Amid the sounds of young musicians practicing their violins and pianos, Lyndsay Evans’ sultry voice boomed from the back room at The Madison Music Foundry, where her band practices. Compared with her strong vocals and chic stage presence, her soft-spoken voice and down-to-earth personality present an interesting juxtaposition. As front-woman for local band Sexy Ester, Evans leaves behind her mild-mannered nature for an empowering presence. But this band is more than just sexy in name — Sexy Ester means sexy to the fourth power.
With Evans on lead vocals, her husband Adam Eder on lead guitar and her brother Roscoe Evans on keyboard, Sexy Ester started as a Madison-based, family affair. Eventually the group added Paul Kennedy on drums and Brad Schubert on bass guitar, both of whom have seamlessly blended in with the family dynamics.
The band’s most recent album, Monomania, released in 2013, is inspired by life under their growing spotlight and explores how performers transform with the energy that comes from the crowd. Their new wave rock album reflected this sentiment by fusing a vivacious vibe into their sound.
“For me, there was a theme in the album with empowerment, self love, acceptance and pride,” Evans said.
The music video for their single “The Hotness” particularly focuses on the LGBT community. Local drag queen and friend of the band, Natalie Saffire, portrays a woman who gets harassed by men at a bar, but Evans shows up at the end and helps her get back on her feet.
Their song “Glitter Baby” has also been a crowd favorite, winning the Madison Area Music Award for best alternative song of 2014. Evans said she got inspiration for the song inspiration from a painting that she owns by Margaret Keane.
“The painting is called Escape” she said, “It kind of started an idea and a feeling. The lyrics just came from that.”
Sexy Ester’s Valentine’s Day Concert at the High Noon Saloon on Saturday left fans feeling optimistic for their upcoming self-titled album. They performed three new songs from this album, including one called “Business of Broken Hearts.” Evans’ brother, Roscoe Evans, took over lead vocals on this song while she harmonized, creating a sound similar to The White Stripes.
The band anticipates that their future songs will be faster paced with “less glitter” and “more grit,” Ebert said.“We’re trying to go for a raw, live sound.”
“But we are constantly changing our sound as we grow,” Schubert said.
All band members were actively involved with the music world throughout high school, accrediting bands from the early ’90s era as a large influence to their sound. They mostly grew up on punk and alternative rock, also citing Gwen Stefani, Nirvana and Karen Carpenter as musical influences.
“There’s a couple of One Direction Songs I like,” said Eder. “But when it comes to the pop thing, it doesn’t get any better than ABBA.”
Evans has her share of accolades. She has won three Madison Area Music Awards for best female vocalist. She also placed first throughout the state in 2014, winning the Wisconsin Area Music Award for best female vocalist.
“I’ve been singing my whole life,” Evans said. “At about three, I would pull out a milk crate in the middle of a family event and start singing.”
In addition, Kennedy consecutively won the Drummer of the Year Madison Area Music Award in 2013 and 2014.
At their performance on Saturday, Sexy Ester’s color scheme of red, black, white and gray gave them a sophisticated vibe. The band blew bubbles for the crowd and performed a cover of “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand, filling the audience with an insane amount of energy. With Evans’ heart-shaped glasses, their flirty and confident dynamic on stage made for an unforgettable Valentine’s Day performance.
For the future, the release party for their new album will be at The Frequency on April 18. Along with this new album, the band also plans on playing in a showcase at SXSW.
“We’re playing music to make people have fun and forget about their problems.” Evans said. “I think that it’s a whole experience for your ears and your eyes. We like to put on a show.”
