Tonight at The Majestic Theater, Madison citizens are invited to cast their vote for the best players in the local arts scene. RAW:natural born artists is hosting a showcase where attendees can vote on Madison’s best photographer, performing artist, filmmaker and more, ultimately selecting a winner from each of the nine categories. The winners will move onto RAW’s National Showcase, where they will compete with participants from 21 other cities for career-enhancing prizes such as studio time and gallery placement.
We caught up with “Musician of The Year” nominee Sexy Ester’s lead singer Lyndsay Evans to get to know the band a little bit better before they go into the voting ring.
Badger Herald: Why don’t we start off with a brief bio: where are you from, what drove you to start singing, how did the group come together?
Lyndsay Evans: People always tell me I’m quiet, but when I get up on stage I’m a completely different person. I’m from Wisconsin, a small town of 200 people called Gratiot right across the border from Illinois. I’ve been singing forever [laughs]. I started singing in kindergarten. I met my husband Adam Eder, the guitarist in the group, and we just started writing songs for each other. We wanted to move to a bigger city, so we moved to Madison. At first all our music was acoustic, then we started working with a few other people before forming the final group.
BH: How would you describe Sexy Ester’s style?
LE: It’s a new wave sound. It’s very hook-based. We are pop and rock, but more rock. We are very unique and use a lot of quirky sounds. Everybody in the group has a different background in rock music, and when Roscoe Evans [keyboard] joined the band, it became more electronic and dance.
BH: What do you think your music adds to the music scene here?
LE: We are unique, but Madison has many very unique bands. It makes an environment where we can really be ourselves.
BH: What is the inspiration behind your newest album Sequins, Sin & Appetite?
LE: Growth, it shows our maturity now.
BH: Could you explain the concept behind the “Glitter Baby” music video?
LE: Joe Ramos [JoeGuerilla Films] shot the video. We started on a rooftop downtown, but we actually got kicked off [laughs] so we went around to various locations downtown to finish it.
BH: How is your experience so far with RAWartists: Madison?
LE: It is a great organization, especially for folk artists like us who really need it [laugh]. We performed at the last showcase, then we heard there was an awards show and we made it into the next round.
BH: What do you expect from the awards show Wednesday?
LE: I don’t know, we only get to play two songs and that’s it. We have to choose two or three songs out of everything we have done to represent the group. Fifty percent of the vote comes from the judges and fifty percent from everybody else so we really need to impress everybody there. We also need to set up a display and a table that shows who we are.
BH: So you’ll be at the Majestic Wednesday. Do you have any other shows in the area coming up or any new music planned for release?
LE: Our next show is Nov. 17 at The Frequency with friends A Torrid Affair; they’re some friends of ours.
To see and vote for Sexy Ester in the RAWards Semi-Finals, head to The Majestic Theater 6:30 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $20 at the door. For more information, see RAWartists.org/madison.
