Speaker 1: Wh in this Minnie Cooper singing to myself, going through
drive through after drive through, looking for some help.
Speaker 2: I'll miss my family and my girl.
Speaker 3: My friends are by my side. If you feel the
beat and you're feeling men.
Speaker 2: Come on, let's ride.
Speaker 4: We need a bigger bus to get our friends on.
More windows and more highs.
Speaker 5: Party in the d party in the back.
Speaker 4: We'll go sway inside to side down the highway, surrender,
all wheels, go.
Speaker 5: Around and ridd I get all.
Speaker 4: The bumper stickers from all the places that we found.
Speaker 5: Need a bigger bus. We need a bigger bus.
Speaker 2: You can bring your friends. They can sing too. You
can even bring your mama as long as she can
hold the too. You can bring a dog and that
does ease by out no wind, they will pick up
theld ain't down and singing a game.
Speaker 5: We need a bigger bus to get our friends on
my wind.
Speaker 4: Josh, party in the front, party in the back. We'll
go sway inside to side, side down my way to
the surrender. All we us go around and un mumble,
get all the bumper stickers from all places that we found.
Speaker 5: Need a bigger bus. We need a big up bus,
and I don't wanna fid or take the train, and
she has a road call in my neck.
Speaker 2: Winter feels this good.
Speaker 6: Mona shed love, get the ball want singing a little.
Speaker 4: We need a big up bus. Do get our friends
a windows in.
Speaker 7: The front, in the back.
Speaker 4: We'll go sway side to side, down where surrender all.
Speaker 5: Wheels, go out there and back home.
Speaker 4: We're just fund big out of the family.
Speaker 5: From all the big cities, all the little time. We
need a big up bus.
Speaker 4: Do get our friends on them, all windows and one
body in the front, body in the back.
Speaker 2: We're gonna sway inside to.
Speaker 4: Side, ride down wheels, surrenders, all wheels, go around and
bid mumbo.
Speaker 5: Get all the buncle.
Speaker 8: Stickers from all places that we found.
Speaker 4: Need a big up bus. We need a big up buzz.
Speaker 5: We're gonna need a big up bus.
Speaker 9: We need a bus that is catchy as hell. That
is bigger bus. We need a bigger bus. Eli lev
who are going to be speaking with me in just
a moment.
Speaker 7: What's up?
Speaker 9: I need a giant canvas.
Speaker 7: That's a well. Seriously, I want to go paint to that.
That's so much fun. I love that great great song.
Speaker 9: This is Matt Connorton Unleashed and we are live from
the studios of w m n H ninety five point
three FM and Glorious Manchester, New Hampshire. Of course, you
can stream the show at Matt connorton dot com.
Speaker 7: Slash Live.
Speaker 9: Today is Saturday, September fourteen, twenty twenty four.
Speaker 7: And let me get that mic up there.
Speaker 9: We have Eli lev with us live in studio.
Speaker 7: Hello, he yo yo yo.
Speaker 9: Sounds good, sounds good. Yeah, I love that song. This
just came out relatively recently, right, President Journey the EP.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just a couple months ago. We are on the
present journey right now it's happening.
Speaker 7: Yeah. You're on a big tour, right yep? How many dates?
Speaker 2: Well, really, this whole year has been a big, long tour,
but this, this particular one is a fall tour, going
up to Canada and back. It's about us six weeks.
Speaker 9: Okay, excellent, excellent. Now where do you Where do you
go from here?
Speaker 7: Yeah?
Speaker 2: From here, I'm going to Lawrence, Massachusetts, then up to
Maine and then up to Quebec, then back down be
in New Hampshire again, coming back down Vermont, and I
got to play in Rhode Island. I've never been I
never been to Rode Island. That was last state that
I had never played in. So that was pretty cool.
Speaker 7: Well it's so tiny, it's easy to miss.
Speaker 2: It's so tiny.
Speaker 9: Yeah, the last state you hadn't played in.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've played in all US states except Rhode Island.
Speaker 7: Stop it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was the That was the last one.
Speaker 9: Usually you think the last one is gonna be like
Hawaii or like Alaska.
Speaker 7: Yeah, no, really, Rhode Island.
Speaker 2: Crazy good on you to be able to do that. Yeah,
we live in a beautiful country. It's absolutely incredible. Being
able to really get the sense of like the consciousness
of folks, you know, north south east West, and been
able to play tunes and and share and share moments
with them. It's been cool.
Speaker 9: Yeah, that's awesome. You've been at this a while, I assume, right.
Speaker 2: No, actually, I'm a former middle school teacher.
Speaker 7: No kidding.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I just I started picking up the guitar
and doing this full time about six years ago.
Speaker 9: Okay, okay, yeah, I was watching I was watching another
interview that you had been on a podcast. You had
been on an My impression is that you're really a
business minded guy and that it's important to you and
I bring this up because it's a subject that we
talk about a lot on the show. You know, we
interview obviously a lot of musicians and other people in
the industry, and something that we talk about a lot
is the importance of really being kind of business minded
about your career.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 7: You know, obviously the creative.
Speaker 9: Part of it is the most important thing, and without
that there is nothing else to do really with it.
