“When I woke this morning I was king of the world
Longing to know if we had a boy or a girl
Yes I had a feeling as proud as any man
Could ever hope to be”
At the beginning of 2005, I had moved to Adelaide. I was living with my dad and his partner and I worked with him as a concreter. I have a unique relationship with my dad. He and my mum divorced when I was around 5, I don’t remember that time at all. I do remember seeing him frequently though, it wasn’t like he wasn’t in my life. Once we moved to Mt. Gambier, I saw him less (obviously). He did ring (not frequently, but often enough), so he was still in our lives. We’d stay with him in Adelaide on some school holidays or when we’d go back to visit family. We weren’t close when I moved there but it wasn’t awkward.
Dad is a quiet person. He’s not good at small talk... at all. He’s not rude and will chat if you strike up a conversation, he just won’t start the conversation. He’s a stereotypical old Italian of sorts. His love of soccer is only matched by his love of Elvis Presley. He has hundreds of old cassettes, most of it crap, but there are some goodies in there. Elvis, The Beatles, Little Richard, Dean Martin, Roy Orbison, he didn’t stray too far from the music of his adolescence.
Working with dad was alright. He is always pretty stressed at work, but having my cousin there was fun. We used to joke around and have fun while dad and his brother-in-law stressed each other out. There’s a rule at work regarding the radio.
He whoever gets it out chooses which station it goes on.
If I got it, I’d put it on Triple J. This being ‘05 when they played music I liked.
If my cousin Paul or dad’s Brother-in-law Jamie got it, they’d put it on Triple M. Not a bad choice.
However, if dad got it, it goes on Cruise FM. For those who have not heard of Cruise FM, the play music from the '50s through to the ’80s, though they very rarely go into the ’70s and '80s.
It was painful if dad got it. The songs aren’t from the good artists of those era’s (The Beatles, Beach Boys, Doors, Pink Floyd etc.), but of the bubblegum pop artists. Artists such as Herman’s Hermits, Johnny Tillotson & Little Eva (look them up and laugh). They also play so god damn many ballads. As a labourer, working your arse off, having a ballad blaring in the background is quite annoying. It’s also embarrassing. Dad was (and still is) a stickler for this rule, so my aim every morning is to grab that radio. On this fateful sunny Saturday in 2005, I grabbed the radio first and put it on Triple J.
I remember it being a Saturday as it was just he and I at work and we were pouring a small crossover. Triple J announced that they were premiering a song by an Australian supergroup called ‘The Wrights’. This supergroup consisted of members from The Living End, Grinspoon, Jet, Powderfinger and Spiderbait. I was intrigued yet hesitant. What the fuck is that going to sound like? I didn’t have to wait long before I knew.
“I got some money in my pocket,
I got the car keys in my hand.
I got myself a couple of tickets,
to see a rock'n rollin' band...”
Well, that’s Nic Cester from Jet singing and It was definitely rock ‘n’ roll. I liked it, It was fun. The song continues for another 3 minutes or so, ending with a wall of distortion and a massive scream. Well shit, that’s a great song! I thought to myself. But then a piano fades in...
Strings enter adding to the drama.
“Evie.
There seems so much to say...”
Wait, what? The song is still going!
It was also a different person singing.
It took me a few lines to pick it. It was Bernard Fanning of Powderfinger.
This section of the song was a ballad, polar opposite to the previous 4 minutes. It stayed minimal. A piano, Strings and Fanning’s voice. That’s it. The crescendos towards the end gave me chills. The song ends with a linger, leaving you filled with melancholy. Then out of nowhere, that ascending riff enters.
The third and final part is another rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza, not dissimilar to the first. Once again, the vocalist was someone new. This one I could pick a little quicker. It was Phil Jameson from Grinspoon.
His voice gave the song some attitude, some gruff for lack of a better word. I’ve always liked Phil’s voice, controversial I know. It just oozes rock for me. I was a fan of this song, completing the trinity.
For some reason, it didn’t click until part three, but my dad had been singing along for all three sections.
“How do you know the words?”
He looked at me with a surprised look on his face.
“This song is called Evie. They rarely play all three parts on the radio back to back.”
How the hell did he know all of that? It was a premiere!
“That was a cover. The original was by a guy named Stevie Wright!”
The Wrights... got it. Smart name.
Dad quite enjoyed their version, claiming it was close to the original. I hadn’t heard the original. I hadn’t even heard of Stevie Wright at that point. We started talking about all kinds of music. I hadn’t joined a band at this point, so I assume dad didn’t even know that I was deep into music. We spoke about mainly old stuff, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Genesis. He wasn’t really into any of that (except The Doors) but we would find common artists that we both enjoyed. It was nice to be able to talk passionately about something I loved with him, that wasn’t Football (Soccer for the uneducated).
A few years later I was at home bored. As you do, I sat on the couch flicking through the channels. I stumbled on an ad on the ABC. The footage of a band who looked similar to the Beatles (but clearly wasn’t) had caught my attention. The ad was for a documentary called “Friday On My Mind: The Easybeats story”. I set my Foxtel to record the documentary. For those of you who do not know The Easybeats, please go search them up. They’re not only an incredible band, but they’re one of the biggest and influential musical acts to come from Australia. They were 5 immigrants who became Australia’s biggest success story. For the sake of this story though, you only need to know one thing. Their singer was Stevie Wright.
I was not only astonished by The Easybeats but once again Stevie Wrights solo magnus opus Evie, had entered back into my life. You best believe I downloaded his version and wouldn’t you know it, it was brilliant. Stevie's voice is captivating. You can hear the love and pain in his voice through all three parts. I fell in love with The Easybeats, and with Stevie as well. After the fall of The Easybeats, Stevie couldn’t quite regain his stardom until he reunited with two of his former bandmates, Vanda & Young. They were the two primary songwriters in The Easybeats and became two of Australia’s best songwriters after the demise of the band. They wrote and produced a single on his debut solo album, Evie. Evie became the only 11-minute song to chart number 1 anywhere in the world, once again pushing Stevie Wright back to where he belonged.
Stevie’s life would take a few bad turns after this. He became addicted to heroin and alcohol and received a very controversial treatment called 'Deep Sleep Therapy'. This is where they induced you into a drug-induced coma and administer electroshock therapy. He was left with brain damage and other long-lasting effects.
His story and the story of The Easybeats left a lasting impression on me and the song Evie had started it all. The song represents a lot of things to me personally. The story of immigrants succeeding against all odds. The story of a man reclaiming his life. The story of falling in love (Part 1) being in love (Part 2) and the death of that loved one (Part 3). It also represents one of the first times, outside of Football that dad and I connected over something.
On the 6th of November, 2014, my daughter was born. Evie Harper Ielasi.
The song Evie now has a new meaning...
and a new fan.
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