The desert’s counterculture scene has grown in large part thanks to captivating music, fearless booking agents, welcoming venues, badass backyards—and, just as important, the photographers and videographers who ensure that these moments in the Coachella Valley are well-documented and not forgotten.
One local creative of note is Kai Evans, a musician, photographer, videographer and graphic designer who uses his artistic abilities to give back to the local music scene. Over the past year, Evans has documented both local and touring bands’ shows in photo and video form, capturing not only the creative output of the musicians, but the wild energy of local audiences. Check out www.instagram.com/ndr0124 to see a collection of photo and video highlights, and head to www.youtube.com/@kaievans to see full sets.
During a recent phone interview, Evans explained how his approach to documenting local bands started with admiring bands from afar.
“A huge part of that came from not going to very many shows as a teenager,” Evans said. “I was super into bands back then, too, but when I’m 15, I’m like, ‘I don’t drive; how am I getting to L.A.?’ I was obsessed with full-set videos from venues like Chain Reaction or the Roxy, and I’m just like, ‘Guys, keep posting these! How else am I gonna see them if I don’t go?’”
Evans later decided to start filming full sets himself. As the scene grows, fans at times have to choose between shows happening at the same time. Money is also an issue: Many fans, especially younger ones, can’t afford to attend a $10 show every weekend.
“I want to (record sets) and give that to them, so they can be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t miss much; here’s what happened,’” Evans said. “It’s not only that, but the bands being able to look back at what they’ve done, and in maybe 10 or 15 years be like, ‘Wow, I remember this night. That was pretty cool.’”
A few months ago, Evans elevated his documenting skills by adding a second camera. On his YouTube channel, you’ll find multi-cam edits, alongside drum-cam-only footage.
“I had some extra cash laying around, and I’m like, ‘What if I got another camera to film the drummer?’” he said. “Then that, too, is being able to give back more to the bands.”
While Evans did a good job of capturing the energy in the single-cam videos, the addition of a second camera angle means the videos capture more of the scene’s expressive beauty—and its ferocity.
“I’ll tell someone, ‘Oh, I got my shit rocked,’ but now seeing it on camera, I’m like, ‘Oh, my God,’” Evans said with a laugh. “It makes for some funny moments. Those clips get shared around, too. When other people get their shit rocked in the crowd, (the videos are) just another way of promoting the scene in a way. It’s funny; it’s nice to watch; and it just gets people talking.”
Music fans and bands have been appreciative of Evans’ dedication to documentation.
“I’ll see people who come to these shows all the time, and they’re in the crowd, and they’re like, ‘Hey, there’s me moshing going crazy,’ and they’ll screen-cap the clip and post it,” Evans said. “It’s cool to see that, and then having the bands reach out and be like, ‘Yo, thank you so much for capturing this. It looks great.’ … I definitely want to film for more bands again, and it’s nice to make those connections.”
In addition to the videography and photography, Evans plays bass for local band Palkia and creates fliers and artwork for local bands. Only recently has Evans visualized music and art as extensions of his camera skills.
“I’m starting to see them now come together because of working on music videos,” Evans said. “I’ve got a couple that are still being edited, but you can see it’s a very similar style to how I film the sets with the way I set up the shots. With fliers and stuff, I’m getting asked to do album artwork and single work now. I didn’t realize I had a style when it came to fliers. People say, ‘I want a Kai-style flier,’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Evans plans to continue to build a large collection of band footage dubbed the “arkaive.”
“I’ve been joking about it … but truly, 2025 is just going to be expanding the arkaive,” he said. “I’ve mentioned to a few people my ideas, but it goes back to that obsessed-with-music-videos, YouTube-watching me, with interviews and sets and stuff. … I want to add interviews, too, and that’s something that goes back to those Warped Tour vlogs that they paid for, with random influencers of 2015 interviewing bands. Some behind-the-scenes stuff with bands would be cool to do in that style—but not in, like, 240p, but 4k, for no reason at all.”