But but if you're not business minded about it, you're
gonna have a short career or you know, you could
play music all your life. But yeah, you know, if
your goal is to get out on tour like you're doing, yeah,
you've got to really kind of pay attention to the
business side of it. And it seems like you've really
got to handle on that.
Speaker 2: You brought up spreadsheets when I came in. You're like, bro,
I love your attention to spreadsheets. I'm like, yes, we're
going to get along just fine. Yeah. So, yeah, my
spreadsheet database is insane. Like if you looked in there
on my Google Drive, you'd be like, what is this
guy like an astronomer? Is it taking all this information from?
But yeah, I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 9: I enjoy that part was that your approach right from
the beginning, when you decided to take the plunge and
do this and leave being a middle school teacher behind
and everything.
Speaker 2: No, but I realized very quickly that I needed it. Yeah,
you know, I would even argue that in today's musical landscape,
probably that side of it is more important than the
creativity aspect of it. Strangely enough, interesting because there are
so many talented folks out there, But how many of
those talented folks are really going to like put in
the time to like make a business out of it,
make it organized, you know, follow up, be professional with folks?
Not very many. So if if any creative can do that,
you've already got this gigantic leg up, you know what
I mean. And that really helped kind of like jump start, yeah,
jump start my career in the Maryland area.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Yeah, Because if you don't approach it that way, it's like,
you know, if the tree falls in the forest, you know,
if you don't, if you don't do that part of it,
then if nobody hears your music.
Speaker 2: Nobody hears it. Yeah, it's exactly it.
Speaker 9: It's funny too, because there's always people who will tell
you well, I don't really care that much. I'm doing
this for me. I'm not doing cool for other people.
That's great, but I'm all it is.
Speaker 7: But I'm also.
Speaker 9: Always a little skeptical when I hear someone say that.
It's like, really, you kind of do want people to
hear what you're doing, don't you.
Speaker 10: Yeah?
Speaker 7: No, absolutely.
Speaker 2: I think music can be you know, a variety of things.
Like for some folks they just like writing songs, you
know what I mean. It's like a form of therapy.
Speaker 11: You know.
Speaker 2: Some folks just want to share shilly songs with friends
and family. That's great. Yeah, And some folks like want
to do the thing, you know what I mean. And
if you want to do the thing, then it's just
it's all in. Yeah, I mean, go for it.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 9: What what was the Was there a particular moment where
you made that decision to do this full time instead
of continuing with your career as an educator, or was
it something that you were thinking about over time, or
was there was there something that kind of pushed you
to say, no, I'm going to do this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're gonna get a little spiritual.
Speaker 7: Okay, cool, that's fine.
Speaker 2: We're getting there. We're good with everything on there, all right,
So come with me, Matt a beach on the west
coast of Mexico, north of a town called Salulita, Okay.
And it was my last semester of grad school from
Masters in English, and I had a two week winter
vacation and I went on Google Maps and I picked
a beach in Mexican, like, I'm gonna go there for
two weeks and just camp out, bring my guitar. So
that's what I did. And I started playing songs, and
you know, the waves started listening. You know, the trees
were kind of like vibing with me. The sand was
like kind of happy, and I kind of like just
took a moment and I was like, hey, thanks for
a great life. This has been amazing, you know, creator
or whatever you want to call it. Uh, the rest
is in your hands. I'm good. So you let me
know what's next and I will let go and go
all in on whenever that is. And you know, as
things were kind of listening and getting viby, they were like,
you should try this music thing, you know, try to
try to sing some songs, record them and see what
people think. And I recorded my first demo in Indiana
six months after that, and I've been following the breadcrumbs
ever since.
Speaker 7: No kidding, no kidding, that's awesome. Yeah, good for you. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So it was like a moment, you know what I mean,
I was like, okay, like is this gonna happen? Yeah,
let's let's be up for it. And then you know,
music kind of just has shown the rest of the
way excellent.
Speaker 9: You ever have any doubts along the way, like when
when you when you kind of took the plunge, did
you ever have moments.
Speaker 2: Where you really like, you know, when you get into it,
it's like you gotta be ready to play shows to nobody.
You gotta be ready to think your hit song is
going to be a hit but nobody likes it. But
the song that you didn't think that no one would
like would be your hit song. You gotta be ready
to you know, just you know, bust, bust your bottom
and getting tickets sold to a show, and you know,
maybe the band that you wanted didn't come or like,
you know, maybe maybe like it just didn't you know,
every song didn't work out exactly as you want. So yeah,
one hundred percent along the way, and there's imposture syndrome
as as you're entering into a new identity. But that's
that's with everything. So yeah, yeah, but the music's been
carrying me, which has been.
Speaker 9: Great, outstanding, and you've recorded quite a bit right in
that relatively.
Speaker 2: Short time, courd to almost forty songs.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's that's a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, released, that's a lot.
Speaker 9: Yeah, so excellent, and that the one that we played.
We need a bigger bust from Present Journey. That's when
did that come out?
Speaker 7: In June? That's relatively new.
Speaker 2: Right, very new? Yeah, ye yeah yeah. So my first
project was four directions based on my time as a
teacher on the Navajo Nation arizonaid yep. And then this
project is three worlds, so Present Journey will be one,
then Past Lives and then Future Myths. Oh cool, thinking
the thematic units. Yeah, a teacher of course.
