Napster Mines Super-Indies

"We get to record a track at their studios," says Seth Torma of Evergreen. The cost of recording a song in L.A. this week will be covered by Napster, the singer/guitarist says.

"It's all part of their 'Napster residency' program," which Torma says is the online music service's attempt to connect with emerging bands. "I think they are doing it in response to myspace.com." In its short history, myspace.com has become known for connecting lesser-known bands with fans and other artists.

"[Napster] told us they will give us an electronic press kit, give us a photo shoot, and give us $2000 to cover our expenses," continues Torma. "[And] they told us we get to keep the rights [to the song]. We were told they were trying to connect with the online community. This was a way [for Napster] to get content."

Evergreen recently released its first CD and has opened for the Presidents of the U.S.A., Something Corporate, and Pharcyde. The Napster hookup came from a meeting at an August recording merchandisers convention in Carlsbad.

Evergreen appears October 20 at Brick by Brick with Voyager One and Black Letter Days.