Forging their way onwards and upwards on the local music scene, rock band Eve Ransom has just released its debut single, Souvenir, a track that you should already be hearing all over the local airwaves. Michael Bugeja meets the band to hear where the band is coming from and where it’s headed

In actual fact, Eve Ransom is a relatively young band. That’s young as in age, because if we talk in terms of commitment and passion, they’d probably rank among the prime movers on the scene. Fronted by singer and guitarist Brendan Jackson – formerly of Scream Daisy – the quartet share several common traits, the most prominent of which is their musical preference, a source rooted somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean, along with their collective single-mindedness in getting to where they want to be. But where does one manage to find musicians who are so compatible? It was no easy task, and it took several internet postings and the obligatory auditions before Brendan and Dru finally decided on the rhythm section that would complete the line-up. To add a touch of uniqueness to it all, the bass player, Kik and drummer Daryl are twins.

Meeting the band at my favourite café in St Julian’s, for a chat in between heavy vehicles roaring their way uphill, I discovered a bond among them that usually only emerges later in a band’s life, but not Eve Ransom. In the space of under two years, the band has gone from an idea in Brendan’s head to a band that has rocked most of Malta’s most popular venues – from Rookies to Coconut Grove to The Alley, even the Beer Festival. But who are Eve Ransom? Like most of you, I was curious to know the story behind the name. It turns out that there is nothing as mysterious as the name may suggest. It was in fact ‘borrowed’ from the title of a book – Eve’s Ransom by an unlucky British author from the late 19th Century. The name kind of stuck in Brendan’s mind and the apostrophe and ‘s’ were unceremoniously dumped on Dru’s insistence.

Whatever its source, the name does have a certain appeal to it, enough to reel in attendances at each and every gig they’ve played in the past 15 months. But of course, the audiences aren’t there for the name, but for the hard-edged radio rock blueprint that Eve Ransom has been dishing out all over the island.

It is a sound that you will also catch a snippet of if you’re partial to watching the local TV sports programme Kick Off. Sport, well football anyway, is a topic that has a strong connection in the Eve Ransom camp, or at least half of it. Brendan is the most passionate of the four; a diehard Milanista who sat through our chat quite nervously up until his mobile beeped to announce Kaka’ had scored, while drummer Daryl expressed a less intense interest, though he supports Man United and Inter. The other two simply shrugged, admitting they couldn’t care less about the game. In contrast, all four expressed their satisfaction at the opportunity they were recently offered to write and record the theme song for Melita Cable’s sports programme. Brendan explains he was hesitant to talk about this in our chat, as he feels the song in question (Believe) is more toned-down in comparison to the kind of rock that the band is striving to produce. Personally, I found the song to be quite catchy, and, with a little extra detail in the production area, a potential single in its own right, but that’s for the band to decide.

It is no secret that Eve Ransom’s major influence comes from American rock – no, not Van Halen or Motley Crue, but the kind performed by the likes of Creed, Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters. Anyone who has seen them perform will have recognised strong “grunge” traits in their sound. Dru points out to me that it is not actually the original grunge sound that they find inspiring, but the power that their favourite bands bring out in their music. In comparison, they explain that they find Britrock less impacting, less motivating. I see their point, though I believe that British rock has its own unique - and just as powerful – elements that the Americans may not yet have discovered.

Moving on, we talk about the dynamics propelling the band. Who or what is the driving force behind Eve Ransom? The answer I get is that although any one of them may come up with an idea or a lyric for a song, the end result is always considered a band effort. The responsibility of writing the songs may fall on some more than others, but in the end, whatever comes out is an Eve Ransom song. There are no ranks here – everyone is equal and the same effort and dedication is expected of each of them. It is a policy they set for themselves when they formed the band, along with a schedule of targets that they wanted to achieve. So far they have succeeded in performing at all the major venues in Malta, building up a following and releasing a single in time to qualify for the Malta Music Awards – what happens next is still on the drawing board, but they do add that they have loads more songs ready for release.

With such determination in their blood, I am compelled to ask if they have taken advantage of MySpace to promote their music, or did they think it was over-rated? Their answer was to tell me that not only do they believe MySpace offers great opportunities but also that they are considering replacing their official band website with their MySpace site permanently, as the latter was clearly clocking a bigger number of hits. They also added that they are keen to receive comments from their fans, so if you like what you’ve read, visit www.myspace.com/everansom for details of the band’s gigs. You can also listen to the new single Souvenir, which by the way was recorded at Doyaya Studios with Boris Cezek. Alternatively, you can support the band by texting the local radio stations to request the song.

Eve Ransom will be performing at Rookies on Friday 19 October at 10pm.