Speaker 7: Oh that's cool. Yeah, that's very cool.
Speaker 9: Uh well, I'm gotting to hear you play if you
want to do it, play something for us, and uh
I'll kind of off to ride the faders a little
bit as we actually go ahead, strum a little, let's
make sure we gotta.
Speaker 7: Well, there we go, there we go.
Speaker 12: Nice.
Speaker 2: So Matt, do you remember cassette tapes vividly? Do you
remember very much?
Speaker 8: So?
Speaker 7: One, what do you how to use the pencil.
Speaker 2: And and how to rotate the Oh? Yeah, so we're
going back to the days of cassette tapes and pencil
sharpeners for this song. And do you remember like the
first like mixtapes where you recorded the radio and recorded
other tapes onto tape, you wrote the song names on
the back and you gave it to someone you know,
a friend, and you know your relationship would last at
least another week or two yep, at least. And you know,
I remember my first mixtapes, and I bet if you
go back, if you could find your first mixtapes and
listen to them, it would probably take you back exactly
to that emotional mindset that you were at at that age.
Speaker 7: Right.
Speaker 2: Music has that power kind.
Speaker 7: Of thing, absolutely.
Speaker 2: So I'm going to tell you my first mixtape and
just a list of some of these bands. You remember them.
So my first mixtape was it was Johnny Cash and
Fleetwood Mac, but also Bruce Springsteen YouTube and mc hammer, YEP,
New Kids on the Block, Chris Cross and Duran. Duran
was also yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was I think
flock of Seagulls there as well. So just a wild
range of songs. And I'll remember that tape forever because
I put it in my tape recorder and I just
listened to it over and over and over and over again,
listening and catching the words to all of a sudd Yeah.
So this song is called singing Along for the first Time, Okay,
and it's about that first mixtape.
Speaker 7: All right, wonderful here we go.
Speaker 2: It was the age of eight when I played in
the tape and I heard a voice going through you
was singing loud and singing strong to the words. I
barely knew. I was hanging on to the edge of
the song, waking up all my senses.
Speaker 12: Hunt time.
Speaker 2: I'm singing along for the first time.
Speaker 5: Oh.
Speaker 2: For the first time.
Speaker 5: Oh Oh, I'm singing alone for the first time.
Speaker 7: Yaya.
Speaker 2: Well, I've been hearing songs since I came along on
radio and TV, but this one song when it came off,
felt like it just for me. Now I'm singing alone.
Speaker 12: For the first time. Oh for the first time. Oh Yeah.
Speaker 8: And it was Springsteen in the Street, Cash in Summer.
Speaker 2: Heat, Willie on the Road, the Cobaine in the coal,
Stevie in my room, and in every line of that tune.
When the chorus came, it was my chance to get
up and start to dancer.
Speaker 13: Wait where.
Speaker 5: Weak here we go.
Speaker 2: I'll sing alone for the first time now.
Speaker 5: For the first time. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 10: Springsteen in the Street, Cash and summary Willie on the Road,
the Cobain in the co Steedie in my room, let
every line of that tune, and when the chorus came,
it was my chance.
Speaker 3: I'm singing alone for the first time. For the first time,
I'm singing along for.
Speaker 7: The first time. Oh fantastic, fantastic.
Speaker 5: That is uh.
Speaker 9: Eli love is here with us live in studio if
you are just joining us and playing some playing some
live tunes for us.
Speaker 7: And do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
Speaker 11: I do?
Speaker 7: How old were you?
Speaker 2: I was thirteen? Yeah, it's from middle school talent show
and it was called My White under kidd it and
I performed it in front of an entire auditorium that
had my grandparents in it. Yeah, and it mostly consisted
of me just screaming into my wad underwear over and
over again. Yeah, huge hit. Yeah, I've been trying to
get back to that moment ever since, right right, Yeah,
that's what started my career in music.
Speaker 9: Yeah, that's awesome, that's awesome. How many songs have you
written do you think? I know you said you've recorded
about forty Wow.
Speaker 2: That's interesting. Yeah, let's go back. How many songs do
you think I've written? I think probably finished songs, probably
about two hundred. Okay, I think maybe like half finished,
probably like three hundred. Yeah, and I think like ideas
probably about a thousand.
Speaker 9: No kidding, yeah, just out there. Yeah, you seem like
someone who would be pretty prolific. Yeah, were you when
you were still teaching? Were you already writing a lot?
Speaker 14: Or I was?
Speaker 2: You know, songwriting has always been like that friend, that's
just right there.
Speaker 7: You know.
Speaker 2: The guitar has just been like kind of like a
some of the a conversation with Yeah, I meantimes are great,
times not so great, and all in between. So you know,
it's just you know, I think back, it's like, yeah,
probably about like more than a thousand times. There's been
like some voice memo that I've taken of, you know,
some idea or a title or like an emotion or anything.
So quite the uh yeah, quite the body of work,
but not like you know, half finished work right right?
