even
16th Birthday in Brisbane
Australia’s most loved pop n’ roll threesome EVEN finally return to Brisbane for a one-night-only headlining blitzkrieg on Friday 30 April at The Hifi with very special guests The Gin Club and Little Scout. And it’s not just any old EVEN gig, it’s the band’s sweet 16th Birthday!
Even’s Ash Naylor reflects, “After leaving my post as a fruit and veg department manager in 1994 to pursue the dream of rock infamy, I could not have imagined the peaks Even would have climbed in the 16 years to follow. A lack of industry awards and platinum albums sales notwithstanding, we have carved out a chunk for ourselves in the twisting tree trunk of Australian rock. We have travelled Australia and overseas on numerous occasions, selling ice to the Eskimoes, rice to the Chinese and telling many of the world’s Grandmother’s how to suck eggs!! We have played alongside, and with many musicians who are dear to our hearts. At times we may have been encouraged to wear ill-fitting suits to pander to major label expectations, maybe even agreed to shoot video clips that could have fed a family for two years, but thank fuck we never compromised our music. I stand by each and every one of our songs and the spirit in which they were written, recorded and continue to be performed. We’ve been lucky. For an unmanageable band, we’ve managed pretty well I reckon.”
EVEN are on the cusp of releasing their sixth studio LP ‘In Another Time’, the new LP sees Ash Naylor, Wally Kempton and Matt Cotter delving back into the infectious warmth and comfort afforded by analogue recordings of the 60s. It’s as if the late 60s Kinks and contemporary Dandy Warhols had a head-on collision inside Ash’s mind with shiny car splinters landing on his fret board.
And EVEN will be launching latest singles ‘Back To Life’ and ‘Temperamental Flower’ on this tour. ‘Back To Life’ finds Melbourne’s favourite musical son and EVEN front man Ashley Naylor exploring his own and perhaps many of our painful, yet compelling love affair with music, “…you cannot join the herd, cos that would break your soul, thank God for rock n roll. It breaks your heart, but it brings you back to life…”
Some other punchy little facts on every music lovers’ fave pop n’ roll trio include:
• Only Australian band invited to play at the ATP v Pitchfork Festival in the UK
• Only Australian band invited to appear on the Posies’ Tribute LP released in North America
• Honoured by The Age EG for having the #36 Greatest Ever Australian Record (‘Less Is More’)
• Headlined the Rubber Records 20th Anniversary celebration
• Hand picked to support Paul Weller
• Recently wowed Festival crowds at Splendour in The Grass, A Day On The Green, Boogie! Sale Fest, Queenscliff Music Festival and headlined the final day of the Meredith Music Festival
• Headlined the full-capacity Earth Hour Concert at Fed Square in March 2009 where they were joined on-stage by friends and EVEN fans Chris Cheney, Nic Cestor, Kram, Iva Davies and Paris Wells.
A final word from Ash:
AS HARD AS I TRY TO AVOID THE CLICHE MISSION STATEMENT, THIS ALBUM FOR US IS LIKE BEGINNING AGAIN. ALL WE HAVE LEARNED IN 16 YEARS TOGETHER SUBCONSCIOUSLY INFORMS OUR RECORDING PROCESS YET EACH NEW SONG IS A NEW THRILL. ANY ONE OF US MAY NOT KNOW WHAT A SONG IS ACTUALLY HEADING TOWARDS UNTIL THE FINAL MIXDOWN.
WE TRY TO NOT BE INFLUENCED BY THE CONCEPT OF WHERE EVEN IS PEGGED ON THE METAPHORIC TOTEM POLE OF ROCK YET WE EXPECT THIS ALBUM TO HAVE A LIFE OF ITS OWN. I CAN PROUDLY SAY WE ARE ABOUT THE MUSIC, AS MUCH NOW AS WE EVER HAVE BEEN. SPRING HAS COME EARLY MUSIC LOVERS. THE NEW EVEN SINGLE ‘BACK TO LIFE’ HAS LEAPT OUT OF THE MORE ‘SWITHCED ON’ MODERN CHANNELS OF POP COMMUNICATION TO A RAPTUROUS RESPONSE.
THE BAND ARE BUNKERING DOWN AND PIECING TOGETHER THE NEW ALBUM ‘IN ANOTHER TIME’. IN KEEPING WITH THEIR CONSTANT PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AND PURITY OF SOUND, THE ALBUM EVOKES THAT TIME WHEN MUSIC WAS KING AND NOT JUST A FOOTNOTE IN THE OVERLOADED, SATURATED, DILUTED, AND OVERWROUGHT WORLD OF POPULAR CULTURE WE NOW FIND OURSELVES IN.
ENJOY THE RIDE ON THE GOOD SHIP EVEN. ‘IN ANOTHER TIME’ DUE OUT MID 2010.
FRIDAY 30th APRIL
THE HIFI West End Brisbane
EVEN
with very special guests
THE GIN CLUB
plus LITTLE SCOUT
Tickets onsale now at www.thehifi.com.au, tel 1300-THEHIFI (8434434), Rocking Horse Records, Butter Beats , Sunflower Pacific fair , Disasterpiece , Mosh Pit Music , Kill The Music , Gooble Warming , Rockaway Records