Sceneazine April 15 - May 14, 2015 | Page 4

Sceneazine.com what I’m talkin’ about,” voiced the singer about his lyrics. “Like Paul McCartney said, ‘it kind of comes out of the sky.’” Johnson, along with friend, bandmate and lead guitarist Adam Walker, are responsible for all of NE’s music and arrangements. Walker expressed that he does most of the music and Johnson is the lyrical one. The other two members, bassist Kiefer Tindall, and drummer Trase Sowell, fill in any empty spaces Johnson or Walker may have left. “I write a song, put it together,” Walker said about their creation process. “Then, take it to the guys and get them to fill it out – then it goes to TJ, and he fills out the lyrics.” The sound that comes out of NE’s song-writing method is difficult to pin under a particular genre or sub-genre. They said the best way to put it is, “If 3 Doors Down and Pantera had a bastard son; their music would sound like NE.” That knack for mixing two or more distinctly different musical avenues allows NE to come up with a range of material that is “not straight metal,” as Walker put it. It does lend itself to a partial explanation why their shows have been called “religious experiences” more than once. “At one show,” Johnson related, “a guy said it was like when you feel the Holy Spirit in church – that’s some serious stuff.” Another rationale for the visceral reactions of many NE fans is Johnson’s natural gravitation toward developing lyrical narratives the audience readily identifies with. When he sings, he conveys a screaming emotional connection to the audience members, who avidly soak it in. Some Things Are A Necessary Evil By Alyce-Hannah Golderer Photos by Alynah “Lil’ A” Brown “It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.” ~ Margaret Mead T he definition of necessary evil in Cambridge Dictionaries Online is, “something unpleasant that must be accepted in order to achieve a particular result.” For example, some people believe money is the root of all evil. However, if you want food, a home or clothing, you need money. That makes money, and needing it, necessary evils. But there is one such thing which isn’t at all “unpleasant,” and doesn’t need to be “accepted” by everyone. This one thing does lead to a “particular result,” though – the start of a phenomenally great time with a group of unconventional guys; always ready to make things happen. The self-proclaimed, heavy American hard rock and blues metal band from the Augusta, Ga., area, Necessary Evil. Friendly, yet business-oriented, lead singer TJ Johnson, is the one who stamped the term “blues metal” into the group’s description of its own genre-defying sound. “Most necessary evils are bad things, like what they sing about in blues music and Metallica,” Johnson explained, referring to his reasoning behind the label. “Things of that nature are part of who we (all) are.” And just being who they are appears to be a prominent characteristic of everyone in NE. They show little concern for being accepted into the mainstream world. Instead, the band seems to thrive on its recognition as being particularly unique within the CSRA. The four-member group has been performing live since 2003, quite a substantial feat for any local act. Including Johnson, Necessary Evil is made up of guys who live, eat and sleep their art. It’s the central motivating force for all of them. Touted by the pulled-off-the-air, Augusta radio station Rock 93.5 as, “metal with a message,” the fellows of NE agreed with Johnson that one reason they’ve retained such popularity over the band’s decade-plus stretch, is all about “never writing the same song twice.” “I want people to try and keep an open mind of Page 4 Making real bonds with the people who come to see them is a crucial factor the guys want very much to maintain and increase in the future. Walker said the whole band simply loves relating so well to their audiences, helping them by doing what the guys love most. “We’ve played many a show and people