Speaker 9: And when and when you play is it? Is it
always just you and the guitar? Do you ever have
other musicians with you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I started, I did a full band Maryland. It
was Eli Lev and the Fortunes found the First Iteration,
and then it was the Eli Lev Collective and it
was Eli Lev Band, and then it'll be something else,
I'm sure. But I love performing with other musicians. There's
nothing like it, you know, just being on stage and
kind of like creating that musical space with folks. But
on tour, I just kind of do the solo thing
keeps a little easy.
Speaker 9: Yeah, a lot easier really, right, because you know, it
kind of opens up places you can play when you
don't have a full band. And of course, you know,
I've been in bands, and I know that the pain
of dealing with everyone's schedules and all of that.
Speaker 2: I mean, tell me if I'm wrong, But like, being
a band is like kind of being in like five relationships,
and those five relationships also being in five different relationships
at the same time. So you know, there's this wonderful
family atmosphere, but there's everything that goes along with being
in a family.
Speaker 9: You know, that's that's a great way, but that's absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2: So, yeah, I get I love it though, I love
I love performing with other musicians.
Speaker 9: The songs that that you had in these bands, I
assume those those have survived and you still play those
today or some of them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, All the songs are pretty much the
ones that I recorded. Just maybe I'll play them with
a band or solo or duo.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: What instrument did you play in the band?
Speaker 7: Bass?
Speaker 2: Bass? Okay, see, bass is the smartest instrument ever. Everybody
goes and learns guitar wants to be the lead singer.
But if you can play a bass, you'll get work
the rest of your life. Oh yeah, and you want it.
Speaker 9: Like yeah, when I was, when I was really act
to have playing I don't play currently.
Speaker 2: But okay, you know I was.
Speaker 7: I was kind of sod after in the scenes.
Speaker 9: But it wasn't because I was a great base I mean,
you know, I'm very objective about, you know, my own assessing,
my own musical ability.
Speaker 7: It was average.
Speaker 9: I was an average bass player, but I was a
bass player.
Speaker 2: That is a hot commodity, exactly exactly.
Speaker 7: I think I think.
Speaker 9: Drummers are the most in demand because you know, we
we interview a lot of bands on the show, and
the drummer is always in ten different bands because there's
no drummers.
Speaker 2: Right right right, yeah, yeah, yeah, no basic drums. Yeah,
remember that, kiddos, you want to make a career music.
Speaker 9: Do you play on on what you've recorded? Do you
play anything other than guitar? Do you stick to guitar
and have other musicians.
Speaker 2: Or I do, yeah, play guitar, I play piano. I
play a native flute from Arizona. I do harmonica, mandolin,
make percussion, noises, strange sounds of my mouth like whistling
and who knows what, but I love making sounds.
Speaker 7: O kidding? Yeah yeah do you uh so? Do you
do everything on the albums.
Speaker 2: Or I work with different producers on the albums, So
I like collaborate with folks in the studio. They'll do
some instruments, I'll do some instruments. We'll bring in some
other you know, uh kind of hired guns to rock
the rest and so it's a nice kind of a mix.
Speaker 9: Yeah yeah, but it's nice when you have the ability
to play multiple things. And I mean that gives you
a level of control that wouldn't otherwise necessarily have.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's you're almost like a conductor, like
of an orchestra. Yeah, what I mean, like you get
to really kind of imagine melody lines and different sounds
and different instruments. So h it's really it's really awesome.
I love the process of kind of putting sounds together
for a song.
Speaker 7: You enjoy being in the studio? I do, because I
know a lot of musicians.
Speaker 9: A lot of musicians just want to play live and
they hate the studio or they're ambivalent about it. But yeah,
if you actually enjoyed the process, that's goods.
Speaker 2: Now, I love it. Yeah, and like the different takes,
you know what I mean, Like, oh, which take were
you going to go with? Yeah, it's it's a really
wonderful process. I don't I'm not personally a producer, but
I love working with and collab.
Speaker 9: Are you ever surprised because you're working with producers? Are
you ever surprised at what comes out?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 9: Do you ever have an idea for a song and
you've written it, and you you know what you want,
you know what it's supposed to sound like, and then
it ends up coming out very different and hopefully you're
pleasantly surprised when that happens.
Speaker 7: But do you ever have that happen?
Speaker 2: Yeah, That's why I like to work with different producers
because they bring different sounds and different ideas. And you know,
when I come up with a song, it's usually vocals
and guitar or just vocals and piano. So watching it
develop and bloom and blossom, like for example, like two
days ago, you know, you record a song and then
you get back a mix, you know, so it's like
the first time you really hear what you recorded with
all the instrumentation and Bro, I was listening to this
first track of my upcoming album, Past Lives. It's called Echo,
and it's about like hearing the echoes of our ancestors,
like kind of coming in and you know, living with
that knowledge. And I was like laughing and crying at
the same time hearing a song come to life like that. Yeah,
I mean, I'm just like, oh yeah, this is amazing.
So like having those visceral emotional reactions is like, is
really cool. And you know, only the only people who
heard that was my producer in me. Yeah, so having
that special moment of like really being there like on
this like creation is just awesome. So I love the studio.
I love the process of creating songs too.
Speaker 7: It's really fun.
