Hi and welcome back to this side of the pond, how is the European tour going so far, good fun?
The tour is great so far :) some surprisingly good turnouts considering that I have only been over sporadically.
When did you decided to undertake a solo career and with what ambitions?
After spending a decade of living and struggling in the
How do you approach your shows solo and with band, are preparations different and do you prefer one over the other?
I'm very aware that my solo shows are very compelling and lot of people enjoy seeing me just by myself. I use the band to augment my vocals and also to get more energy during the rowdiest songs. I love playing with my band, as well as performing solo.
Tell us about the label Joyful Noise, who released your solo LP, how did you get together?
Just as I had almost competed my successful kickstarter campaign to raise funds to self-release, Karl was the only one to contact me and offer me a record deal. He was very intelligent and seemed very nice, so we negotiated a very fair deal..
What is the meaning behind your album title 151a
151a could also be read in Japanese as "ichi-go-ichi-e" It means "one moment one meeting" and it is an approach to performance and composition that allows me to enjoy t he spirit of the moment and take more risks.
Your song' Bright Lights' was used in a commercial by Microsoft. Did you have any artistic concerns about your music being used in an advertisement?
Times have changed since bands were ostracized for "selling out". I have a family, so I'm not embarrassed about making a living as a creative artist.
NPR's All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen listed you as his favourite new artist of 2012 that must have been nice did you notice anything change after that recognition?
NPR has helped me tremendously in reaching out to a very sophisticated audience. I've noticed a change in myself as I try to function more as an artist rather than the goofball that I usually am in real life.
Is it surprising to you how Rock 'n' Roll the violin seems to be at
present, in bands?
I don't know if violins will ever be rock N roll, but I'm glad to know that it's not as embarrassing as I used to think it was. I am completely happy playing beautiful music, which is easy to do on the violin.
What was the experience like in the studio recording your solo album, against recording as part of Jupiter one or with other artists?
I used to record violin as a "job" for other artists, but it wasn't until my solo album that I "hired myself" to play on my own album. I think it really helped to make my album stand out.
With all the artists that you have either toured or recorded with, is there anything that you particularly learned that has helped you in you solo career so far?
I've been fortunate to tour with some extremely fierce and visionary solo artists (
