Articles:The Herald - October 14, 2009: Difference between revisions

no edit summary
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
Line 22: Line 22:
I wonder what’s going through his head onstage. “I try not to look at the faces,” he says. “I love people who are onstage and generous, and I try to be that person for the audience, but my problem over all the years was that I was always distracted by the lights, the crowd and people looking at me.” On the current tour, piano player [[Marc Capelle]] provides the sole musical accompaniment. ­Eitzel says performing without a guitar has made him less self-aware: “Now I can just sing and close my eyes, and it makes me focus on the moment. It really works. We don’t have bad shows.”
I wonder what’s going through his head onstage. “I try not to look at the faces,” he says. “I love people who are onstage and generous, and I try to be that person for the audience, but my problem over all the years was that I was always distracted by the lights, the crowd and people looking at me.” On the current tour, piano player [[Marc Capelle]] provides the sole musical accompaniment. ­Eitzel says performing without a guitar has made him less self-aware: “Now I can just sing and close my eyes, and it makes me focus on the moment. It really works. We don’t have bad shows.”


At 50, he’s busier than ever. [[American Music Club]] split after the false promise of ''[[San ­Francisco]]'' but reformed in 2003 to make two further albums, and are planning a third. Though the dynamic of the band still seems fraught, Eitzel is excited. “We’re planning on co-writing all the songs, because they don’t like it that I get the publishing because I write them all,” he laughs. “It’s a respect thing, apparently. So it’s going to be a long process. But they’re all great songwriters. I love the band, I really do.”
At 50, he’s busier than ever. [[American Music Club]] split after the false promise of ''[[San Francisco]]'' but reformed in 2003 to make two further albums, and are planning a third. Though the dynamic of the band still seems fraught, Eitzel is excited. “We’re planning on co-writing all the songs, because they don’t like it that I get the publishing because I write them all,” he laughs. “It’s a respect thing, apparently. So it’s going to be a long process. But they’re all great songwriters. I love the band, I really do.”


He’s also writing another record with [[Peter Buck]] – “I have to channel my inner pop because he’s a genius of pop songwriting” – and, intriguingly, has completed a piece of musical theatre with British playwright [[Simon Stephens]] called ''[[Marine Parade]]''. “It’s about making decisions and it’s about love,” he says. “The songs don’t move the plot forward, they work like normal songs do – they come in and mean everything. It works, it’s great, that’s all I can tell you. It’s a populist masterpiece.”
He’s also writing another record with [[Peter Buck]] – “I have to channel my inner pop because he’s a genius of pop songwriting” – and, intriguingly, has completed a piece of musical theatre with British playwright [[Simon Stephens]] called ''[[Marine Parade]]''. “It’s about making decisions and it’s about love,” he says. “The songs don’t move the plot forward, they work like normal songs do – they come in and mean everything. It works, it’s great, that’s all I can tell you. It’s a populist masterpiece.”