Artist Interview for Concerts in Your Home

Here is a link to an interview that was conducted while I was on the road in Kansas early last summer.

The interview was conducted by Fran Snyder of Concerts In Your Home for the artist's directory of this network which gets performing musicians connected with people who like to host concerts in their living rooms!(which, incidentally, is one of my favorite places to play.)

http://lrnblog.posterous.com/renewal-interview-steve-eulberg (This link has been removed, so please look below!)

Some interesting questions led me to some interesting answers.

Please let me know what you think!

Act Name: Steve Eulberg

Member of CIYH since: 2008-06-19

1. Describe your most memorable house concert experience.

Anytime someone who is leaning away begins to move toward live acoustic music:

For Example:

My teenaged godson's girlfriend was brought by him to one of my house concerts.  She related to his dad on the way home, "When I heard this was going to be a Folk concert, I was pretty scared.  But this was a great concert!"  

When people from different parts of my life show up in the same place and begin (or discover) connections with each other! The crooked lines make the straightest paths to relationship phenomena!

For example:

A friend from college agrees to host a house concert at her parents' home in central Ohio.  One of my on-line JamPlay students, who has hosted a house concert for me before, comes with his wife and one of my far-flung students from southern California flies into town for a continuing education event, but convinces her daughter that they must both come to my concert before she goes to her daughter's home.   Turns out that the daughter and my college friend have some connection that they hadn't realized before.  And here we all are, filling a living room with song!

2. What's your best opening line? (from one of your songs, or one of your favorites) 

Can't choose just one!

Growing Up in an uneasy time, blue stars on the windows.... (from "war is sweet" on "a piece of it all")

or 

Mailman's come and gone, brought a letter from my old mom, still singin the same old song....(from "porch swingin' " on "a piece of it all")

You and I agree, we should live apart.... (from "sad" from "a piece of it all")

Rippling Wave of a bounding squirrel, jumping rope of a knee-socked little girl... (from "beauty in the world" from "a piece of it all")

3. What song is most likely to make you cry? (if you were the crying kind)

My name is Sam, I'm the family dog.... (Berkley-Hart on Crow)

4. How many miles did you drive last year?

oy, The car now has almost 230,000 miles on it...but I couldn't tell for sure about last year.  Several flying miles, too.

5. What is your favorite thing about house concerts?

The personal connection and the ability to interact with an audience.

6. If you could no longer sell your music on CD, what would you do differently?

Use the digital downloading process I've got set up.

7. When is the last time someone critiqued your song, suggested a way to make it better, and you agreed?

I was saying "I Said Nothing" too many times in that song and someone suggested that I say it less, and let the actually "nothing" say it.  Tremendous advice!

8. Have you ever watched yourself do a full concert on video? If so, what did you learn?

Yes.  Recently released one on DVD.  I should wear taller socks or longer pants!  Lighting design can make a big difference....sometimes I go with the flow and the flow takes me where I shouldn't go...Could use more tightness in my between song banter when I have full sets.  I can certainly craft that for the showcase or festival sets, but have to continue working on that wrinkle.

9. Is there anyone you like to go to for songwriting help or advice? If so, who?

Russ Hopkins, Kiva Records.

10. What is the best stage name of all time?

Slim Pickens.

11. Car you drive vs the car you'd most like to drive. 

I'm renting a Prius for this tour and so, at the moment, it fits both categories!

12. What percentage of your songs are about love relationships?

30%

13. You can bring back any dead artist, and be their apprentice for a month, who do you choose?

Jim Croce, hands down.  That dude could tell a vivid story!

14. You can recruit anyone in the world to manage your artistic career, who is it?

Holly Near.

15. You can work with any living record producer. Who do you choose for your next project?

Ken Whiteley, Pyramid Records in Toronto.

16. You must personally destroy every instrument you own, except one. Which do you keep? Which do you destroy first/last, and why?

My voice is the one I keep. 

I refuse to destroy the instruments, I'll give them away...or if I must appear to destroy them, I'll disassemble them, distribute the parts and instructions on rebuilding them to people across the world.

17. Cat, dog, or goldfish?

Dog.

18. Writing retreat. You can go anywhere in the world for 2 weeks, where do you go? One instrument, one suitcase - what do you bring?

Nova Scotia--never been there and I'd love to see what it brings out of me.

Guitar, my pillow and my slippers.

19. Plan B, or no Plan B?

Plan B is work Plan A harder, or adapt it and work it smarter.