The Rise of CHRONIC EDGE
Originally published in June 2011
Interview and Photos by Mario Salazar.
There's a new band surfacing in the Chicago area. The band, which has risen from the ashes of what once was Blue Rage, is called Chronic Edge (a.k.a Eve's Eviction @ time of interview) and it is made up by Vince DeVincenzo on guitar & lead vocals, Terry Tuccori on guitar & vocals, Patti Prendergast on bass & vocals and Jeff Duckett on drums. Guitarists DeVincenzo & Tuccori recently stopped over for a visit and to chat about Eve's Eviction and what we can expect from them. Here's what they had to say... | 
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CHICAGOSROCK: First of all, tell me about this name: Eve's Eviction.
VINCE DeVINCENZO: The name came to me one day when I was watching the History Channel. For some odd reason I caught the Bible story and I found very fascinating the story of Eve being kicked out of paradise. It was like she was evicted, so the words Eve's eviction kept running thru my head and that is basically how I came up with that. I liked the name & when I'd mention it to people, everyone liked it so I passed it on to my manager & they were also cool with that so it became that & a logo was put together. The apple with the wings and the sword look cool, but it has nothing to do with religion though. It's just a name.
CHICAGOSROCK: Talk to me about the band itself. How did it all come to be?
VINCE: Well, I've known Terry for a long time. We haven't played together in a band for a while, then we ran into each other at a club & decided to get together to jam at my house. Things just clicked.
TERRY TUCCORI: ...yeah, things felt right and it was just too good to let it go undiscovered.
VINCE: I also thought it would be a nice touch to have a girl either drummer or bassist, so we recruited Patti Prendergast to fill that role. For drums, I got a call from Jeff Duckett (drummer for old band Blue Rage -ed.) who was working on the band's new website, & he asked who was drumming. I told him the job was his if he was interested. The rest -as they say- is history.
VINCE DeVINCENZO: The name came to me one day when I was watching the History Channel. For some odd reason I caught the Bible story and I found very fascinating the story of Eve being kicked out of paradise. It was like she was evicted, so the words Eve's eviction kept running thru my head and that is basically how I came up with that. I liked the name & when I'd mention it to people, everyone liked it so I passed it on to my manager & they were also cool with that so it became that & a logo was put together. The apple with the wings and the sword look cool, but it has nothing to do with religion though. It's just a name.
CHICAGOSROCK: Talk to me about the band itself. How did it all come to be?
VINCE: Well, I've known Terry for a long time. We haven't played together in a band for a while, then we ran into each other at a club & decided to get together to jam at my house. Things just clicked.
TERRY TUCCORI: ...yeah, things felt right and it was just too good to let it go undiscovered.
VINCE: I also thought it would be a nice touch to have a girl either drummer or bassist, so we recruited Patti Prendergast to fill that role. For drums, I got a call from Jeff Duckett (drummer for old band Blue Rage -ed.) who was working on the band's new website, & he asked who was drumming. I told him the job was his if he was interested. The rest -as they say- is history.
| CHICAGOSROCK: How would you describe Chronic Edge's style to someone who has never heard of you?
VINCE: I'd say rock alternative. We're trying to keep both elements there, y'know, today's edge. Some of the songs have cello. I thought it'd be a nice touch and feel to it. We don't use it all the time, only on certain songs. Are we going to get a cello player? I don't know. I suppose time will tell. We can get the sounds on a keyboard, so maybe later?!? We actually had a girl named Sandra Bean on the band at one time. We were called Prozac Daisies, but we were notified by some management company we'd be sued if we kept using that name. At that point, that band disbanded and she went back to Arizona. Right now we're just tossing the idea of getting those sounds thru keys without having to add an extra person. TERRY: I know of a couple of string players, but we'll just wait and see what happens at this point. CHICAGOSROCK: As far as the band itself, what is the purpose of it, what is your goal? By that I mean, are you trying to be the next Led Zeppelin?, are you a recording project booking shows to boost sales? What is the purpose of this band? VINCE: I'd like to be... (laughs) TERRY: Yeah, ...we are Led Zeppelin already, but people just don't know it! (laughs) VINCE: We are with Wisdom Artists, and they're trying to get us as much exposure as possible thru touring. They've got a lot of plans. We'll be going back to Toronto in June, I think the 16th or 17th if all goes through. We're also going thru Los Angeles, Phoenix in July. Also Austria, Germany and Italy in August, again, if all goes well. |
CHICAGOSROCK: I've heard some demo tracks online; are those simply demos or is it album material?
