Say Hi To Your Mom Interview
Say Hi To Your Mom
Interview With A Vampire (Fan)
Robots and vampires aren’t only the domain of the movies or sci-fi conventions, though it’s unlikely the first place you’d look is a Say Hi To Your Mom record. Comically sincere and endearingly eccentric, for four albums Eric Elbogen, the man behind the moniker, has proven Weezer aren’t the only guys in town who can wax melodic about such topics as Dungeons & Dragons and The X-Men.
His latest disc, Impeccable Blahs, for example, not only continues the theme of featuring cartoon robots on its cover (a staple since 2002’s Discosadness), but was also inspired by longtime geek chic touchstone “Buffy The Vampire Slayer.”
“The latest record is actually somewhat of a concept record, even though I’m really not a fan of that term,” Elbogen confesses. “I was a huge ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ fan and all the songs are actually about vampires in one form or another. I think if you keep that in mind, some of the songs will make a little more sense.”
It wasn’t just the fanboy in Elbogen that prompted Impeccable Blahs, however. “I kind of considered it a challenge for myself to just pick a theme and try and write an entire album around it. Not only did I want each and every song to stand out in and of itself, but I also wanted them to fall under this larger umbrella as well. Some of the songs are a bit subtler about it than others, but in the end, it all made sense to me. I hope it makes sense to everyone else.”
No doubt, with an opening number like “These Fangs” followed by such tracks as “She Just So Happens To Date The Prince of Darkness,” his affinity for creatures of the night is quite clear, but it’s not the only thing that stands out. While sharing the same quirky lyrical approach as his previous effort, 2005’s Ferocious Mopes (which included the romantically peculiar “Yeah, I’m In Love With An Android” and the strangely upbeat “Poor Pete Is A Bit Self Conscious”), there’s a sense of urgency to Impeccable Blahs that’s new to his music, evident on such tracks as “Pretty Unhappy Endings” and the aforementioned “These Fangs.” Not only that, besides drawing from his usual set of influences that consist of the likes of Pavement, Radiohead, and the Pixies, it appears as if his sound has now borrowed a bit from the pre-alt rock era with new wave-tinged dance numbers like “Angels And Darlas” and “Blah Blah Blah.” Elbogen partially attributes the change to his inclusion of a full band in the recording process, a first.
“They bring a lot of stuff to the table that I wasn’t capable of with the first three records when I was just recording by myself,” he relates. “I’ve known both Jeff [Sheinkopf, electric piano/synth] and Chris [Egan III, drums/percussion] for a long time and this was the first time I’ve had them involved in the recording process as opposed to just touring with me, which was definitely a treat.”
He continues, “It was just easier for me to keep the whole touring aspect of the band separate from the whole recording aspect, but that changed when Chris and Jeff came around because I really respect their musicianship and creativity. They both put a lot of work into making this record.”
Having released this and his previous albums on his own label, Euphobia, it seems as if this is one aspect of his music that he intends to keep to himself.
“Record labels — both major and indie — are sort of tricky and they tease you a lot,” he explains. “After the second disc came out [2004’s Numbers And Mumbles], I started getting emails from A&R departments. When it comes to business, though, I don’t like to beat around the bush. I would be like, ‘Cool, make me an offer and I’ll think about it,’ but I guess a lot of people aren’t used to that and they prefer to play their little games and do the whole song and dance. I usually wouldn’t hear from them again after that, which was really no loss. No matter how much money they’d put on the table, I couldn’t see anyone putting more effort into putting out my records than me. I mean, right now if we’re not on the road, we’re recording a record and if we’re not recording a record, I’m writing songs for a record and if I’m not doing that I’m designing T-shirts, posters, and banner ads. Bottom line is, this band’s finally starting to pay some of the bills and — as much as I hate to say it — I think a big part of that is because we don’t have to split the money with a record label.”
To read more about the label future of Say Hi To Your Mom, pick up the August issue of Illinois Entertainer throughout Chicagoland.
— Dean Ramos
