Q&A with Vienna, December 2007

[Vienna]

Sorry, have to swing for the softballs first...

what kind of pie do you like?

What kind of pie DON'T I like? Actually, I know the answer to that: steak & kidney. Had that in a British pub after my first gig in London, and I think the aftertaste is still with me.

But I'm always up for a slice of pretty much any fruit pie, including pumpkin. Chicken pot pie, shepherd's pie, etc are all surefire methods of making me happy in short order. Not that I'm dropping hints for post-show gifts or anything.

[CandaceC]

Not that I'm dropping hints for post-show gifts or anything.

Not that I was plotting anything....>.>

Socks ---> pie!

[Seaspray]

Hi Vienna! I recently witnessed your performance of Glen Phillip's "Maya" via Youtube and it was... well, amazing, really. If you do ever release a Covers CD, please, please let that song be on it.

Um, I've also heard your version of Tori Amos' "1000 Oceans", so I assume you're somewhat familiar with her work? I was wondering... what's your favourite song/album of hers, and why? And will you be covering any of her works in the future?

Also, have you had the chance to listen to the new Radiohead? It's pretty mindblowing. ^_^

[Walking Stranger]

Waouh!
Thanks Vienna for your first answer of the day !
Around Paris, it's 11:49 am - dimanche 2 décembre 2007.

OK, I will upddate my VT Q&A collection in my Vienna Teng Fan Page with :
- your total replies to the Q&A December 2007
- a translation of my VT Day text in French so as to widespread my appreciation of your music style and also my respect to you as another visionary artist in this world.

BTW, so now, if I interpret my little dream with the window a few days ago, it is the way I could see you chatting friendly with people, the window being the internet representation...just an interpretation...

HAPPY to hear from you today and that you will make a HAPPY VT DAY with this tradition of Q&A each year for us, the Vienna Teng Forumites !

Bonne journée !

[Walking Stranger]

Hi again,
Just relaying Dexter's question about your profile (which I think seems to be you the author) :

http://viennateng.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2529

- Please, could you confirm us it is truely yours ?
(if yes, I will add it to my VT fan page )

[Rotkehlchen]

what kind of pie do you like?

What kind of pie DON'T I like? [..] steak & kidney.
Had that in a British pub after my first gig in London, and I think the aftertaste is still with me.

Sorry you don't like steak & kidney pie: it was one of my favourites until I became (almost) vegetarian.
Perhaps you were served a poor sample - (British) pub food is variable in quality...
If you ever risk a second try: I especially liked the Fray Bentos steak & kidney pies, which came in a round, flat tin.


Please feel free not to answer the following, but...

In interviews you occasionally mention that, as a child, you selected names for various artistic fields in which you might one day be successful - including "Vienna" for music.
If you had instead become a novelist, say, or a painter, to whom would we now be writing? To "Montmartre"? - or to "Paris", perhaps?

[asteroid]

In interviews you occasionally mention that, as a child, you selected names for various artistic fields in which you might one day be successful - including "Vienna" for music.

Oh, I didn't know that before ---- really a nice legend of a legendary person!

[asteroid]

Another pious question to my goddess of music ----

Why don't you make music videos?

[CandaceC]

So reading through old Q&A's, I see a lot of questions about reading music, playing piano and the such.

My question is what you would suggest or a how to break out of the typical classical pianist mode and role or even your own personal story regarding that.

Consequently, do you find differences in your playing while working on classical vs. your general mode of performance? (I have no idea if that makes sense or not but I tried.)

[wolding]

Hi Vienna - Thanks for doing this Q&A again.

What mood do you have to be in to enjoy Radio Head? I bought some today because you, and other artists I like, mention them. But I just can't relate..... Maybe I'm too happy right now?

Thanks again,
Bill

[CandaceC]

Doot doot, I'm still lurking.

Where are some places you like to go clothes shopping? :D

[Vienna]

Hi Scot! Man, has it really been three years since Cloud Country Party Barn?

1) Do you have enough socks yet?

I have enough socks to last me years, thanks! Some pretty hilarious ones too. It almost seems a shame to lose them all to the sock-orphaning laundromat here—maybe I could use some of them for an online auction for Second Harvest, or something? If I wrote a song about each pair?

