Q&A with Vienna, December 2006

[maisie]

Wow, a lot of different topics discussed here! Thanks Vienna for taking the time to satiate your fans' curiosity.

Interesting mention about Korean food. I had a really really excellent Korean tofu house experience in New York several years back. Light, clean food but really tasty...unfortunately I can't remember the name. We stumbled upon the place by accident. Tried a few Korean tofu places in the South Bay when I was living in Santa Clara, but none of them could match up. Also tried a place in Seoul that served "Royal Court Cuisine." Perhaps no one really eats that stuff these days but it was interesting, and at least quite different from the usual bbq and bi bim bap that I'm used to seeing in restaurants. One of the dishes was something like abalone and tiger prawn in seafood broth with ginko nuts. If you're ever in Korea, and ready to splurge a bit, it might be worth a try, if only for curiosity sake.

Okay, those aren't really answers to your question. But you may very well have tried anything I might recommend, since I'm local.... Here's two places.

If you eat Ethiopian food, and haven't tried it yet, there's Zeni restaurant in San Jose. I'd tried a couple other places and thought the food tasted much better here. But who am I to judge Ethiopian food? However, the Erytrian security guard in my building later recommended it to me as "the best restaurant in the Bay Area...people go from San Francisco to eat there." www.zenirestaurant.com

Here's another, a French bistro type place in SF. The Butler and the Chef Bistro. Good food, cute little place in a cute location (South Park!), and you can't beat the name of their website.
www.thebutlerandthechefbistro.com
AKA
www.oralpleasureinc.com/cafe/

Merry Christmas!

[darthscsi]

Vienna,

If you didn't have to worry about the economics of being a musician, what would your day/week/month look like? That is, what are parts of what you do you would do more if you could and what would you be happy to never have to deal with again?

What is the most interesting place you've been (or thing you've done) while touring? Not like a city, but a mueseum or park or bridge or concert or whatever.

As for what to eat if you ever are in Urbana again (and please do be, we would love to have you), well a number of us are good cooks and can make quite a spread. I guess there are more comercial options too...

[Vienna]

So how often these days do you run into people who recognize you at random places (typical example is a restaurant), who come up to you and ask for an autograph or picture? What is your take on this? Would you rather be left alone so that you can just have a quiet lunch or is it something you would particularly enjoy? I'm asking this in the unlikely event that I ever do run into you while wandering about the city, so I'll know what I should do.

Well for now, it happens maybe twice a year, if you don't count times when people come say hi before a show or something. So I'm really not in a position to mind at the moment. If it started to be a daily occurrence, or more than daily, I can see how it can drive some people batty. At the point where it starts interfering with my ability to lead a tolerable life, I'd have to start hiding behind dark sunglasses and a hat, I guess...

I do wonder how bona fide famous people handle it. Not one of the benefits of success, for sure.

[sod2002]

Hi Vienna,

Congratulations on the mention in The Wall St. Journal today in "Crossing the Borders of Rock and Pop" and their best of 2006 year end wrap!!! Pretty cool stuff and well deserved inclusion in the best of the year music...Awesome! Thanks to Michele for the heads up in "forum land"...

Maybe sun glasses and hat may be in order after all and some nice conversation to be had with your audiences this weekend. Have great shows tonight and tomorrow,

and Merry Christmas!!!

Steve O

[Ant - NY]

Hi Vienna. Thanks a lot for doing this. Here are my questions:

1) Which 3 presents would you want from Santa this year?

2) Will we see more VIP - packages in the future? Or is this a one-off thing related to the DVD taping event? Seems like a win-win. More $$ for the artist, and more happiness for the fans.

3) I see you would like to learn Italian. If you move to NY, can I volunteer to become your Italian teacher? I am mother tongue. Lot of experience. And after you learn Italian, it would be much easier to learn Spanish!! And, I would accept also concert tickets for payment. This is an extra plus.
..........Did I convince you?




Thank you! And MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone.

Ant.

[tanthalas]

Okay, I know I've asked two questions already (and one of them is still in the queue), but I guess in light of recent events I had to ask the third and fourth one:

3. What's the oddest or most memorable thing you've had to sign so far?
(I'm asking this only because I'm wondering if my iPod or my friend's t-shirt are anywhere in the ballpark of winning in that department. )

And in light of the food discussions...
4. What are your favorite places to eat in and around the city?

