Evanston resident Paul McComas is a novelist by day and musician by night.For the past 28 years, the 48-year-old has been in a handful of bands, but Friday night, he’s going solo when he performs in Evanston Idol, the city’s version of the popular reality show American Idol.
Eleven performers from the Chicago area will participate in Friday’s show, which serves as the annual fundraiser for the Evanston Community Media Center, 1285 Hartrey Ave., and will be broadcast on the city’s public access television station.
“Evanston Idol is a neat way to get in the limelight for a few minutes and at the same time help out the community access station,” McComas said. “It’s a little bit of a spoof of reality shows, and the performers are quite good.”
The talent show, which will be televised live on Evanston Community Television Channel 6 at 7 p.m., is being held in conjunction with a silent auction to benefit the Center. The auction is public and features items donated from various businesses, including Hotel Orrington, 1710 Orrington Ave., the Chicago Wolves hockey team and local theaters.
“This gave us the chance to tap into the talent pool here in Evanston,” said Co-producer Brian Cox. “Our goal is to help put the show on the air and help get people interested in joining the center. The station is there for people to use.”
Now in its third year, the show was started by Cox and co-producer Cindy Cort when both were chairs of the fundraising committee for the station. Preparations started last spring for this year’s show.
Out of the estimated 25 people who auditioned, the final chosen performers represent a range of ages, Cort said.
“They’re all talented,” she said. “They’ve all got great voices, from the 9-year-old to the 47-year-old. It’s amazing how many people are very good singers.”From singer-songwriters to a dancer, the show will display an eclectic range of talent, Cox said.
“Every performer on this show has to have a chance at winning,” he said. “We take it seriously. It’ll be a very big challenge to pick a winner this year.”
Three judges will score the performers based on the criteria of originality, talent and entertainment value. The winner will receive a trophy and a professionally produced DVD showcasing his or her talents.
“It’s a fun event,” Cort said. “People should come check out the station and check out the talent. I’m excited to see how our potential talent is going to come across to people.”
Both Cox and Cort are expecting a good turnout this year, they said. The show has around 30 to 50 people in attendance each year.
Though this will be the first time on stage for many of the performers, McComas is a veteran of the show, participating for his second year.
He will be performing a rendition of a Patsy Cline song, which he rewrote as a commentary on the health care debate. McComas called his rendition that of a “blue-state cowboy:” country music combined with liberal-leaning lyrics.
“I’m just glad to be able to do a funny but important song about what’s going on in our country right now,” he said. “I don’t get nervous. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than performing my material in front of an audience.”[email protected]