2) This has been another big year for you - tours, DVDs, lost notebooks,
the big move, .... How's it all look to you in retrospect? You're roughly
half-way through along your previous 11-year plan - how do you see it
proceeding at this point? Where do you want to be, professionally (and not
geographically) in say another 5 years?

The move to New York and related upheaval—all of it rather sudden—made me realize that I only make plans so that I have something to derail. And that I'm not always as good at keeping promises as I should be, to myself or others...

At this point I'd just like to write another worthwhile batch of songs, record them the way they should sound, and continue playing for people who want to hear this kind of music. It already makes me a decent living, which is incredible given that I've only been doing this for 4-5 years, so I'm not too worried on that front. This year has startled me in how many loyal listeners I have out there; we played most of the shows to full houses, with little publicity, and the recurring theme was "My friend brought us, we'd never heard of you before, but s/he said we had to come." I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. I just want to live up to my part of the bargain.

Planning for the Green Caravan tour also awakened in me a sense of responsibility, to educate myself more about the role an individual can play in social and environmental issues...I'm not sure how or whether a music career meshes with that, but I know I'm far from where I should be. For now I'm studying a bit of macroeconomics (somehow I missed that in four years of college!), reading books like The Omnivore's Dilemma, and listening to podcasts from the Center for Social Innovation.

3) And the one everyone's wanting to know - when are you coming to Hawaii? :>

I'm trying! Maybe we can have the next forum get-together there? An eco-tourism trip and a tour of Scot's observatory, combined with a few house concerts or similarly informal shows? And lots of sushi?

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

[Vienna]

Haha, more sock & food questions! I can answer those!

Hi Jessamyn

okay, so I know you're probably overrun with all sorts of awesome socks by now, but how would you feel about some handknit ones? I have hordes of sock yarn and could always use someone new to foist them on--I mean, gift them to.

Ooh, fun. The only problem is, I'm notorious for losing important things on tour (my favorite sweater...my cell phone...the key to the City of Pensacola, presented with much ceremony only hours before...) so I'd hate for a handknit pair of socks to meet the same fate!

and on a completely different note, what's your current favorite place to eat at in NY at the moment?

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. Also, Red Bamboo (a great recommendation from Jenny Owen Youngs) and the sprawling Whole Foods locations are great when I'm playing vegetarian.

[ben]

When will DTTN reach the Philippines shore?

[Vienna]

Hallo Dexter!

I'd like to know what the concrete plans for, let's say: the next year are. Will you constantly tour the states or even overseas; doing a gig just every once in a while or take some time off of touring, concentrating on development of new material? Do you plan ahead at all?

Is a new album even in the planning stage as of now?
Are you approaching a (possible) new record totally from scratch or is there some unuses/unfinished material in your backpack that you might take on again?

Timeline-wise, I'm at the mercy of songwriting inspiration. If I write 10-12 good songs in the next few months, I can record them in the spring and release them as soon as late summer/early fall. But it may take longer than that. I have a few sketches that date back to 2005 that I'm working on now; other stuff is entirely new.

Generally when I'm in this mode, I perform sporadically, maybe one- or two-week jaunts and frequent, smaller shows close to home. Full-on touring isn't compatible with writing, unfortunately.

Could you imagine to shoot videos for single songs off of a record if you'd have the chance, or is that kind of "promotion" not your thing at all?

It'd be great fun to do a video for a song—especially now that, like audio recording, the technology and distribution channels are much indie-budget-friendly than they were even a few years ago. Haven't found the right collaborator quite yet, but I have a feeling that may change now that I'm in New York...

Would you consider the European concerts a success?
Planning to come back?

Are you kidding? I'd play for months in Europe if I could.

btw: I just recently stumbled upon your studivz profile, and was wondering if it was really yours and not a fake

I did post that, believe it or not. I'm all for online communities; I'm just personally terrible at keeping up any kind of correspondence, whether it's in person with friends or online with strangers. But the StudiVZ profile is "authentic," for what it's worth. I am involved with my MySpace profile too, and hopefully soon with Facebook—though Michele, to whom I'm indebted in many many ways, is the one who actually maintains them.