Speaker 9: Yeah, and you've made some videos, right, I saw I
watched the Universal song, yeah, which is really cool.
Speaker 7: I love the song and the video is great.
Speaker 9: And that's you know, we were kind of talking earlier about,
you know, the music side of I mean the business
side of it.
Speaker 7: That's important, right, making videos.
Speaker 15: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So what I did in the pandemic when everything shut
down and all my tours were canceled is I went
online and started live streaming. Yeah, and that's where the
levitator's community came and people were just looking for things
to do. So we did participatory music videos.
Speaker 7: Okay, So people.
Speaker 2: Would video themselves. For example, I had a song called
Dance and on the Lawn, so they would go outside
and take a video of themselves dancing on the lawn essentially,
and the music video is levitators from around the world,
We're talking Europe, Australia, Africa, Canada, South America sending in
videos of them dancing on the lawn, all spiced together.
Speaker 7: Okay.
Speaker 2: So I did a participatory video with chasing Daylight with
another one anywhere we can go, and I think I
should do one with we need a bigger bus. You
should like get like get like rent a school bus,
you know, I mean, and go around and pick folks
up and just kind of like, you know, like film
this party happening on a bus.
Speaker 7: That's a great idea.
Speaker 2: So it's really important because especially today and like we
live in a visual kind of content world. So anytime
that people can see your music, yes, you know what
I mean, is important.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 9: So yep, it's funny because there was a time when well,
you know, some people still think today even I'll hear
people say, oh, you know, I miss the days of
music videos, you know, because they're thinking of it in
the context of MTV. Yeah, it's like and some people
just don't realize, you know, because they're maybe not paying
attention that there's actually more music videos than ever.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there are, we just don't see them.
Speaker 9: They're they're on YouTube, they're not they're not on the table.
But something we also talk about a lot on the
show is, you know, with the pandemic, terrible experience for
us all, but we have to find the silver linings
where we can and you know, you're a great example
what you did, you know, trying to you know, innovate
and and come up with ideas, you know, to keep
people involved and keep people engaged.
Speaker 7: Yep.
Speaker 9: Yeah, so that's really cool. Yeah, I'm dying to hear
you play another one. You want to play another song.
Speaker 2: Let's do it. Let's do that universal song when you're
talking with the music video.
Speaker 9: Wonderful and if you are just joining us, Eli Love
is here with us live in studio and I do
love this song.
Speaker 7: So yeah, whenever you're ready.
Speaker 2: Let's do it right, all right. So imagine like Eurovision
was not just for Europe, that it was like for
the whole galaxy, Like they're like a Milky Way Eurovision,
And then.
Speaker 9: Imagine there was like a.
Speaker 2: Universal song contest where the Milky Way would send in
their entry and the Andromeda Galaxy who's sending theirs? And
what that song would sound like. So this song kind
of explores that possibility. I was on a train in
the middle of the city, saw girls sitting.
Speaker 16: On the floor with their headphones on.
Speaker 3: She was homing a tube, looking as happy.
Speaker 2: As as she could be, nodding ahead and closing her
eyes and singing and the song she was singing, Na,
and the sun broke through the window. Now everyone's homing alone.
She got every byey singing that Uni Verso song. Yeah,
singing it all day long.
Speaker 3: I was on a cruise in the middle of the ocean.
Speaker 2: I was sitting alone out the table for two The
band was on a break because the singer he was late.
But the second he got on stage started singing that
sing too. He was singing nine no, no, no, and
everyone got out of the dance floor. They were shaking
their hips.
Speaker 5: Nine n no no.
Speaker 2: You got everybody singing that Uni Verso song. All right,
let's bring the aliens for the fifth dinute beings, whatever
you prefer.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 2: I heard on the news today that they made contact
with outer space. The transmission was coming in loud and clear,
and all the scientists and linguists and astrophysicists try to
decipher the sound that was coming into their ears.
Speaker 10: But all the air it was not.
Speaker 8: And they started shaking their shoulders to they all agree
that that's what we should do. Everybody in the world singing.
Speaker 2: They got the hands up in the air.
Speaker 4: Nowvic baties getting along.
Speaker 2: Body ass seeing that universa so goes like this no
no no.
Speaker 3: No no no no no no.
Speaker 7: I love it. That's awesome. The universal song that is
Eli love.
Speaker 9: He is here with us alive in studio on this
Saturday morning, and that is great and I do encourage
people to check out the video.
Speaker 7: Video is really cool, really cool.
Speaker 9: So how is.
Speaker 7: How's the tour been going?
Speaker 9: Any any interesting uh stories, any big surprises or or
has it been has everything been been smooth? Or I
love roads stories if you if you have any, and
if you don't have any, that's actually a good thing.
That means that means everything's going well generally.
Speaker 2: But plenty of stories.
Speaker 15: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I play every night pretty much, Yeah, and
every night's different, Like sometimes it'll be like last night,
I was at the basement of a church playing the
opening set of an open mic, and the night before that,
I was at this like amazing fancy schmancy listening room
winery thing whereas like professional sound, you know, table service
and all that jazz, and you know, the night before that,
I was playing at this vegan restaurant in Vermont and
Burlington and it was like a Thursday and it was
a nice night out. So you never know, what's going
to happen you show up. It could be ten, twenty fifty,
who knows. But that night there was just a couple,
oh no kidding, and they were out on a date.
