Couch Surfer Series: Operation Encore, Cynthia Hand, Rebecca Evans
Channel: Radio Boise KRBX
Date: 15/11/2019

The fifth season of Radio Boise's Couch Surfer Series continued Sunday, November 10 in the brand new Radio Boise Studios with Operation Encore militia vet musicians Zack Sliver and Steve D. Wilson, NYT bestselling novelist Cynthia Hand and author Rebecca Evans as moderator.

Presented by Radio Boise, the Couch Surfer Series is an intimate night of performance and stories with writers, artists and musicians. Held every second Sunday of the month September - February, creators will talk about their craft, path, inspiration, why and how they do what they do, as well as perform songs, poetry and excerpts of their creative endeavors for a live audience. (Think NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts blended with Fresh Air.)

Sponsored by Bittercreek Alehouse, Boise Brewing, Indian Creek Winery and Open Table Boise Catering.

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About singer-songwriter Steve D. Wilson:
https://www.epkvault.com/steve-wilson
Steve D. Wilson is an award-winning singer-songwriter and a veteran of both the U.S. Army and the Air Force. The son of a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, he served for 16 years as an Army paratrooper and a B-52 Electronic Warfare instructor. Steve has created a unique style that comes through clearly in his return to Operation Encore. Steve recorded an updated version of “Cold Steel Rain” for [Operation Encore’s] first album, and returned to [its] second compilation with “The Words,” about the impact music has on humanity and its capacity to unite. Inspired by a glance into his youngest daughter’s room, it’s an autobiographical roadmap of Steve’s lifelong dream to play music, but touches on the way war affects the veteran.​

Now residing in Dallas, Steve released his first EP, ‘Ad Astra Per Aspera’, in March 2019. Produced by Operation Encore, these five songs highlight the range of Steve’s talent, from the driving beat of “Cheyenne” to the authentic ballad of “Worth It”.

About musician Zack Sliver:
https://www.epkvault.com/zack-sliver
Zack Sliver was a field radio operator in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2010-2014. During his time stationed in Quantico [Virginia], he released a demo CD under a band “Angry Young and Poor”.

After Quantico’s OCS shooting, Zack decided to leave the military and seek a degree in Political Science while pursuing a future in the music industry. He received his degree in 2018 and became the lead singer and guitar player of Yuppie, a local Dayton, Ohio Alternative Rock band that creates honest music that encapsulates Ohio life: music to listen to when you hear the train passing the apartment you can’t afford, after a night of drinking you shouldn’t be able to afford. Yuppie’s debut album, ‘Old Feeling New’, was released in October 2017. From military to civilian, businessman to bartender, Zack has worked many jobs and has worn many hats, but music is the one constant in his life that he feels makes worth it all.

About author Cynthia Hand:
http://www.cynthiahandbooks.com
Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the Unearthly trilogy, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane (with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows), The Afterlife of Holly Chase and the new novel The How and The Why (November 5, 2019). Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an MFA and a Ph.D. in fiction writing. Cynthia currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with a husband who’s addicted to typewriters, two kids, two cats, one crazy dog and a mountain of books.

About moderator Rebecca Evans:
Rebecca Evans is a writer with essays and poems published in The Rumpus, Entropy and Fiction Southeast, to name a few. She served eight years in the U.S. Air Force, including service in the Gulf War. With an MFA in creative nonfiction, [Rebecca] is now working on an MFA in poetry at Sierra Nevada College. She is currently editing a collection of essays titled Body Language, and just completed her memoir, Navigation.