Influenced by his father who was also a musician, Daniel Nicholls grew up in a simple country lifestyle and started his interest in music at a very early age. With traditional country guiding his way, Daniel eventually found his voice in church. ”I felt that right from the start I had a special gift for music that was given to me,” said Nicholls. “For me, playing music is a way to relieve stress, help get things off my mind, touch other people and make people feel good. That’s the whole point of music anyway I think.” Daniel gained experience playing guitar and singing with multiple musicians and bands over the years, while sharpening his writing talents for what would ultimately be part of the creation of Everwilde.
Shawn Drudge also started his interest in music at an early age. Growing up around music and with his father being a drummer, it was inevitable that he would be a musician. From frequenting concert venues of multiple genres, to playing music with family and friends, Drudge was forging his opportunity for a career in the business. Although Drudge was a self taught guitar player and singer, drums were his original focus in the early makings of Everwilde. “I really like playing drums but have always had an interest in all kinds of instruments,” said Drudge. “When we first started Everwilde, I was the drummer until one day we sat down and played guitar together and then realized we were a good match.” Since the change over, Drudge’s career focus strongly remains in songwriting and guitar playing in the Everwilde Band.
Influenced by his father, Jimmy Crenshaw grew up listening to his father play banjo. At a young age, Jimmy began to play the mandolin and banjo. He played for many years in bluegrass bands before picking up the bass and trying rock & roll. Jimmy played in various bands covering a diverse range of music, before meeting Dan and Shawn. The creative talent, structure and varied musical influence of Everwilde, felt like a natural progression for Jimmy.
Rob Gregory joined the band as timekeeper in the spring of 2010. “I remember our first rehearsal together very well, said Rob. I remember we played a couple tunes and when we stopped we all looked at each other with that ‘Holy Smokes’ look! Our personalities and song playing styles gel together and complement each other very well.”
Rob started his musical journey as a Junior in High School when he began playing with the Drum Line in his High School Marching Band. He also played drums and percussion with the Pep Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Symphonic Band. After High School Rob played drums with friends and a couple Garage Bands in his home town.
With all of the musicians having similar interests and lifestyles, they have a very unique but catchy sound that people tend to gravitate to.
Everwilde continues to play many venues in the Richmond area such as, Steel Horse, Blue's Place, The National, Mulligan's, Celebrations, Applebee's, Murphy's Law, and more. Everwilde has recently joined ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) in Nashville TN and will be frequently attending songwriting sessions. Everwilde continues to write new material for new CD and release will be announced in 2010. For booking information or show dates, please visit The Everwilde show dates page.
