Entertainment

Backstage: He’s carrying the torch for that man in black

Marcus Uzilevsky – better known as singer-songwriter Rusty Evans – has been to The Bitter End.

It was at the famous New York coffeehouse where he met Johnny Cash, the man whose music Evans is commemorating in a new show opening at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Five Points Washington that features such songs as "Ring of Fire," "I Walk The Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues."

"He had a tremendous influence on me before I even met him, when I was singing in (a cafe) and a friend came by and said, ‘Rusty, guess who’s playing at The Bitter End right down the block?’" Evans recalled. "I said, ‘Who?’ He said, ‘Johnny Cash.’ Well, I was excited. I put the guitar down and ran around the block. I came up to Johnny and introduced myself to him and told him I was a singer-songwriter playing just a few doors down. Johnny sat down with me, and chatted with me and was very friendly, and encouraged me to keep on singing and writing. That was a fantastic inspiration at the time."

Since then, Evans has enjoyed a diverse career – appearing on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, playing with Bob Dylan, working with producer Phil Spector and producing and recording for CBS, Reprise and Folkways Smithsonian record labels. Under his given name, Uzilevsky (which sounds more avant-garde than country), Evans also has had a parallel career in visual art. A graduate of New York’s School of Art and Design, he has been painting and printmaking for years. His somewhat abstract-looking "Linear Landscapes" in particular have proved popular with museums and the public alike.

Nevertheless, Johnny Cash and Cash’s music have been constants in Evans’ life; Dylan, a casual friend, told Evans in 1962 that he sounded like Cash and should sing country. Indeed, YouTube clips confirm that Evans has Cash’s sepulchral voice and, at the age of 67, even a physical resemblance to the legendary man in black.

"I don’t think about that when I do the performance," Evans said. "I sing the songs. It’s a gift to be able to be up there and doing this. I sing the songs naturally. So I don’t really try to copy him – although people think I am because I sound so much like him. I’m just carrying the torch for the man in black, this American icon. I’m just highlighting how impressive he was. People go away really embracing that feeling that they’ve seen a Johnny Cash show."

Evans had always done Johnny Cash material. But he didn’t start doing Cash material as a show until 10 years ago. He made a demo of Johnny Cash songs, which opened doors to local clubs around San Francisco and California’s Marin County. Soon he was booking shows across the country, traveling with his son, guitarist Danny Uzilevsky, and a bass player and a drummer. Evans plays rhythm guitar.

The show has basic elements that sound like pure Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three, Cash’s backup band. But Evans and his group also put their own slant on the music.

"I don’t think any of Cash’s guitarists played guitar like my boy Danny," Evans said. "I really give Danny a highlighted section to show what he can do. But it does not stray from the flavor of Johnny Cash, although it’s somewhat different. We keep the flavor but we don’t try to copy every arrangement. We put our own spin on songs."

Gary Panetta is the fine arts columnist and a critic for the Journal Star. He can be reached at 686-3132 or moc.ratsjpnull@attenapg. Write to him at 1 News Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643.