Good Grief.

With these two words, Willie Evans Jr. reluctantly makes his return to the spotlight with a collection of boom bap ballads for the brokenhearted that only he could conjure: a character who is as complex as he is comical.

We all can relate to Charlie Brown when he mutters his signature catchphrase; and in his latest body of work, Willie Evans Jr. personifies the dismay and disappointment of a funky Charlie Brown who’s down in the dumps but determined to ‘get out of bed and do things that require…you know, motion.’

Adding an even deeper meaning to this lover’s lament, each song represents the five stages of grief as developed by psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kugler-Ross in the late 1960’s. In true Willie E. fashion, his pain is our gain as he graciously transforms his experiences of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance into his art, which has been sorely missed. The grief is good indeed, and with that comes the hope that the heart can heal. In the words of a would-be Charlie Brown turned Willie Evans Jr., ‘Life is short but love is tall.’