ’o clock sharp.’ And he gave me a $100 bill. It was the best $100 I ever made.”
That gig was the turning point for Evanochko, who never looked back.
“I would call him nearly every day, and he would turn me on to some venues that I could try to get gigs at, and he would let me sit in with him whenever I showed up. He was very good to me. And that is very indicative of the Pittsburgh scene, not just in music and football, but everything. This is a city of champions. That is not just the Steelers slogan. We have the mentality that we are all family. Even if we can’t stand you, we are family. It’s how we live … for the betterment of each other.”
Along the way, Evanochko has opened for and shared the stage with blues heavy hitters including Koko Taylor and Shemekia Copeland, but it was a recent gig with the legendary Walter Trout that still has his head spinning.
“He is one of the nicest people and one of the baddest guitar players on the planet,” Evanochko said. “To be able to say I went toe-to-toe with my man like that, and then he gave me a big hug at the end of the night and said, ‘Anytime I am playing anywhere, you can bring your guitar and play.’ That is the highest compliment from a living legend.”
Evanochko certainly hopes people buy his new album and come see him live, but more importantly, he hopes he can inspire some people along the way to follow their dreams like he has.
“I have been in recovery for about two years, and this is why I am back out there doing this again … because I am physically and mentally capable of doing it,” Evanochko said. “I ruined a lot of relationships because of drugs and alcohol. After I gave up the cocaine two years ago, I was still casually drinking, but I gave up drinking, too, about 14 months ago. And everything is better. I am in a better mindset. I don’t try to convert anyone, but I do talk about it at my show because if there is just one person who hears me and they better themselves somehow, then I did my job. Follow your dreams, follow your heart.”
On that new album, Evanochko showcases why he is an award-winning guitarist, including awards from the International Blues Challenge, the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania and the West Virginia Blues Society. It also shows off his maturity as a songwriter.
“I think our fans relate to us and our music because I try to write music as a message,” he said. “A lot of blues acts are fabulous technicians, but there is no substance to what they are writing about. We try to put out music that is not all seriousness all of the time, but we try to connect with the audience and say, ‘I am just like you!’”
Most importantly, Evanochko guarantees a great night of music from his four-piece Regulators.
“We are a force to be reckoned with,” Evanochko said. “Expect a real raw and fun night of music.”
Billy the Kid and the Regulators perform 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, 13 S. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City. Opening acts are Chip Rishell and The Jeff Carraway Band. Tickets, priced at $15, are available at Eventbrite.com or at the door. Go to TennesseeAvenueBeerHall.com
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
