Ash Naylor is a curious case within Australian music, as he’s just as well known for his work up front as he is off to the side.
The Melbourne native has spent nearly all of the last quarter-century fronting power-pop merchants Even, but his guitar chops have also lead him to frequently tour with the Paul Kelly band and sit in with the RocKwiz Orkestra. Speaking to Beat from Brisbane, Naylor is in rehearsals for an upcoming R.E.M. tribute tour, The Ones We Love. It’s assumed that Naylor will be a part of the backing band, but he quickly – and excitedly – corrects this: “I can see why you’d think so, but I’m actually one of the featured guests,” he says. “I feel like I’ve finally graduated.”
Performing a selection of songs with Died Pretty’s Ron S. Peno, Naylor pre-empts chatting about Even’s current activity to lay praise at the feet of R.E.M. “Back in the ‘80s, they meant everything to me,” he says. “Honestly, I’m such a tragic for them I’ll probably end up playing guitar for half of the songs anyway.”
Naylor is in high spirits, and it’s easy to see why – outside of his R.E.M. duties, he’s about to head back out on tour with Even to celebrate their long-awaited return. Back in May, Even released Satin Returns, their seventh studio album and their first since In Another Time all the way back in 2011. Needless to say, Returns was a long time coming – as Naylor notes, it spent more than a fair share of time in development hell.
“We started basic tracking for the record around January of 2014,” he explains. “We got a few done then, and there was another burst in a session the year after. I worked on lyrics and rewrote a few of the songs, then worked on the guitars whenever I could. Life takes over the creative process sometimes, as I’m sure people know. It was one thing to start the record, but finishing was incredibly difficult when the three of us all have families and live in different areas – and in [drummer] Matt [Cotter]’s case, in a different state entirely.”
Eventually, Satin Returns was completed towards the end of 2017 after various tweaks and re-recording sessions took place. Naylor says that the completion of the record was one of the trickiest things the trio have had to pull off, but the fact they were able to do it was certainly a boost of morale. “Finishing it felt great,” he says. “It gave us this energy – as soon as we put it out, we started saying ‘Let’s do another one.’ With any luck, it won’t be another seven years before you hear from us again.”
It’s worth mentioning that Even – comprised of Naylor, Cotter and bassist Wally Kempton – have never broken up, nor had a lineup change across 24 years of being a band. It’s a remarkable feat, which leads one to wonder what exactly holds a core group of musicians together like that – especially in a line of work where it’s not at all uncommon to see veteran bands doing the rounds with one original member. “That’s a bloody good question,” Naylor says with a laugh.
“My attitudes towards the band has changed many times over the years. When you’re starting out, it’s just about having fun and touring around. There’s no motivation beyond just that. We went all the way around the country, and even got to travel overseas a bit. You’re living off the smell of an oily rag in a way, and it’s very exciting. About midway through our career, things started to slow down – as they do. Our relationship never changed, though.”
It’s this, Naylor says, that has kept Even glued together at the seams after all these years – and what will keep them together for as long as they’re still standing. “We still enjoy one another’s company,” he says. “We still laugh at the same dumb jokes. We still love playing shows and making albums whenever we get the chance to. I feel really grateful that the band is still around.”