VINCE: That's actually album material. It's all being put together right now. The music is done and it's just a matter of packaging everything in a professional way with logos, designs, etc. TERRY: We're just re-dressing, re-designing it all and going from there. CHICAGOSROCK: Walk me through, if you will, the creative process now. I know that with you're a singer/songwriter and most of the material has been your creation. How do the new elements in the band (Terry, Patti & Jeff) play into that creative process now? VINCE: Terry has spiced up the previous material, for instance, the song Sacrifice which was written/recorded for Blue Rage. He comes up with great ideas for starting songs and great song ideas altogether. Patti does too. She has great musical ideas and we have made things a bit heavier, although not too nuts on the heaviness. TERRY: I like playing in-your-face, kinda fiery but not so much down-your-throat. Very emotional but in the raw side of things. VINCE: In Blue Rage it was always me writing all the tunes. This time around I want it to be a band effort where everyone is involved. If a song is brought to the table, I want everyone's input. I don't want to be the one and only. It's a band & I think that's the way it should be. Before there were a lot of arguments because no one gave any input & it was sort of like my way or the highway. In this band everyone is happy to give advice, ideas and we're more of a unit. TERRY: There's more cohesiveness and balance, which makes it all work. | 
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CHICAGOSROCK: For those who may not be familiar with the new members, tell me a little bit about them. Where do they come from?
VINCE: Jeff was in Blue Rage, but couldn't play due to some hand issues. He's well now and able to perform. He was doing our website and after talking a bit he's back in the fold. We're very happy to have him.
Patti and him have gelled really well. He was sorta surprised that such a little girl could pack such a punch with that heavy bass. Patti is pretty experienced and she's been with bands such as Bitch, Demolition Dolls, most recently HAG.
TERRY: I've been playing guitar since 1970. I've been involved with local bands such as The Strange & Demise among others. That was cover material. It was tough doing original stuff as it's hard to get recognized and every time something was built up, it would collapse for one reason or another, but I kept on pushing. I got bitten by the music bug early on and it really is in my blood. I have 2 older sisters and they dated musicians so I was heavily influenced by them & their bands in the late 60s early 70s. I would be a roadie, carry cables, cases and what not. They would play what we used to call sockhups, basically dances in gymnasiums and it morphed into rave parties which I think no one does anymore so that's history. But anyway, it just evolved from there.
VINCE: Jeff was in Blue Rage, but couldn't play due to some hand issues. He's well now and able to perform. He was doing our website and after talking a bit he's back in the fold. We're very happy to have him.
Patti and him have gelled really well. He was sorta surprised that such a little girl could pack such a punch with that heavy bass. Patti is pretty experienced and she's been with bands such as Bitch, Demolition Dolls, most recently HAG.
TERRY: I've been playing guitar since 1970. I've been involved with local bands such as The Strange & Demise among others. That was cover material. It was tough doing original stuff as it's hard to get recognized and every time something was built up, it would collapse for one reason or another, but I kept on pushing. I got bitten by the music bug early on and it really is in my blood. I have 2 older sisters and they dated musicians so I was heavily influenced by them & their bands in the late 60s early 70s. I would be a roadie, carry cables, cases and what not. They would play what we used to call sockhups, basically dances in gymnasiums and it morphed into rave parties which I think no one does anymore so that's history. But anyway, it just evolved from there.
| CHICAGOSROCK: Back to the album, when do you expect to have something ready for release? VINCE: Well, I'm hoping it will be ready by mid-June. I actually need it ready by then (laughs). The album is done, it's all just a matter of packaging. Wisdom Artists wants to start pumping it so we need it done. TERRY: They're already playing a song down south somewhere right? VINCE: Yeah, they're playing the Jenny song (867-5309) in some southern markets. I did some time with Tommy Tutone and witnessed the way people reacted to that song, so I brought the idea to the guys to license it and record our version of the song for the album. We came up with a pretty cool version of it I think. CHICAGOSROCK: Once out, what are your plans for distribution, would you go the traditional routes, digital, both? What's the plan? VINCE: We want to go both ways. It will be on CDBaby, iTunes, we'll sell it on the website..., I don't care how people get it as long as they're listening (laughs). TERRY: We'll give some away at the shows too. We'll give them out as beads...(laughs). Show us yours, we'll give you a CD! CHICAGOSROCK: What are your plans to support it locally? VINCE: We definitely want to play locally. I want to try to get in the bigger clubs and get warmed up before going out elsewhere. TERRY: ...local showcases, and just check the local listings to find out where we'll be playing. |
CHICAGOSROCK: Anything else you want to say at this point?
VINCE: Check out the website (www.eveseviction.com), we're also on Facebook, ReverbNation. We'll have audio samples, news and other information that you can all check out.
TERRY: I've recently discovered playing the Illinois lottery and I'm hoping something will come through in that field and fall in my favor (laughs). I grew up with the guy who won $40 million back in 1985. He took $40 bucks in quick picks and ended up winning $40 million. It's just one of those things, whether it's the lottery or this, you can't win if you don't play...
That's it. Check us out and we'll see you on the road.
VINCE: Check out the website (www.eveseviction.com), we're also on Facebook, ReverbNation. We'll have audio samples, news and other information that you can all check out.
TERRY: I've recently discovered playing the Illinois lottery and I'm hoping something will come through in that field and fall in my favor (laughs). I grew up with the guy who won $40 million back in 1985. He took $40 bucks in quick picks and ended up winning $40 million. It's just one of those things, whether it's the lottery or this, you can't win if you don't play...
That's it. Check us out and we'll see you on the road.
