Blix Fix: Musician Branches from Glenn Annie to Solo Act

Residents of Montecito’s Hedgerow neighbourhood may be closely familiar with the tunes of the Grateful Dead, as, between the years of 2019 and 2021, my garage became the headquarters for my brother Cosmo’s Grateful Dead cover band, Curly & Co., made up of a rowdy posse of high school and college-age boys who, when not on a skate or surfboard, craved to play the sweet melodies of Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir. 

They practiced every day religiously, from 3 pm after school to whenever my mother finished making dinner. Worry not; noise complaints were rare, if non-existent – our street housed a plethora of musicians, directors, and artists in their own right, all excited to hear young people making music from a generation before them.

Eventually, as any band does, Curly & Co. broke apart, leaving young and talented musicians begging for something new. Two of the band members, lead guitarist Luke Holroyd and drummer turned keyboardist Evan Blix, created a new band called Glenn Annie with Justin Huntsman, Luke Mensink, and later Nate Ward, who went on to release their own album, A Place Called Melody, and graced many stages in the Santa Barbara area and beyond. However, Glenn Annie faced the same fate as Curly & Co. upon deciding to go their separate ways in January of this year. In the same announcement made on the Glenn Annie Instagram page regarding their split, 24-year-old Blix announced that he would continue his musical career as a solo artist. Blix explains that while the band was a great experience for him to work on his songwriting skills, he is excited “to try out different players and have a new sound.”

Blix started his musical journey at the tender age of 10 years old, when he began playing the piano; he then transitioned to drumming when he joined Curly & Co. in high school. Blix wrote songs “just for fun,” but it wasn’t until the young musician graduated from Santa Barbara High School that he took his songwriting seriously. “Music in general has always been a love of mine,” Blix says. Growing up, his father introduced him to 1960s and ‘70s rock and pop music; artists such as Harry Nilsson and the Beatles influenced the sound he produces now. Blix also draws inspiration from the beauty of Santa Barbara’s natural landscape. Blix explains that Santa Barbara’s music scene is “so small” and that it is easy for people who live in a beachside town to pigeonhole local artists into the Surf Rock category. Blix is dedicated to escaping that impression.

On Aug. 16, Blix released his first solo single, “Poor Annie,” performing it for the first time at Ojai Deer Lodge on release night, along with a few other songs he had written with his former band, Glenn Annie. Blix’s new single, which was produced by Chris Darley at Voyager Studios in Orange County, is melody-driven and takes on a unique sound from the music Glenn Annie released prior; he describes this new sound as “silly” and “tongue-in-cheek.” Blix says that “Poor Annie” has been well received by listeners thus far, explaining that his music attracts an age-diverse audience and hopes to make music that is digestible to both an older generation of listeners who grew up with the music Blix was inspired by, as well as a younger generation who can appreciate the music of the past. “It is cool to be able to bridge that gap.”

Blix hopes to release new music soon, with a new single in the next month and an album in the future. For his next adventure, Blix is visiting Europe for the first time to perform at the surf, arts, and music festival Gliding Barnacles in Figueira da Foz, Portugal. Santa Barbara band Queentide will join Blix, and they hope to book more shows around Europe after the festival.

Blix leaves us with a word of advice for young musicians eager to start their musical career: “Stay true to the type of music that you want to make, even if it’s not the most popular. The music that means the most to you will be the most genuine. Unless you actually want to make money, then sell your soul to pop!”

“Poor Annie” is now streaming on all listening platforms. For updates on new music and shows, follow @EvanBlix on Instagram.