Eddy Evers loves two things: his Lowrey Regency organ and his Honda Goldwing bike. And at one point, Evers, 80, almost had to decide between the two. In order to pay for the organ he wanted to buy, Evers shined up his Goldwing bike, placed it on his front lawn with a “For Sale” sign, and waited by the phone for callers. After speaking with one interested customer, Evers called back, and said he was sorry, but he decided he wasn’t going to sell it after all. “The guy laughed and said, ‘I figured you weren’t going to sell it,’” says Evers, recounting the incident.
It was actually Evers love for riding his Honda Goldwing bike that helped him discover his inner organist. Evers is a member of the Goldwingers, a group that rides around with like-minded bikers. Once a week, they stop to eat dinner at a place one of the members suggests. One night, the group stopped at Lambert’s Music to grab a bowl of hot chili and check out the Lowrey L.I.F.E. (Lowrey is Fun and Easy) club group lessons. Evers and his wife put their names in a jar to win 10 free organ lessons. His wife won, but Evers decided to use the prize since he was more musically inclined.
"It was so easy to learn,” says Evers. “I was surprised I could play a song right away.” After his 10 free lessons, Ever says he was hooked on playing the organ. “I took piano lessons years ago. I could always play the melody but I had trouble with the chords,” says Evers. “I caught on to the organ in a couple of weeks and it’s just fantastic to play.”
Evers enjoys playing hymns like “The Marines’ Hymn” and old cowboy songs such as “Ramblin’ Rose.” He worked his way through six Lowrey songbooks and enjoys playing for his 15 grandkids.
"Every time I have company I play for them,” says Evers. “I’ve never had the nerve to do that before.” The L.I.F.E. group from Lambert’s Music volunteer their time and music by performing for local nursing homes in Anderson, Indiana. Evers hopes to join the group soon once he builds up his confidence a little more. Another one of Evers future goals with his music is to learn a song to play a song from memory.
Evers can always tell which songs were his favorites because he doesn’t forget how to play them going back to the songbooks. “It’s fun to go back to the songs,” says Evers. I’m really proud I can play more than 50 of them.”
Not forgetting his Honda Goldwing, Evers hopes to travel through the five states he has left before he hits all 48 in the Continental US. “I’ve come to 80-years-old so that slows me down and I get tired,” says Evers. “I really wanted to get all the states before I quit. my bike got kind of heavy legs were getting bad, so now I have a three-wheeler. It’s exciting—right up there with playing the organ.”