They came in and they're like, table for two please,
I could tell you what I mean. They were in
for the experience and it was just me and this
couple and this waitress. And I was like, well, y'all,
it's just us, so let's have some fun with this,
you know. So we were chatting, we were making up
songs together, you know, having a great old time. And
then you know, they were a younger couple and they're like,
can you play a slow dance song? And I was like, yes,
I can play a slow dance song for you. So
I played Van Morrison's Crazy Crazy Love She gave Me Love, Love,
Love Love, Crazy Love. And they got up and danced
and they they were not good dancers, and they knew it,
and they were just having the time of their lives.
It was just them in this empty restaurant with me
and the waitress, and they danced the entire song. Wow,
you know, just you know, missing steps and kind of
fumbling and trying to do twisty things and like kind
of knocking over little flower things whatever. But they just
had a blast and it was just a wonderful reminder
that you know, it doesn't necessarily really matter what we
look like or sound like or seem like on the outside.
It's like how we feel the space, you know what
I mean that moment and it was beautiful, Like I
was like really emotional afforts. I was like, yeah, that
is so sweet. Y'all the biggest sweeties and me and
the Wagers gave him a big, you know, round of applause.
They had an absolute blast. Yeah, you know, got some merch.
I had a great tip. I made more e merch
and tip that night with two people than sometimes I
will with like thirty or forty, you know what I mean.
So it just depends on getting into the experience, really
holding it to being aware. So that happened just a
few nights ago. I will always remember that. And they
made my night VIP night too.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Well that's awesome. Well that's a positive roads story. That's
absolutely I don't hear many of those.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 9: Usually it's like usually it's like broke down, Yeah, the
van broke down, or we got to the place and
toilet didn't work, and.
Speaker 2: You know, you know what I mean. We lost our
band member. We drove away from the gas station and
we realized two hours later, you're missing her drummer.
Speaker 7: Oh yeah, you're all kinds of terrible things. So it's good.
Speaker 9: Here a positive story like that. That's awesome. That's awesome.
Speaker 7: You want to play another one?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Happy too? Do you want one more?
Speaker 17: Teen?
Speaker 2: This is from Present Journey as well. Okay, I also
played this song for the couple. This one's called Love
in the Middle Ages.
Speaker 7: Oh yes, this is I listened. I like this one.
Speaker 2: Do you like this one?
Speaker 7: I like this one a lot.
Speaker 2: I like this one too.
Speaker 7: This is really good.
Speaker 2: Awesome, here we go. When I was in my early age,
I heard him talk about Tula, so I started looking
for where it could be. I ran from kisses in
the third grade. DI did a girl in middle school
for ten days. I thought it would never come out,
But I found love middle Ages. It ain't always fireworks
and comes in stages, and it takes courage and trust
in each other.
Speaker 15: I know.
Speaker 5: I found.
Speaker 2: What you love is.
Speaker 3: It's love in the Middle Ages.
Speaker 1: Love in the Middle Age.
Speaker 3: I chased love across the ocean.
Speaker 2: But I never knew what it was like to stay,
what it took to really listen, how to compromise.
Speaker 3: And how to sing the sing.
Speaker 2: Now I'm oldly enough to see I found love.
Speaker 7: Middle Ages.
Speaker 2: It ain't always fire worms, and it comes instages. It
takes courage, trusting each other.
Speaker 5: I know I found.
Speaker 2: What you love is. It's love in the Middle Age.
Speaker 14: It love in the.
Speaker 2: Middle Age, and it's a trip to Duncan in the morning.
It's knowing exactly what she's gonna say. It's getting cozy
on the couch after a long hard day. It's growing
old together, figuring it out along the way. Because I
found love the Middle Ages. It's not just fate or
even the promise. It's something deeper, something stronger. I put
down my sword and took off my armor because I.
Speaker 3: Found loving.
Speaker 7: The Middle Ages.
Speaker 2: It ain't always fireworks, and it comes in stages. It
takes courage, trust in each other.
Speaker 5: I know I found it.
Speaker 3: What you love it's love in the Middle Ages.
Speaker 6: Jes love in the Middle Age.
Speaker 2: It's loving the Middle Age, loving the middle lady.
Speaker 7: M m m, that is beautiful. That is beautiful.
Speaker 2: Some sauce on it.
Speaker 9: Eli love is with us here live in studio on
this Saturday morning on Matt Connerton unleashed and planning some
tunes live for us, and yeah, that's that's great. By
the way, you in terms of your vocals, have you
did you get formal vocal training or are you self taught.
Speaker 2: Or I did not?
Speaker 9: Yeah, I uh.
Speaker 2: Vocal I found out. I found out at the beginning
of my career that your vocal cords are like muscles.
Speaker 7: Yeah, and you can train them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you can get better. I did not have like
an American idol. I still don't have an American ile voice.
But it wasn't like people who heard me sing and
were like, whoa, yeah, you should be famous. Never you
know what I mean? Never in the thing. But after
singing for almost every day for the last six or
seven years, really developing into it, getting to the character
and kind of like feeling in you know, what I
really also found is just like just being unique, you know,
not necessarily sounding like someone else, but just like whatever
the true voice is kind of like letting that out, yeah,
really kind of leaning into that.
