Tom Lynch

New York City's Eric Elbogen has had very, very modest success with his one-man indie-pop project, Say Hi to Your Mom, with three full-length records under his belt. The most recent, last year's miniature triumph "Ferocious Mopes," offers the best of Elbogen's storytelling, introducing heroes that range from robots to haunting--but, nice, mind you--ghosts. He plays nearly every instrument on the record himself, records in his small living space and runs the band's label, Euphobia Records, from the same location. The DIY ethic is nothing new to the underground music scene, and despite the romantic notions of controlling one's own destiny in a band, according to Elbogen, the process can be quite grueling.

For the tour, he's assembled a full live band to recreate the textured pop assaults presented on the album. "To some extent [the record] is representative of the live show," says Elbogen. "I like being able to play at full capacity. The live show is always different than the record--I treat it differently. In the studio there are unlimited resources for creativity--I may decide that certain songs need ten subtle synths or guitars or something. That's hard to recreate live."

Certain musicians--especially those who write and record albums all by their lonesome--have distinct preferences when comparing the live show to the recording process. "I think in general the recording process is more exciting," Elbogen says. "Live, it's more about the evening and spontaneity. I find aspects [of recording] excruciating, though. Like, `it's been thirty-two days straight of mixing, and I'm just burnt.' Live, it can sometimes be hard because of certain variables, like us not being big enough to have our own soundman. That situation is less than ideal. Also, sometimes the room is half-empty. It's obviously more pleasant when the audience is into it."

The business end of the music business, always hit or miss, can be quite unpredictable to say the least. What can a small, indie songwriter expect to earn off an independently produced and manufactured record? "Right now I'm getting payment for all the sales of `Ferocious Mopes,'" Elbogen says of his record that's about nine months old. "The other two records are...selling. The second record ["Numbers & Mumbles"], which is the catchiest of them all, that's selling tons, and `Ferocious Mopes' is doing consistently well. They don't sell as many copies as certain bands on large indie labels. I do just as well as lots of mid-size indie bands, I guess. I mean, I don't foresee ending the band anytime soon. There are those excruciating moments when I'm trying to finish a record, or we've played three tour dates in a row and no one came out--of course it makes you question if this is something you want to keep doing for the rest of your life. I mean, with credit-card bills and paying rent and everything. I quickly snap out of it. I think that I would be a far more miserable person if I wasn't getting my creative kicks with the band."

Elbogen's style of songwriting--poppy, graceful bits with dark though charming subject matter with theater-production-like presentation and joyous celebration--could be inspired by a map full of influential bands, but at first listen, your guess of Elbogen's inspirations would probably be accurate. "I'm constantly looking for and listening to new music, but my fallback bands are The Beatles, of course, and Radiohead. The Pixies and Pavement. There's an unexplainable thing imbedded in a songwriter's head on what he likes aesthetically, certain phrasings of a chord, going from a major to a minor key. Every songwriter has a bunch of those things that's usually their basis for writing songs. Hopefully, those things get broader as you get better as a songwriter."

In addition to life in Say Hi to Your Mom, Elbogen moonlights from New York as a music journalist, writing under a pseudonym he refuses to disclose. "I like writing and listening to records. I don't always like the confines I have to work in, in terms of editors who want a specific thing. It really bums me out when I decide I don't like a record and have to give it a bad review. I like to be honest, but having struggled for so long with my own music, it's hard."

After this tour concludes and the band makes a stop at the upcoming South by Southwest festival, Elbogen plans to finish up a new record, which he hopes will hit shelves in early summer. "I'm hoping for a June release," he says, "but there's still a lot up in the air. I'm not sure I'm going to put it out myself. I really enjoy putting out records and not having to answer to a label, but it's getting to be a lot of work for me. I spend half my day doing mail-order, tour posters, things like that. It would be nice to focus on the creativity rather than on the mundane."

Say Hi to Your Mom plays January 26 at Schubas, 3159 North Southport, (773)525-2508, at 9pm. $8.

(2006-01-24)

Also by Tom Lynch

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