Most ‘struggling’ musicians try to come off as real rock ‘n roll stars or present some image of a tortured artist. This is not the case though with Chris Courtney of the band Evenstar.

Courtney plays bass and sings lead vocals in Evenstar along with his childhood friend Salvatore Prizio (guitar/backing vocals). Courtney and Prizio formed Evenstar as high school students near Hartford. Prizio attended Northeastern and Courtney went to the University of Connecticut. Upon graduating both of them realized they wanted to pursue music fulltime, leaving behind any notions of a normal 9-to-5 job.

After building a strong fan base in New England. They decided in order to take the band to the next level they had to go to bigger surroundings. So, they packed up and moved to New York City in 2003. Shortly after, they issued their EP “Better Luck Yesterday.”

With a pop-rock sound similar to Third Eye Blind or Toad the Wet Sprocket. Try to imagine Jimmy Eat World being fronted by someone who sings in a tone similar to Eddie Vedder. Their songs have an instant hook in them. They are well crafted pop gems just sitting and waiting to be discovered. Songs like “So Far Away,” “Faded,” and “Soapbox” have a classic pop rock sensibility.

Evenstar is going to be playing The Space in Hamden on April 22. They are scheduled to take the stage around 7:30 p.m. If you want to hear more of Evenstar go to their website www.evenstarmusic.com or if you are a MySpace junkie, www.myspace.com/evenstar.

Courtney’s advice to college students who feel that a career as a rock star is what they want he says, “well, my advice would be to just go for it. It is better to try and fail then not to try.”

For more information on the show or to purchase tickets, check out The Space’s Web site at www.thespace.tk