Speaker 9: Yeah, do you do you do things to take care
of your voice, like you know, Lemon and all that Yeah.
Speaker 2: So so my tours, Matt, Like, I know, like there's
this image of tours being like wild and crazy stand
up and partying and stuff, but I'm an indiful singer songwriter. Yeah,
so that's not usually the case. So, you know, it's
a lot of a lot of hydration. I'm drinking a
lot of water, I'm drinking smoothies. I'm sleeping as much
as I can. I'm going to plant fitness in the morning,
you know what I mean. I'm doing vocal warm ups,
I'm doing vocal cool downs. I'm like, you know, like
doing the throat coat tea and kind of like you know,
massogyn all that kind of stuff because it makes me
feel better, it makes me have better performances, and it
keeps my voice. It's like what I'm doing is kind
of like an ultra marathon. Yeah, two hundred twenty five
days on the road. You can't mess around, right, you
know what I mean. So, and I've had times where
I've lost my voice. Really it's been tough. Yeah, so
I don't want to do that again. So you're absolutely
right on that. It's like it's a very conscious effort
to keep things going.
Speaker 7: Yeah, when you're singing every day like that. Yeah, no doubt,
no doubt.
Speaker 9: Is it literally every Like do you ever have a
day off on your tour?
Speaker 2: Sometimes maybe like once a week, once every two weeks, yeah,
but usually it's pretty packed.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2: It is good.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's really good.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 9: By the way, I'm also curious about your influences in
terms of songwriting, because everything that you write.
Speaker 7: It's all it's so catchy.
Speaker 17: It really is.
Speaker 9: Exactly exactly like any who influences you as far as songwriting.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I I kind of like was formed
by you know, Cat Stevens, Bob Doing, Joni Mitchell growing up,
like when I was really young. Yeah, you know, John
Denver all like all that kind of good stuff. But
then you know, it's funny, Matt, because like I grew
up in the grunge era. Yeah, like Stone Table, Pilots, Nirvana, Radiohead,
you know what I mean, read at Chili Peppers like
that was my music And here I'm playing becausic guitar right,
which is hilarious. But yeah, so that really influenced me too.
In college, I got into underground hip hop. When I
was living in Europe for a few years, I got
into like dance beats, electronic music. When I came back,
I got into modern day songwriters like you know, Noah Khan,
you know boy Genius, you know, just kind of like
these very straightforward kind of singing songwriters, Jason Morez, you know,
Jack Johnson, you know Ed Sheer and that that stuff
as well. But also, you know, I got a little
countryside yeah, you know, Jason Izbel, Tyler Childers. I like
this singer songer named Hardy. He's really cool. So all
that kind of comes together.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Yeah, do you try to do you approach like trying?
It sounds like you probably don't necessarily try to have
a particular sound, but what comes out is what comes out.
Speaker 7: I assume.
Speaker 2: Yes, I know that's wrong. I know I'm not supposed
to do that.
Speaker 7: But I think it's great.
Speaker 9: I think that's I think that's the best way to
do it. Don't don't overthink it, just be that's the
best way to be authentic. Just to not overthink it,
not to say I want to sound like this, but
just sound like what you sound.
Speaker 2: Like, right, And I'm I'm not in the industry, I'm
like industry adjacent, you know what I mean. It's like
I'm like the DIY independent scene, so I don't have
a manager that says you need to sound like this, right,
So it's fun because I can just sound like whatever
I feel like that day. Right. I'm enjoying that. So
I'm just gonna keep rolling with it.
Speaker 7: And is everything?
Speaker 9: Is everything self released? Or are you on any kind
of a label or you just do it all yourself?
Is that the best way to do it in your opinion,
if you were to give advice to somebody who's aspiring
to do what you do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So record contracts actually have never been like the
thing that guarantees success, right, they can be, you know,
for the one percent of artists that you know, record
contract is a really good thing for right, But for
the other however, many percent of it, you know what
I mean, All sorts of things can happen. You can
get shelved, the label can have another band that sounds
just like you and they signed you so that they
could push the other band and not you. They could
drop you after an album, they could keep you for
ten albums and never release you. So it just didn't
sound like something that would fit my vibe. So I
kind of went on my own route. Now that's not
saying that if the right record contract comes along, you
know what I mean that I wouldn't I would like
reject it necessarily. But you know, I've found that it's
best to like do your own thing, make your own business,
and then if that happens, great, but not to like
bank on it.
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, you know, and we're fortunate to live
in an era where you really can do it all. Yeah,
you know, because of the Internet, you can. You know,
I'm old enough to remember when your only shot really
was if you you know, you record a demo and
then you send it to record.
Speaker 2: That was it because they had the equipment. There was
no other way to record your music besides getting a
record contract. So that would make sense because at least
you have your music recorded.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But now, yeah, it's very accessible, which has pauses and
negatives because everybody can do it, so you have to
kind of like be inventive a little bit, right, So yeah,
it now it's like kind of about being creative, I think.
