INTERVIEW: Evelyn Forever
- Al Muzer
In a world of "Sex And Candy," "Flagpole Sittas," folks that wanna fly, "Wannabes" who claim to be a little "Torn" and "Bittersweet Symphonies" that've made a bunch of rich wrinkles richer - you can't get much more simple, honest, basic or direct than the urgent plea Evelyn Forever give voice to on "What I Need," the lead single on their 1997 Airplay Label debut, Nightclub Jitters.
Nothing fancy. No résumé required. Photo optional. No description asked for or expected. Just a girl. Any girl. Nothing more and nothing less.
Sportin' four (count 'em!) truly unforgettable, radio-ready, potential hits - the Beatles-inspired "Rock 'N' Roll Girl"; the brilliant, Cure-ish blast of "17"; a peppy burst of sing-along angst ("What I Need"); and the ringing pop attack of "Double Dip" - the obvious singles are bolstered by strong support tracks (the rollicking "Wonderful," the giddy rush of "Never Once" and the full-bore assault of "Telephone" earn special mention) that are the sonic equivalent of what passes for "A" tracks on countless major label releases. A young band clearly destined for something bigger.
A large part of the charm, appeal and undeniable catchiness of New Brunswick, New Jersey's Evelyn Forever - and one of the things that should land the group a major label deal before the year is out- is the fact that this young four-piece ignores the tongue-in-cheek, by-the-numbers, overly-reverential approach to Beatle-, Badfinger-, Cars-, Records- and Cheap Trick-inspired pop taken by groups such as Weezer, Teenage Fanclub and Fountains Of Wayne and, instead, play their less-than-trendy, but always irresistible, fresh-faced jangle straight from the heart.
Girls, telephones that go unanswered, unrequited love, girls, serious crushes, rules that don't make sense, romantic heartbreak, wimmin again, the frustrations of youth, things that suck, dangerously-surging hormones and more girls - Evelyn Forever concentrate on the things that matter and don't waste time on babes who date bikers, sweaters that unravel, shirts that get tight or love as a high concept.
Boasting four very distinct, extremely likable personalities (hmmm, just like the Beatles) in vocalist/guitarist Mark Sanderlin, vocalist/bassist Eddie Yoo, drummer/vocalist Matt Lewis and guitarist/vocalist "Reef" Fanous; brilliant two-, three- and, occasionally, four-part harmonies (like the Beatles); two primary lead vocalists and two not-quite-as-primary harmony vocalists (insert Beatles comparison here); two primary songwriters (hello JohnPaul); a ton of "whoa-oh-ah's," "ooh's," "na na na's" and "ahhh's" (ditto); a tendency to keep their tunes under the four-minute mark (yeah, yeah, yeah); and an instant classic ("Rock 'N' Roll Girl") that kicks off with damn-near the same intro as the Fab Four's "When I Get Home" - the only obstacles in the way of E4E's inevitable climb up the national pop charts are a major distribution deal and one lucky break.
An unabashed Evelyn Forever fan and a Beatle fanatic from way back, Al Muzer babbled with bassist/vocalist Eddie Yoo while the rest of the band lugged equipment from their Belmar-based practice space to Matt's parent's garage in Piscataway in order to avoid the summer rent hike.
Consumable: The band is starting to get some choice gigs (opening for the likes of Pee Shy, Soul Asylum and Letters To Cleo) and is beginning to accumulate an impressive stack of press clippings (Billboard, Option, Pop Smear, Jersey Beat and, of course, this magazine); are you feeling a momentum kind'a thing happening?
Eddie: You know ... it's [success] such a monstrous mountain for any band to have to climb - let alone a pop band. But, we can definitely feel, like, a gradual build-up going on behind us ... almost like a train starting to pick up speed. [Yoo chuckles at his own cliche'] It's been a very slow, very deliberate kind'a thing, so it doesn't really seem like such a big deal to us yet.
We have spurts of days or weeks where every minute seems to be occupied by something related to the band. On the other hand, we also have the luxury [laughs] at this stage in our career of days and weeks where the only band activity is rehearsal or hanging out together.
CO: You're also beginning to land more out of state gigs [including Los Angeles' International Pop Overthrow Festival this August] - what sort of reaction do you get playing away from home?
E: We've got this great thing goin' on in 'Jersey, right? ... but, if we go play a show in, say ... Rhode Island, Connecticut or Boston, we're virtually unknown. It's almost like we're given a fresh start each time we play somewhere. There is, apparently, some word of mouth happening, which translates into ... well, a few people anyway.
I really think the 'road' is the best thing about all this. I mean, there are gigs where people really could care less about what's up on stage, ya' know? Then there are those other shows where people who've never heard anything about us seem to enjoy what we're doing and wind up hanging with us afterwards. It's also pretty cool when people tell us, 'Oh, I heard about you guys from so-and-so who saw you at the Metro Cafe' [Washington, DC] and I had to come and check you out for myself.'
CO: Everyone in the band is in their early- to mid-20's, right? Which means you should be trying to cop some eighth-generation ska influence, borrowing liberally from Matchbox 20 or trying to mold a Chili-funk riff to a programmed techno-cluster. How'd ya'll get so heavily into stuff that I grew up listening to?
Eddie: It is kind'a strange, isn't it? I know that Mark was always into really cool shit and I've been into music since I was really young - first or second grade, I think - anyway, when I first started listening to music it was the stuff that was all over the radio at that time. Evelyn Forever's music ... there really aren't that many people in our age group we know of who are into the same thing.
The thing that is really surprising me lately, however, is that there's this whole contingency of young kids I was never aware of who are, like, totally into pop music to the point that they're actually listening to the Beatles again! These are 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds, which I find completely incredible because I figured they would feel the same way so many other people seem to feel about it - that it's an old person's music. It's nice to know there's an audience out there for the music we love to play. I mean, we'd be playing it with or without fans ... but, it definitely helps knowing we're not alone.
CO: Do you have any long-term goals as a band, or are the four of you just sort of playing it as it goes?
E: The usual, you know? Limos, money [laughs] ... actually, my ultimate thing is for us to have even one song that lasts forever, you know? A song that'll sound fresh and timeless throughout the decades regardless of record sales, how famous you are, whatever - to've written a song that still reaches people years after you wrote and recorded it ... let's just say that there are bands who've written songs that'll last forever, songs that'll always be there and will always be sung along to - I want Evelyn Forever to be remembered as one of those bands.
For more information on Evelyn Forver, contact The Airplay Label at PO Box 851, Asbury Park, NJ 07712. The disc Nightclub Jitters is available for $10 + $2 s/h. E-mail only? Try gimchipop@aol.com.
