Post by diki03 on Jul 6, 2009 7:39:29 GMT -5
Red, Hot & Boom: 10 minutes with Evan Taubenfeld
Evan Taubenfeld witnessed the rise of a star, actually you could call him her "right-hand man."
Now, he hopes he can follow in her footsteps.
The former Avril Lavigne guitarist kicked off Red, Hot & Boom on Friday night, returning to the event years after he and Lavigne headlined the event.
"This one of the first venues I have returned to as a solo artist," said the 26-year-old. "Even though I was the first act (this time), it was so cool that I was doing the same show. Orlando seems excited (about his work) and about pop music."
Taubenfeld took a few moments with the Sentinel to reflect at going on tour with Lavigne, his ultra-personal album and going back out on tour.
Are you trying to move past your Avril days? "I'm not consciously trying to shed it at all. It's a pretty common question, and I am not distancing myself (from that portion of his career). I am really proud of what I did with Avril. It's like Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana before he was the singer for Foo Fighters. For me, personally, I don't care how you know me I don't care if people look at me as that stupid blonde kid from Avril's band, as long as you are listening to my music.
What is success for you: fan reaction or personal satisfaction? I'd be a complete poser if I didn't say the fan reaction is very important. I put a great value in that. I wish I was a purist that didn't care, but I do care. That being said, it took so long to make sure (the music) was great, that I like to be satisfied too. When people like it, when there are 10 people there that know my songs, that is the great payoff. It is worth more than a $100 million.
So, are you about to head back out on the road? Oh yeah, it's time to pay my dues again. I have to start at the beginning. In two weeks, I'll be on tour with MetroStation as the opener and then I join up with Secondhand Serenade as the second of five acts. I am trying not to think about the long road ahead. I like to focus on the fact that I haven't had to get a real job yet.
Not looking forward to paying those dues? For me, I don't look at the due paying or hardships as bad. I wake up every day, and not to be too cheesy, I know how lucky I am. There are 100 million people out there that would love to take my place. I don't have to sell myself on being positive, because down the road the hard work will pay off. I have been very fortunate to experience extraordinary success with Avril, I have seen the incredible positives and also the pitfalls.
What pitfalls can artists run into? It's sad, but no matter what, people are not going to like you. How many people that don't like you is up to you. No matter how hard you work, people are always going to say hurtful things. Things get printed that can hurt your feelings, and some of us as artists can't handle it. We put on a front so that we can survive, but it's hard. I always felt bad for Avril when people were critical of her. There is a massive personal toll that you pay, but it is the price of admission if you want to be one of the biggest artists in the world. You sacrifice your personal life, it takes you away from the people and things you love and it is impossible to maintain any type of healthy relationship. It's like a doctor going through medical school, you don't think about the sacrifices because of the rewards that you will get. It's a no-brainer.
Your music is so personal, why is that? I think it has to be. Sure, I want to make great pop music that sells a bagillion records. But, I also want to make music I believe. Otherwise, how do (the fans) believe it? Ironically, when you dig in deep and write music that means something to you, those are the songs that fans like the most. The stuff you write that you think they will like, and they tell you it's just alright. It's a win-win. When you dig down deep, it turns out to be your best music.
Evan Taubenfeld witnessed the rise of a star, actually you could call him her "right-hand man."
Now, he hopes he can follow in her footsteps.
The former Avril Lavigne guitarist kicked off Red, Hot & Boom on Friday night, returning to the event years after he and Lavigne headlined the event.
"This one of the first venues I have returned to as a solo artist," said the 26-year-old. "Even though I was the first act (this time), it was so cool that I was doing the same show. Orlando seems excited (about his work) and about pop music."
Taubenfeld took a few moments with the Sentinel to reflect at going on tour with Lavigne, his ultra-personal album and going back out on tour.
Are you trying to move past your Avril days? "I'm not consciously trying to shed it at all. It's a pretty common question, and I am not distancing myself (from that portion of his career). I am really proud of what I did with Avril. It's like Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana before he was the singer for Foo Fighters. For me, personally, I don't care how you know me I don't care if people look at me as that stupid blonde kid from Avril's band, as long as you are listening to my music.
What is success for you: fan reaction or personal satisfaction? I'd be a complete poser if I didn't say the fan reaction is very important. I put a great value in that. I wish I was a purist that didn't care, but I do care. That being said, it took so long to make sure (the music) was great, that I like to be satisfied too. When people like it, when there are 10 people there that know my songs, that is the great payoff. It is worth more than a $100 million.
So, are you about to head back out on the road? Oh yeah, it's time to pay my dues again. I have to start at the beginning. In two weeks, I'll be on tour with MetroStation as the opener and then I join up with Secondhand Serenade as the second of five acts. I am trying not to think about the long road ahead. I like to focus on the fact that I haven't had to get a real job yet.
Not looking forward to paying those dues? For me, I don't look at the due paying or hardships as bad. I wake up every day, and not to be too cheesy, I know how lucky I am. There are 100 million people out there that would love to take my place. I don't have to sell myself on being positive, because down the road the hard work will pay off. I have been very fortunate to experience extraordinary success with Avril, I have seen the incredible positives and also the pitfalls.
What pitfalls can artists run into? It's sad, but no matter what, people are not going to like you. How many people that don't like you is up to you. No matter how hard you work, people are always going to say hurtful things. Things get printed that can hurt your feelings, and some of us as artists can't handle it. We put on a front so that we can survive, but it's hard. I always felt bad for Avril when people were critical of her. There is a massive personal toll that you pay, but it is the price of admission if you want to be one of the biggest artists in the world. You sacrifice your personal life, it takes you away from the people and things you love and it is impossible to maintain any type of healthy relationship. It's like a doctor going through medical school, you don't think about the sacrifices because of the rewards that you will get. It's a no-brainer.
Your music is so personal, why is that? I think it has to be. Sure, I want to make great pop music that sells a bagillion records. But, I also want to make music I believe. Otherwise, how do (the fans) believe it? Ironically, when you dig in deep and write music that means something to you, those are the songs that fans like the most. The stuff you write that you think they will like, and they tell you it's just alright. It's a win-win. When you dig down deep, it turns out to be your best music.