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely well, I think so as we as we
approach the top of the hour singing, I'll play another
studio track, the honky Tonk Truth.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I love that one.
Speaker 7: I think it would be a great way to a
great way to end the segment.
Speaker 9: But yeah, but before we do that, I want to
make sure that our listeners know where they should go
online to keep up with everything that you're doing, and
of course plug your next show too. You know, we're
in Manchester, but we do have a lot of people
who listen online, so we want to make sure everybody knows.
Speaker 7: Where to find you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, awesome. So my name is Eli Love. It's E
L I space and then L E V as in Victory.
You can type that into the Google machine and my
website will pop up. All my website is all my
music that's just freely available to stream with lyrics, and
also my tour schedule. So I'll be in New England,
in Canada and a bunch of shows all over the world.
Actually in February March, I'll be in the UK and
you're oh, no kidding, good show. Yeah, folks are listening
over there. I'll see you. I'll see you next year.
And also on my website is a little button at
the bottom that says join the Levitators. Yes, so you
are welcome to join. It's just like a you know,
an email texting list, but I send out songs and
good vibes and keep people going and we do live
streams together. I do full Fridays. Is a great way
to stay connected to a worldwide community of music lovers.
Speaker 9: Excellent, excellent, that is outstanding. Have you played overseas? But
you mentioned you lived in Europe? Did you have you
played over there before?
Speaker 2: I've played shorter tours. I lived in a country called
Andra between Spain and France over there, so I've played
shorter tours, like a week in France or a week
in Spain. But this is the first like full on,
two month like show every day kind.
Speaker 7: Of wow, very cool. Yeah, good for you. Yeah no,
that's that's that's exciting.
Speaker 9: Uh So we'll we'll close out the segment with the
Honkey Talk Truth another great song.
Speaker 7: But I like all of these, They're all really good.
Speaker 9: But Eli Lev, thank you so much for joining us,
Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 7: This has been amazing.
Speaker 9: Now we'll have to do it again in the future
next time you're next time you're on tour through the area,
we'll definitely we'll have you back. But uh and if
you are listening live on Saturday, sick Around coming up
in the third hour, we have the rightful heirs joining
us in studio.
Speaker 8: But here it is.
Speaker 9: This is the honkey talk Truth from Present Journey by
Eli Lev.
Speaker 2: So far it's been quite an adventure.
Speaker 7: With there's a part of.
Speaker 12: That goes on forever.
Speaker 1: And to leasy shine.
Speaker 5: If my time.
Speaker 4: Do that, we're just skinning starting.
Speaker 5: What you keep on keeping on with me.
Speaker 6: Because I try, try, try to be opening hardy.
Speaker 10: I hope that's all right.
Speaker 4: I'm learning as I go.
Speaker 6: It's a long winding road with ps and dangerous turns.
The hardest part staying true.
Speaker 8: But I know when you're with me, that's all that
I want to do.
Speaker 16: So far, we've built the time empie in the middle
of a wild and wondrous work.
Speaker 5: If we keep.
Speaker 10: Going, lie, we'll go with.
Speaker 5: There's no telling how big ain I FuMB this could.
There's a send my mine.
Speaker 1: Lascar of what's uh happened?
Speaker 10: But too much to look at old time, cause I'm
knowing when you're with me, up, Bob.
Speaker 5: Gone on me you alright.
Speaker 16: Since we sing our first song together, I knew.
Speaker 15: That we be just fine.
Speaker 7: We're going to keep on singing.
Speaker 2: To start, We'll stay on the run and keep on
chasing daylight.
Speaker 5: It's one thing.
Speaker 6: With parrols and dangerous turns.
Speaker 5: God's bond stay up, but I'm not.
Speaker 2: When you win me, that's all that I want to do.
Speaker 5: That I want to do.
Speaker 6: I guess the smoking gun was always after.
Speaker 18: The sun set.
Speaker 17: Looked at our shoes all coming mun sat in the
park way after dark.
Speaker 5: We will never cold. That's off to the city, leaving
the south side.
Speaker 2: They were giving us no place to hide.
Speaker 5: What if I just to run? What if we be
come run? I'm seeking feet like a spare park.
Speaker 13: The special moy Trybys house.
Speaker 5: I never wonderful. I'm blest gully. I was bof to
apple from the base.
Speaker 13: Stay steady, but I guess I couldn't hold my love.
Speaker 5: It's such a funny and a bailey.
Speaker 13: Every hurdle of showing bmies all the body.
Speaker 5: It seems everyone that gets about me impost the can
feel like stample this person mo. They try to raver
ony gas ponder for old day on body killing. I
was bof theapple from the base hard it reserves behind
from there, Yes, a ride, it's a caround looking ride.
I've been feeling kind of homesick. I'm mister shoes and
the ground. I'm wolping. I've been feeling kind of homesick.
Wanted five mother away. I've been feeling kind of home sick,
and I'm missus shus and the ground and loping. I'm
being feeling kind of homesick, want about mother around A
lady who think a feeling like a spare hawk especial round.
Speaker 13: They try to mother running yas who wanted the all
day on the getting humble, dose the way, fright place
hides with.
Speaker 5: A rosetree hides and get the wise to create a
dog off.
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