By Danielle Capalbo, News staff
‘Could you hold on for a second?’ asks musician Eric Elbogen. ‘I have to go through a toll-booth.’
Elbogen juggles his cell phone with the wheel of a white Ford, 12-passenger van, riding down Interstate 95 between Baltimore and Philly. It’s Friday, March 27, and he’s well into a US tour promoting his sixth record as the heart of indie act Say Hi. The album, Oohs & Aahs, dropped earlier this month and marks another step forward for the one-man band, formerly Say Hi to Your Mom.
With 2008’s The Wishes and the Glitch, Elbogen ditched the second half of his nom de guerre and altered his content. Nowadays, his concepts are more practical ‘- making sure he doesn’t use the same tricks too many times, for instance ‘- and the big change accompanying this year’s release is, not much has really changed. Say Hi has hit a stride of sorts, imagining indie pop through more melancholy a lens than most, but it’s compelling all the same.
Elbogen plays the Middle East Upstairs tonight, with opener Telekinesis. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Huntington News:’ Your last record came with a couple of significant changes. Has anything major changed for Oohs & Aahs?
Eric Elbogen:’ Not so much, I guess. In between the fourth and fifth records ‘- that was sort of the big, what should I say? Not a mid-life crisis, but I guess an early mid-life crisis. That was sort of about turning 30 and deciding to move out of New York, changing the band name, etc., etc. And then with this new record, I think my head was in kind of a similar place to where it was when I wrote the one before it.
HN:’ What was the catalyst for previous changes?
EE:’ I should clarify:’ It’s kind of always been a solo thing. There have definitely been people who contributed to the records and really, really amazing musicians who came on tour with me, but I’ve always sort of written and recorded the records myself. To answer your question though, I don’t know. I got older, I think, and I started enjoying certain things in life more and other things less. I found myself, A) not really wanting to live in New York City anymore, being part of everything that living in that city entails, and B) I decided that I wanted to take a break from writing songs about robots and vampires.
HN:’ How do you feel about critical response to the new record?
EE:’ Have you read anything bad? I try not to read too much. Like, if somebody forwards me a review they say is really well-written and insightful, I will check it out. But for my own sanity, I try not to pay too much attention to what the external world says about my records. Just because it’s not healthy for me.
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HN:’ As someone who’s played the central role in making six full-length records, do you feel a need to reinvent yourself every time?
EE:’ Yeah, it’s definitely a conscious effort. It’s one of the more exciting things about being in a band for me. Once we finish the touring cycle for a previous record, you sort of sit down and decide what direction to take for the subsequent record, and you know, it’s always like, making up little rules for myself. For example, I will decide, alright … no more of those whispered vocals you did on all the early records. You gotta sing them all from the gut. A bunch of realizations and decisions like that happen every time I sit down.
HN:’ Has anything been consistent across all six records, aside from the style of cover art?
EE:’ People tend to describe me as vulnerable and mumbly, and I’m sure there are many other adjectives that I can’t think of right now. I think people, for better or for worse, know that what they are looking at or listening to is Say Hi.
HN:’ On your blog last year, you posted a top-10 list of your favorite records. Have you come across anything yet that could make it onto your list for ’09?
EE:’ I foresee the Telekinesis record making it, because they really made an awesome record. I don’t know what else. I’ve been listening to tons of old Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen lately. I’m going back to listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin, too. I’ve been taking somewhat of a conscious break from current indie rock. But it’s still early in the year, and I’m sure there will be a bunch of records that will come out and destroy me.
