Inside Mr. Evil: Friendship, Funk, and a Growing Athens Following

By Riley Brown, Head of PR and Communications

Photograph by Sylvie Ballou, @sjb.m3d1a

A new all-girl band is quickly gaining attention, and Mr. Evil is becoming a rising presence in the

Athens music scene. Garnering a fan base through word of mouth, standout live shows, and

original songs that people are already singing along to, the members of Mr. Evil have been establishing themselves since booking their first show in February 2026. Made up of five members—junior Defne Oz (lead vocalist), junior Avery Arnold (drummer), junior Emma Prazer (lead guitarist),

junior Callie Kitchen (rhythm guitarist), and freshman Izzy Rempe (bass guitarist)— Mr. Evil is

taking Athens, Ohio, by storm.

The all-girl powerhouse has a unique blend of sound at its core— from funky and

upbeat to energetic and crafted to dance to. The band pulls from a variety of inspirations with a

wide range of music, differing in artists and genres. However, their creative process is less about

mimicking a specific artist and more about internal collaboration with each other. When writing

originals, songs often begin with guitar riffs, growing organically as each member adds their own

flavor. Vocalist Defne Oz describes leaning toward a playful, high-tempo vibe, citing that No Doubt’s

“Hella Good” was an early reference point for the band’s sonic direction. The result is music that

feels light without being shallow— catchy, confident, and undeniably fun. Rather than

constraining themselves and trying to fit into a specified genre box, Mr. Evil focuses on what

sounds good live and feels natural to play together, allowing collaboration and audience response

to guide their evolving style.

A large part of their identity and motivation is live performances. The band is

especially driven by real-time audience feedback and seeing people dance, sing, and react in the

moment, especially to their originals. The band members shared a moment where one of their friends recognized and remembered Mr. Evil’s lyrics live.

“That song didn’t exist before we made it a few months ago, and now there she is, remembering it on her own,” Defne Oz marveled.

The band has also been approached after shows and asked if unreleased songs are available to stream. The band encourages crowd participation, breaking down the invisible wall between the stage and audience and making each show feel like a shared experience rather than a performance. The result is a live show that feels communal, joyful, and constantly evolving.

“I think that altogether we really like making music that people will visually enjoy listening to. If we can see them reacting in the crowd, it's really nice to get that feedback while we're playing something, especially something that we wrote,” Arnold reflects.

Outside of their music performances, the band’s chemistry is rooted in pre-existing

friendships. Members were already very comfortable with one another before playing together

and further developing their stage presence as well. “I was already really comfortable when I stepped in,” Emma Prazer, lead guitarist, states.

The band shared how their rehearsals double as hangout time for all of them. Because of the strong sense of trust they’ve built, there’s an ease that’s filled with talking, joking, and taking breaks together, with the ability to riff off of each other socially and musically. They're grateful that being friends first made their collaboration feel natural rather than forced.

A large part of this synergy stems from being in an all-girl band. With the supportive, fun, and

easygoing environment they’ve each cultivated and grown with each other, they all described that the energy is different from mixed-gender groups. The members also stated they’ve been lucky with how the audience receives their identity and has ultimately responded strongly and positively to them. “I think that being an all-girl band, we’ve honestly gotten more opportunities,” Emma Prazer stated.

They mirrored the sentiment that they’re able to embrace femininity while still having a full range of their sound without the need to soften it or compromise their image just because they’re an all-girl band. Mr. Evil is ultimately challenging expectations without centering struggle.

Although a new group, Mr. Evil’s rise has been fast and largely organic. With their early

shows being born from a friend’s house party, they quickly gained attention afterward. “Everyone who's invited us to play has reached out to us,” Callie Kitchen, rhythm guitar, remarked.

A major turning point was when the band booked a gig on Valentine’s Day. Avery Arnold follows Kitchen’s claim, “After we booked the show, we started getting DMs every week, just like, 'do you want to play this?' 'Do you want to do this interview?' 'Do you want to be a part of this?' So just getting our names out there in the Athens band community, one time was enough to... feel included in a lot of the things that they do.” Ultimately, each show has built more confidence and visibility for their brand as a whole.

Within their earlier vision, a lot of their music leaned into more of a shoegaze sound. Over

time, they became more intentional about their energy, setlist flow, and stage presence, and that’s

been reflected in the increased follower account they’ve gotten on Instagram, as well as more

invites to shows, giving them the ability to build more confidence and awareness during

performances.

“Each show we just get better and better, and every practice we get better and

better,” Callie Kitchen said.

The next question for Mr. Evil is, what happens next? The band recently recorded

some of their original songs and has a couple of local photoshoots lined up to further promote

themselves. A large part of the visual identity they’ve been cultivating has been dressing

similarly on stage and steadily launching early branding steps. They’re hoping to create a logo as

well as merchandise.

“I really want people wearing Mr. Evil t-shirts,” Izzy Rempe said.

In the upcoming semesters, their goals are to write more original tracks and continue to refine

both their sound and image. Mr. Evil’s goals are attainable, but exciting, rather than distant or

abstract. Their growth has shaped how they think about creative risk, and they all stressed the

importance of saying yes to opportunities, instead of waiting to be prepared for what the

‘perfect moment’ may be. Ultimately, making music doesn’t require perfection, but

participation. And being seen as a group or artist that’s trying is part of the process.

“For so long, I was just playing guitar in my room, thinking, ‘Can that ever be me?’ Just dream big and don’t give up that feeling.” Callie Kitchen said.

All of the band’s advice ultimately centers on starting where you are and trusting that momentum builds. By choosing participation over perfection and momentum over hesitation, Mr. Evil embodies exactly what they encourage others to do: show up, play loud, and grow in public.