While McLagan may have now joined the ever increasing rock’n’roll all-star band in the sky, both Naylor and Kempton are adamant that Even – despite the scarcity of its stage appearances in 2014 (“I think we played once on the rooftop at the Evelyn, and also an Even Jukebox show at Cherry on a Sunday afternoon,” Naylor says) – is very much a band of ongoing concern. Naylor’s perpetually busy, his guitar talents in hot demand, including by Dan Sultan and the RocKwiz touring band; for his part, Kempton keeps himself busy in managing Sun God Replica, Tumbleweed, Money For Rope, the Minibikes and his other band, The Meanies.
2014 started promisingly for the band, when Naylor, Kempton and Cotter entered the studio to put down “about eight tracks” for the band’s next album. “Only eight?” Kempton says with a look of surprise, “I thought there were ten?”
“Ok, maybe ten,” Naylor clarifies. “But a couple of them were just ideas. Maybe we’ll just keep building it, and then eventually we’ll trim the fat off it.”
Apologising for speaking on behalf of his band mates, Naylor says 2015 will be dedicated to finalising the songs for Even’s next album, the first album of new Even material since 2011’s In Another Time. “We went in with the mentality of recording the songs in the rehearsal room, and get them down as a live unit, which is what we’ve done,” Naylor says. “The last record was done very piecemeal, but this one the basic tracks have been done live, and it’s sounding all the better for it.” Naylor suggests the live approach taken so far for the new record has created a sound closer to Even’s classic 1996 debut album, Less is More and the preceding EPs In Stereo and Ten to Forty Six. “I haven’t consulted Matt and Wally on this, but I think later on we did start embellishing things a bit gratuitously, but you only realise that in hindsight. Irrespective of the career path we may or may not be on, it sounds like us and it sounds fresh,” Naylor says.
Naylor’s keen to get the record out in the short term, but won’t push things too quickly if there’s a risk that will undermine the quality of the album. “I don’t want to rush it too much – haste brings waste,” Naylor says. “A tour manager once said to me, ‘Hurry up and wait’,” Kempton adds. “That’s the music business for you.”
At this point in the interview the discussion veers off-track, with Kempton segueing initially into plans in Paris to ban smoking inside venues: “Then I wouldn’t have to stand outside so much,” and Kempton’s frustrations with Melbourne’s public transport system – the latter which Naylor counters by referring to his own embrace of public transport (“but only when I set my own parameters”).
Both Naylor and Kempt concede Even’s never been in the business of strategic career planning – Kempton notes even when the band reached a measure of popular success in the ‘90s; Naylor was never entirely comfortable with the limelight. “We’ve never been that interested in commercial success,” Kempton says, “and that’s partly why we enjoy playing together so much – because we haven’t put ourselves under that type of pressure.” That said, Naylor hopes Even can get back overseas, including to Japan where the band hasn’t toured for almost 20 years.
While Even has a dedicated local following, the band relishes the challenge of reaching new audiences: “As time has passed, I realise how important Even is to me,” Naylor says. “Collectively, I want to nurture it with Matt and Wal – when we can all fit it in – it’s never a chore to play with these guys.” Kempton concurs. “I agree with what Ash said – but I’ll say it in a deeper voice,” Kempton says, to Naylor’s amusement.
There’s also the potential for another Even-commissioned beer next year, following the success of the specially-crafted Superman Punch chocolate porter released by Mountain Goat to coincide with Even’s acoustic shows at the Yarra Hotel in 2013. “Mountain Goat is interested in another Even beer,” Kempton says. “It’s going to be launched at the Collingwood Children’s Farm, but it’s going to be in May, so I don’t know what we’re going to call it.” Naylor invokes the memory of the late Faces and Small Faces keyboard player as a possible inspiration: “We could call it after Ian McLagan because he likes a dark ale,” Naylor suggests. “Maybe we’ll just call it The Mac,” Kempton suggests.
BY PATRICK EMERY
