Q&A with Vienna, December 2007

[CandaceC]

OMG, you mean I can be friends with Vienna on Faceboook?

*spasms of joy*

[micro]

Hi Vienna,

Thank you for answering our questions. Here are some more; some you've aleady answered. (Sorry if we exceeded our quota.)

- Do you feel that NYC is "home"?
- What are your impressions of NYC?
- Is it what you expected it to be?
- Do you still plan to stay in NYC for one year only?
- If so, have you thought of where you may be going next, back to SF, Austin, Chicago, elsewhere?
- What have you found most interesting?
- Are the Dance fighting classes Capoeira?
- Are you working on your next cd? Any target release date?
- Are there plans for a live cd to complement the DVD?
- How do you decide what covers perform?
- What musical influences have you gotten from being in NYC?
- How is the music scene different?
- Are you working on other projects? soundtracks, Broadway?
- Will there be a collaboration w/ Alex Wong on a future cd?
- Are/will you be taking a break from touring?

And thank you for your music and your performances; you never disappoint.

[Michele]

Ack, I've been outed!

OMG, you mean I can be friends with Vienna on Faceboook?

*spasms of joy*

You can, but the one that's there right now was automatically set up. We haven't done anything with it yet, so it may even disappear altogether and be replaced. I'll post when it's sorted out.

[arcsol]

When will DTTN reach the Philippines shore?

i'd answer this one for vienna

yes ben, DTTN has hit the shores of the philippines (oo pinoy ako. aba mayroon pa palang ibang pinoy dito bukod sa akin hahahahaha). Grab it from Music One for ~PhP550; i got my copy at the branch in Alabang Town Center.

OnT:

Vienna! thanks for the music and this QnA session. i actually have no idea what to ask... hrm. here goes:

1) any chance of going by here in the Philippines? not necessarily for a performance (though hell yeah, i'm going to every show if you do perform here). we have good beaches, the whole spectrum of food (balut!), nice people around and all. don't mind the recent ruckus in some hotel in the financial capital of the country - that's just the usual brand of self-serving messianic politicos bawling that they're not getting what they want.

2) you up to jam sessions or some tip-giving sessions for the people who were in the bathroom or somewhere when musical talent was showered upon the earth?

3) here's something that's been bugging me for some time now - good as your music is, why is it people rarely know about/of it? i know there's a lot of dirty politics and other unspeakable stuff in the music, recording and radio industry that results in the force-feeding of the manure they call 'pop' (jeez, i can't exactly call that music, but my rant is too long for this) but the music scene really needs a fresh breath of air (i.e. you and your music)

last one (for now) - legally speaking, what is needed so that radio stations can play your songs and spread the music further?

thanks vienna!

[jessamyn]

Frankies Spuntino, on Clinton Street in the Lower East Side. I fully blame the boys in The Animators for bringing me this teensy Italian place, which now triggers a fire in my wallet whenever I walk by.

huh! I used to walk by that place all the time when visiting a friend in Brooklyn, but never stopped in. it looks good though!

so if someone were to, say, knit you some socks (and you can feel free to lose them, lord knows I put a hole in a pair or sacrifice one to the laundry gods at least once a week ), what color and size would best suit you?

[Kay]

Oh Vienna, I was at the mercy of a term paper during your last two VA concerts and have missed watching you play so much. Thanks for doing this. Next time you play here I can't promise socks or an pie (or a pie filled with socks, even), but probably some so-bad-they're-awesome jokes will be on the table.

You mentioned songwriter friends in your first post, which got me thinking about Glen Phillips and his work in Mutual Admiration Society. Is there anyone you can see yourself recording a whole album with as a side project, maybe covering other themes that don't get explored in your own music? This doesn't have to be in the works or anything. I mean, maybe you really wanted to collaborate with Bach. Or Björk. Or Chris Thile. Not that I have devoted way too much of my thought process to this or anything.

If you had to choose: 80's music or 90's boybands? Death is not an option.

I'm also going to second Seaspray's question about In Rainbows, because damn. Any thoughts on the album, and what do you think of their method of digital distribution? And to bring this back to a familiar topic: does listening to music ever make you crave a certain food?

I hope New York is treating you well!

[Ang Mo]

(Mind you, I'm just throwing out ideas Ang Mo-style here...I have no idea how feasible any of this is!)

Like a mouse scurrying across the floor at hyper speed with a piece of cheese with diet cola on it, Ang Mo scores a comment, and runs back to his hole happy in spite of the fact his questions were unanswered.

Being borderline insane I can throw those ideas out pretty quickly. I still like my video idea pretty well with the Bike Car merger. The young filmmaker does want to do a sequel. I sense a unique documentary that would be worthy of the Sundance Film Festival. Yes, I like tossing those ideas out there. Kind of like horse shoes it is kind of hit and miss.

[rahau]

Easy there, Mr. Chairman. Breathe in, breathe out, exhale, inhale ...

Vienna, one question: A few years ago, I watched an interview with filmmaker Alice Wu on the show "Pacific Fusion," and was struck by the similarities between her life and yours. Namely, the Northern California native/Stanford grad/software engineer/quit her job to pursue the dream of becoming a creative artist/now lives in Brooklyn thing.

Have you ever met Alice Wu? It sure would be cool if you could score one of her films.

[ben]

@arcsol, sadly, ATC is way out of my way. And from Makati to Trinoma and in between, I just didn't have any luck. But thanks for the tip.

[rtu]

vienna,
1. any chance you'll be playing somewhere on the east coast between dec 25 and jan3?

2. the forum has discussed great places we think you should perform, but is there a particular place you've always wanted to perform?

3. what living person would you most want to meet and why?

4. are you still attending the improv classes?

[arcsol]

@arcsol, sadly, ATC is way out of my way. And from Makati to Trinoma and in between, I just didn't have any luck. But thanks for the tip.

if the Music One in Glorietta is still open (i.e. not caught up with the accident there a month back), you can try there. if not, the Music One in Megamall. and it it's still not there, you can ask the people in the branch near you to call the different branches and deliver the stock to the branch where you are. i did that before. *hehehe*

some more q's for vienna:

- red pill or blue pill?
- i can only write some lyrics or the melody itself, but never both i.e. i can't make a melody to fit the lyrics nor the lyrics to fit the melody. i've been stuck for years. i use a guitar - any tips on how to proceed from there?

thanks a lot vienna!

[taft]

Vienna:

Do you like squirrels?

[ShaynePepper]

I don't really have a question, but I just wanted to wish you happy holidays! I started a Ph.D. program in North Carolina, so hopefully I'll get to see you play out here soon. If I keep moving from state to state, I'll get to see you in a nice variety of venues without ever travelling!

Stay warm with all of your socks!

[cmooreNC]

Okay, I think I have one for this go 'round....

Somewhat on the topic of a few previous posts where people have been wondering what might be done to "expose your music to the masses" a bit more....

Have you ever been offered or considered an "opening act" slot on someone else's tour? (one that might at least be playing 2,000+ seat venues, if not arenas)

[Ang Mo]

Vienna,

Where do you think you gave your best performance in Europe. Which venue really sticks out in your mind where you really hit on all cylinders and it felt like the audience was in tune with the whole thing?