Friday
Oct 28, 2005
SGN.org
Volume 33
Issue 43
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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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the Music Lounge by Albert Rodriguez - SGN A & E Writer |
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| Singer-songwriter Vienna Teng talks about plans for a new album, | |
| her upcoming Seattle performance and writing about Gay marriages You might not be familiar with Vienna Teng. Though, she's an artist that definitely deserves your attention. Often compared to Sarah McLachlan, the twentysomething singer-songwriter-pianist traded in a corporate software engineering job for a shot at a music career. Considering she has released two critically acclaimed albums, Waking Hour and Warm Strangers (SGN's Top 25 Albums/CDs, 2004), and has opened concerts for Shawn Colvin, Joan Osborne, Joan Baez and Marc Cohn, I'd say she made a smart move. Teng, a Bay Area native, recently called into the Seattle Gay News to talk about her soon to be recorded CD, her upcoming performance in Seattle, touring throughout the US and Europe, and a song she's just written about Gay marriages. Teng matches her beautiful appearance with a personality that is beyond polite. A Stanford alumni and former coffee circuit player, Teng is the kind of person you could sit and talk with for hours. She performs Wednesday, November 9 at The Triple Door. Reservations can be made by calling (206) 838-4333. Here's what Vienna Teng had to say when she stepped into "The Music Lounge:" Albert Rodriguez: How long is this tour you're about to start? Vienna Teng: The tour is only about a month, but it's in the wintertime and we're going through Minneapolis and Toronto, so we gotta pack some warm clothes. Rodriguez: What's happening with your new album? Teng: I took most of this year off from touring to write for the new record. It's really coming along nicely. We'll probably be playing a lot of the new songs on this tour. We're recording the new album in December and January, and it will probably be out later in the year in 2006. Rodriguez: How many songs are you confident with right now to go into the studio and record for the new album? Teng: I think there are about 11 of them at this point. I'm still writing them. There's a song that I just finished about the Gay marriages that happened in San Francisco's City Hall in February of last year. I'd been wanting to write about it for the longest time and couldn't figure out a good way to do it. And then finally I thought, "Maybe I should make a country song out of this". It's such a happy song, a celebratory and joyous song that doesn't fit with the other brooding, melancholy tunes that I do. Rodriguez: Maybe you could do a duet with a country hottie, and in the music video he could ditch you for another guy. Teng: (laughing) Wouldn't that be something. Rodriguez: You're coming back to Seattle and playing again at The Triple Door. Teng: Yes. It's very exciting! Rodriguez: When you look at your tour itinerary, what goes through your mind when you see Seattle on it? Teng: Seattle is one of the best cities for us to play. We're always excited to see it on the tour schedule. For one, the audiences are amazing in Seattle. People really come out for good music and support up and coming artists. And, of course, The Triple Door is just heaven for traveling musicians. It's so swanky. We actually get to stay in this little hotel suite that they built for touring musicians. You take the elevator passed the restaurant to one of the top floors and you get a little hotel room in the middle of the building. Rodriguez: I'll try to sneak up there the next time I'm at The Triple Door to take a shower. (Teng laughs) Teng: And Seattle is such a beautiful town to come through and glimpse at, if only for a day. Rodriguez: Are you performing solo at The Triple Door? Teng: No, I'm gonna have a few musicians with me again. The last time I came I had a violinist and a cellist. This time, the cellist will be back and we're adding a drummer who also plays guitar. Rodriguez: How long of a break did you have between the last tour and this one? Teng: The last tour I did, in earnest, was almost exactly a year ago (which brought her to 2004's Bumbershoot Arts Festival). I've been keeping busy actually. We've been playing a couple of summer festivals here and there, and I just went to Europe. I just got back from London and Amsterdam because Warm Strangers just got released there. So that's pretty exciting. You can never argue with an all-expenses paid trip to London. Rodriguez: You've opened shows for Shawn Colvin, Joan Osborne and Joan Baez. Who else have you opened for recently? Teng: Most recently I opened for Marc Cohn for a couple of weeks, which was really nice. Not least because he's a piano player, so they had a baby grand piano waiting for him at every venue, which he generously let me play. Rodriguez: Have you spoken with Marc since his accident? (Marc Cohn was shot after his concert this summer in Denver) Teng: The crazy thing is I opened for him the day before that happened. I left the tour that day and heard about it later. I haven't been able to talk to him since then, but we sent warm wishes as soon as we heard about it. Rodriguez: What are you currently listening to on your iPOD or personal CD player? Teng: I downloaded this album of an authentic New Orleans jazz funeral, which is the most amazing music. You have a brass band playing the processional of the funeral and all the upbeat tunes on the way back. Rodriguez: Are you having the time of your life right now? Teng: I am. I've been thinking about that for the whole last couple of years, that I just have the best life in the world. How cool is it that I get to call this my job?! Rodriguez: Yeah, to get paid for something you really want to do. I traded in a corporate job to do something I really wanted to do, and I don't make as much money as I did before, but I'm sure loving life more than I used to. Teng: True. I mean, what can money buy me? Well, it can buy me a certain standard of living. But more important than that is the way that I spend my time. Rodriguez: What do you recommend for artists just starting out? Those folks who are playing guitar in their rooms, writing songs and wondering if they'll ever have a chance to go into a recording studio or get paid for a live performance? Teng: I think the hardest thing for me was having to start somewhere. You just have to take baby steps. I remember sitting at home with these songs and wondering, "What am I going to do with them? How am I going to get started?" And it just came down to playing them for one person and seeing what their reaction was. Or, having the nerve to record a demo and burn it onto a CD and take it to some little coffee shop and say to them, "Hey, would you let me play on Friday night in the corner?" Rodriguez: What artist(s) would it be a dream come true to get a phone call from asking you to go on tour with them? Teng: There are lots of artists that I love, but I don't know if it would be appropriate to open for them. I've always liked Damien Rice's music. I'd be thrilled if we could go on tour together. There's Fiona Apple. She's another piano playing artist, so I don't know if she'd want me opening for her. I think she's a genius, an amazing, amazing artist. Radiohead. I don't know if Radiohead's audience would go for me, but I love their albums and can't get enough of them. Rodriguez: Did you grab Fiona's new CD? Teng: I was thinking that as soon as I finish this conversation with you that I'm going to go buy it at the record store. Rodriguez: She's touring this fall in select cities. Teng: I know, she's coming to The Warfield right after I finish this tour. So I'm thrilled! Rodriguez: You gonna go see her? Teng: Oh yeah! Rodriguez: Well, on that note, we'll let you go so you can buy Fiona's CD and enjoy the rest of your day. We're looking forward to welcoming you back to The Triple Door and hearing new music. Teng: Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you there. Rodriguez: You're playing on the same night as Rob Thomas, but I'll have my sneakers on to make the ten-block jog. Teng: I appreciate that! |
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