In the HOUSE
Seattle-based Say Hi to play living room show in ABQ
It’s the calm before the storm for Eric Elbogen.
Tour starts in a few days, and he has to wrap up some loose ends.
“I really do my best to get everything done,” he says in a recent interview. “You know how it goes. On the last day, the list is so long.”
Elbogen is the mastermind behind the Seattle-based indie rock outfit Say Hi.
He formed the band in 2002 while living in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Over the years, he’s carved out a niche and grass-roots following for the outfit.
His musical journey has been filled with lots of highs and lows.
In fact, in February 2017, he was ready to hang it up as far as music goes.
This didn’t sit well with his fans, and he announced his return earlier this year.
“The question I’ve been I’ve been getting a lot is if I was lying,” he says. “It takes me back a bit.
I did 100 percent think
I was done with music. The response of people who reached out, helped convince me not to.”
It was a good call, because he released his 10th album, “Caterpillar Centipede,” on Sept. 7.
He worked on the album for about eight months and released it on his record label, Euphobia Records.
“I wanted to make a record that was a nostalgic-sounding Say Hi record,” he says. “I went back and listened to the records and remembered the head space I was in. I wanted the record to make me happy each time I played the songs or listened to them.
What’s even funnier is that during this process, Apple Music would suggest Say Hi music to me,” he says with a laugh.
For the new album, Elbogen started out with about 80 songs and began to eliminate the weak ones.
“I try to put out records that don’t have any filler,” he says.
With 10 albums under his belt, Elbogen’s also having trouble putting together a set list.
“It’s been really hard for this one, because I’m really trying to play something from all the records,” he says. “I’ve been rehearsing everything I want to play, and I’ll decide which are the strongest at that point.”
Elbogen’s house concert in Albuquerque will mark the first time he’s played in the city.
He’s played in Santa Fe before, but a show in Albuquerque never seemed to work out.
“The rooms were always too big,” he says. “So I’ve taken the house concert route and do a more intimate setting. It’s amazing to share the space with the audience.”