It's time to introduce three gifted local musicians who have recently played major roles in recording some of our music. 

Pete Smoyer played the guitars on "Lorelei" and "Someday", and quite well, we think! Along with Hub, Pete was a member of the Limits, a popular local band that played original 60s British style pop-rock. In addition to playing guitar, Pete was a songwriter for the Limits along with Rick Levy and Hub. Pete also owned the equipment and was the recording engineer at the studio where most of the Limits songs were recorded. 

Jim McGee is a renowned bassist, audio engineer, and owner of SpectraSound Recording in Quakertown, where he played bass on "Someday" and mixed the song. One of Jim's clients said, "Whether in sessions, mixing or mastering, Jim McGee brings a musician’s sensibility to the craft of sound engineering." Jim also leads the jazz group New Kind of Talk, who recently performed at Miller Symphony Hall's Rodale Room. 

Russ Rentler is a retired doctor who now has more time for music. The prestigious "Sing Out!" folk music magazine called Russ "a gifted songwriter and fine musician." Russ plays all types of acoustic string instruments, including guitar, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, fiddle, viola, autoharp, hammered and mountain dulcimer, dobro, and bouzouki. He also builds and restores them. Russ's video of his original composition, performed on a Weissenborn guitar, inspired a new song by evolution 9 which will be released on February 11.

Here's a 2022 year-end update from evolution 9 ...

Hub Willson’s reggae-flavored "Someday" was released last Friday. "Someday" tunefully conveys a universal positive message that’s appropriate for the holiday season. Hub also designed the cover image. Besides Hub on lead and harmony vocals, keyboards, and percussion, “Someday” features Pete Smoyer on guitar, Jim McGee on bass, and Dave Follweiler on harmonies. Give it a listen at https://evol9.com or any major streaming platform.

Greg Geist's "Madison Jane" has generated over 2,000 Spotify streams so far. He won’t be able to retire on that income, but this was a stronger debut than most.

Dave Follweiler is planning to re-record a pop-rock tune he wrote in the mid-1980s which he thinks deserves a proper recording, so look for it in 2023.

Thank you for following evolution 9!

We’re happy to announce that evolution 9 has a new member, none other than the Lehigh Valley’s Renaissance man, Hub Willson! Hub is an acclaimed photographer, landscape painter, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has been a member of many popular Lehigh Valley bands including the Shillings, the Limits, Tikit, and Steppin’ Out. In addition to Greg’s “Madison Jane”, we’ll be releasing Hub’s Sixties-style pop gem “Lorelei”, which he describes as what the fictional Oneders' next hit might’ve sounded like if they’d had more than one (in the wonderful movie “That Thing You Do!”). With Greg contributing additional harmony vocals, this will be the first e9 track to include all three members, along with talented Limits veteran Peter Smoyer on guitar. Also on the way is “The Only One”, a poignant ballad composed and performed by Hub and Dave in their first songwriting collaboration.

Like our earlier releases, these songs were mixed by Bob Giovannetti at Crystal Pig Recording Studio, and we think they sound great! 
In the tradition of the vinyl 45 RPM record that contains two songs, “Lorelei” and “The Only One” will be released together as a single (with the lovely Jess Kanas gracing the cover image), and both will be available along with “Madison Jane” on Friday, September 30 on evol9.com and all major streaming platforms.

It’s been a while, but some new music by evolution 9 will be released soon!

Greg Geist will make his evolution 9 songwriting debut with “Madison Jane”, a song written over 20 years ago. Greg played all the non-keyboard instruments (mandolin, acoustic guitar, bass, and drums) and handled all the vocals, while Dave Follweiler contributed some tasty keyboard parts that help elevate the song to its newly recorded form. Mixed by Bob Giovannetti, the song was initially described as “Americana”, but you can decide for yourself what type of song it is while you hum it in your head after hearing it. “Madison Jane” will be available Friday, September 30 on this website and all major streaming platforms including Amazon Music, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube Music. 

But wait, there’s more! We will have another major announcement coming shortly, so watch for it!

The evolution might not be televised, but it continues, slowly but steadily! We plan to bring you more noteworthy original music in 2022. Thanks for following us ... we won't lead you astray.

If you use iTunes and would like to add our song “Similarities” to it, go to https://music.apple.com/us/album/similarities/1597147803 and click on "Also available in the iTunes store".

Thanks for visiting evolution 9!

We weren’t originally planning to launch with a ballad, but our debut single "Who Will You Love" came out so well that we just couldn’t wait for the uptempo tunes to be finished.

In the Music section of this website, you can download the song to an MP3 file that you can add to your music library.

If you use iTunes and would like to add "Who Will You Love" directly to iTunes instead of downloading an MP3 file, go to https://music.apple.com/us/album/who-will-you-love-single/1565978721 and click on "Also available in the iTunes store", and you'll have the option to hear and buy the song in iTunes.

Let's keep evolving, shall we?

Dave Follweiler, evolution 9