Thanks so much again for the wonderful concerts this weekend! See you in April...

[Ken]

Hopefully a certain someone gave you an audience recording I did of Elbow (UK band) instore acoustic at Virgin Megastore (February 2002).
Morose melodic stuff in short. You can find it hopefully still available on dimeadozen.org for downloading if anyone else is interested.

1) Did you get it?
2) If so did you enjoy it? What do you think of this band?
3) Any favorite songs?

Here was that instore promo setlist:

Intro
About Time
Asleep In the Back
Powder Blue
Don't Mix Your Drinks
Newborn
Scattered Black and Whites

Thanks for your feedback!

[Dreaming Pepper]

A new question. But I guess it is a question not just for Vienna. Have either of you heard anyone, belt out loud any of her songs? Not in a mean or bad way, just singing them loud and unaware of people around them. In the bathroom, classroom, hallways, streets, etc.

And I wonder what Vienna would say if she was just eating at a diner/restaurant and someone just happens to sing her songs... (of whom does not know what Vienna looks like nor even aware that she is right there...)

[Luminosity]

I sing them all the time. And I play them, too, whenever I have access to the lovely Estonia grand at church. For the record, no one's called me on it yet.

[am.rock]

A new question. But I guess it is a question not just for Vienna. Have either of you heard anyone, belt out loud any of her songs? Not in a mean or bad way, just singing them loud and unaware of people around them. In the bathroom, classroom, hallways, streets, etc.

And I wonder what Vienna would say if she was just eating at a diner/restaurant and someone just happens to sing her songs... (of whom does not know what Vienna looks like nor even aware that she is right there...)

Yo, I sing and play them, sometimes on piano, sometimes on guitar. I once played Lullaby for a stormy night ...and get this... some CS grad student (I was playing outside the CS building) stopped and said "Is that vienna teng?"

Further, turns out he knew her IRL - not well, but just somewhat - as he was an undergrad at stanford...

[Reileen]

A new question. But I guess it is a question not just for Vienna. Have either of you heard anyone, belt out loud any of her songs? Not in a mean or bad way, just singing them loud and unaware of people around them. In the bathroom, classroom, hallways, streets, etc.

And I wonder what Vienna would say if she was just eating at a diner/restaurant and someone just happens to sing her songs... (of whom does not know what Vienna looks like nor even aware that she is right there...)

I haven't, but my family has considering that I regularly sing her songs at home. And anyone who runs across me plunking around in my dorm's practice rooms would most likely hear me playing/singing Vienna's stuff as well. But I have yet to hear a random person I run across in real life singing/playing her songs.

[Dreaming Pepper]

To answer my own question, which i should have added. I sing them all the time. So it seems I am not alone. I just dont sing them when I am in the bathroom.

[sod2002]

OK ...I must be honest here...when I first saw the comments / questions about belting Vienna songs out loud...well I thought some of the group had finally gone "over the deep end "or "lost it" . I said to myself... you guys must be kidding!!!

Well sure enough...and I am not kidding here! I had my first (actually 2 of them) Vienna Blurt Out Attacks today!!!!!!!!!!!

1. On Madison Ave - NYC - on way to work this AM (another pedestrian jumped up a bit in surprise ahead of me)

2. In the gymn (shower) and I AM SURE IT WAS HEARD!

Well either I've gone crackers too...or I have just finally joined some other great company here in the forum. Please advise......


By the way...in both cases the "Vienna Blurt Attack" involved ..." I don't feel so well" ...a song that wasn't even near the top of my list of favorites, but has somehow invaded my subconscious quite nicely and has grown on me.

Steve O

[parari]

Taiwanese

If you'd like to learn Taiwanese, be prepared to have your mind filled with nasty images. Taiwanese can be quite deep, but also very, very crude. There's a reason why Taiwanese gangsters speak, well, Taiwanese. Some goes for old grandmothers (like mine). But it's always fun to be around older people who think you don't know Taiwanese and actually understand.
Example: my cousins use me as a spy during family reunions to find out what the grown-ups have in plan for us
Beware of becoming dangerously emo and depressed if you learn Taiwanese (i.e. the Taiwanese ballads and dramas).

[Eric]

Powder Blue

Mmm, Elbow. Vienna got me started on Elbow in 2001 and Powder Blue is one of the more gorgeous things ever made in the "morose and melodic" genre. =)