GWAR bassist explains what it is like to leave a successful act

Normally most musicians hope to be able to play to thousands of people at some point in their lives, but bassist Todd Evans is excited to get back to his roots, even if he’s basically starting his career over. Evans states that he couldn’t be happier with his new group, “Mobile Deathtrap,” even while leaving the success of his former band, GWAR.

Evans says that his current position has changed radically; that moving from a tour bus to a van compares to being in the major leagues, and being switched to the local farm team.

“We’re not necessarily making a king’s wage or even close, and to go from popping out of a bus with a semi-truck and an entourage and playing to a guaranteed thousand people a night no matter where you go, it’s basically like starting over,” Evans told The Daily Times this week. “Now, we’re down to a van and minimal gear, and with only three of us, we can unload and load into a club in less than 10 minutes. Our mentality is that of a punk band—we play our set and when we’re done, we’ve got our stuff torn down in 5 minutes.”

While many of us have been there, in the bar down the street hoping for greater things, some players may be hoping for just the opposite. But, the real happiness is in playing what you love and doing your best with what you’re given. Evans’ group is doing just that, playing everywhere all the time. You can check out the bands schedule on their Myspace page.