Evie Archer may be half angel and half demon, but she’d always be a woman to Billy Joel. Born in the wilds of Staten Island, New York and raised in the pastoral haven of Readington Township, New Jersey, Evie survived her adolescence without striking a single deer with the armored tank that her mother made hr drive. This was quite a feat, as there were millions of deer roaming the streets of Redington Township, New Jersey. Literally millions.
But you were probably expecting to hear a little more about Evie’s musical life, weren’t you? Well we aim to please, so gather around as we tell: The Tale of Evie Archer.
Evie was born with a different name, but we don’t talk about that now. It was a sweet name, and she was a sweet girl – so sweet, in fact, that her first original song was called “Candy.” She penned that gem at the age of 4. As a child, Evie studied piano, violin and voice, and practiced none of them as often as she should have. She relished the Broadway shows that she saw with her parents, and performed Les Miserables in its entirety in a living room performance at the age of 5.
Evie enjoyed composing ditties throughout her life, and would escape to the piano every time something upset her. Most of the songs from this period were a little self-indulgent, if we’re being honest, but hey – she was a card-carrying adolescent, and thus had a right to self-indulgence, musical and otherwise.
Evie enjoyed composing ditties throughout her life, and would escape to the piano every time something upset her. Most of the songs from this period were a little self-indulgent, if we’re being honest, but hey – she was a card-carrying adolescent, and thus had a right to self-indulgence, musical and otherwise.
Evie’s songs started to get better during her senior year of high school, when she studied independently with composer Laurie Altman. Her writing improved further during her studies at Princeton University, from which she graduated with a Bachelors Degree in English Literature and some important music lessons from Electronic Music pioneer Paul Lansky.
Despite winning the “Princetonian Idol” competition with her performance of an original song and receiving accolades from all who listened to her sing as she tickled the ivories, Evie managed to run for years from pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter. Was it a fear of failure or rejection that kept her chasing careers to which she was laughably unsuited? (Like, can you imagine Evie as a NUN?! She could, very briefly.) Anyway, only her therapist knows, and he won’t even tell her. All he does is ask Evie, “Well, what do YOU think that was about?”
In any case, happily for Evie, she finally decided to take her artistic aspirations seriously. She has graduated from pure confessional writing to musical storytelling. Evie cites classic singer-songwriters among her influences, greats like Carole King, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, The Beatles, Elton John, and Billy Joel.
Evie’s work with producer and musician Andrew Williams on her “Chocolate And Whiskey” EP has allowed her to embrace her quirkiness as an artist, discover her retro-soul leanings, and step fully into the joy of making music, which is something that she hopes to do for the rest of her life.
