Greg Roensch Interview
Q: Can you talk about your background and how you got involved with music?
A: It all began with trombone lessons in sixth grade. That didn’t work out as I or my parents would have liked, and I quit music after two years. What I remember most about that early experience is crying about how hard it was to lug my heavy horn to and from school. Flash forward to college, a group of music-loving friends and I started a garage band. My first guitar was a $50 imitation Les Paul that refused to stay in tune and nearly drove me to quit music again. Instead, I smashed the guitar to bits after buying a vintage reissue Telecaster, which I have to this day.
For many years, I was in a band called StationWagon that played classic-rock covers at weddings, fundraisers, birthdays, block parties, and other gigs in the San Francisco Bay Area. We had a good run, but I eventually shifted my focus to writing and playing originals. In 2015, I stumbled upon a Kickstarter campaign to help put the finishing touches on the construction of Tiny Telephone recording studio in Oakland, California. My Kickstarter “reward” was two weeks of studio time, which led me to the epiphany that I could record my music in a professional studio. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Q: What are some of the themes and concepts you wanted to explore with the album?
A: I’m always looking for new creative challenges, whether it’s with my creative writing, short poetry films, or music. Going into this project, I knew that making a live album would provide me with a slew of unique challenges. Could we deliver these songs in one take? Would the audience respond favorably (and would their reaction come through on the recording)? How would we sound without having the safety net that comes with re-recording, overdubbing, and other studio magic? These and other similar questions swirled around my brain as I prepared for the session.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: My creative process in general for this project was to keep things simple, knowing that the challenges would come on the night of the gig.
For inspiration, I listened to many of my favorite artists performing in intimate settings. One of my favorite discoveries was hearing an early performance by Joni Mitchell that Jimi Hendrix captured on a reel-to-reel recorder from his front row seat at a coffee house in Ottawa. I also went deep into some of Neil Young’s archival solo shows, including “Live at Massey Hall” and “Young Shakespeare.” Likewise, I revisited some recently re-released recordings of Pete Townshend’s solo performances, including shows I was lucky enough to attend at The Fillmore and the La Jolla Playhouse. Hearing these stripped-down performances helped me lock into the kind of vibe I wanted for my album.
Q: Can you talk about your background and how you got involved with music?
A: It all began with trombone lessons in sixth grade. That didn’t work out as I or my parents would have liked, and I quit music after two years. What I remember most about that early experience is crying about how hard it was to lug my heavy horn to and from school. Flash forward to college, a group of music-loving friends and I started a garage band. My first guitar was a $50 imitation Les Paul that refused to stay in tune and nearly drove me to quit music again. Instead, I smashed the guitar to bits after buying a vintage reissue Telecaster, which I have to this day.
For many years, I was in a band called StationWagon that played classic-rock covers at weddings, fundraisers, birthdays, block parties, and other gigs in the San Francisco Bay Area. We had a good run, but I eventually shifted my focus to writing and playing originals. In 2015, I stumbled upon a Kickstarter campaign to help put the finishing touches on the construction of Tiny Telephone recording studio in Oakland, California. My Kickstarter “reward” was two weeks of studio time, which led me to the epiphany that I could record my music in a professional studio. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Q: What are some of the themes and concepts you wanted to explore with the album?
A: I’m always looking for new creative challenges, whether it’s with my creative writing, short poetry films, or music. Going into this project, I knew that making a live album would provide me with a slew of unique challenges. Could we deliver these songs in one take? Would the audience respond favorably (and would their reaction come through on the recording)? How would we sound without having the safety net that comes with re-recording, overdubbing, and other studio magic? These and other similar questions swirled around my brain as I prepared for the session.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: My creative process in general for this project was to keep things simple, knowing that the challenges would come on the night of the gig.
For inspiration, I listened to many of my favorite artists performing in intimate settings. One of my favorite discoveries was hearing an early performance by Joni Mitchell that Jimi Hendrix captured on a reel-to-reel recorder from his front row seat at a coffee house in Ottawa. I also went deep into some of Neil Young’s archival solo shows, including “Live at Massey Hall” and “Young Shakespeare.” Likewise, I revisited some recently re-released recordings of Pete Townshend’s solo performances, including shows I was lucky enough to attend at The Fillmore and the La Jolla Playhouse. Hearing these stripped-down performances helped me lock into the kind of vibe I wanted for my album.
Q: What was the recording process like? From what I understand this was all live and with a live audience.
A: Fortunately, Tiny Telephone is such a welcoming space that it didn’t take much to think of it as a small club rather than a recording studio. Listening to the album now, I love hearing the audience’s reactions. Like when they sing along on “E Is for Elephant.” Or laugh at my punchline in “Eating in My Car Again.” Or express their appreciation for featured performers Jules Leyhe (guitar) and Elisa Wendell (vocals). One of my favorite moments occurs when a hush falls over the audience as we pay tribute to the great Sinéad O'Connor by singing “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance.” These moments really bring the album to life for me.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shoutout to audio engineer Danielle Goldsmith for capturing everything that went into making this such a special night.
Q: Do you currently play the live album live?
A: I don’t intend to recreate the live album at future gigs. Having said that, I know that whenever Jules and I play out together, we’ll do so with the same spirit of collaboration and improvisation we created on this album. I went into this project knowing it would be a uniquely fun experience for me personally. What I couldn’t predict was how enthusiastically the audience would react to the show. I’m very, very grateful to everyone who showed up on that rainy night in Oakland.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: Now that this live album is in the books, I’m planning my next studio recording project. I won’t say much about it other than that I’ll be returning to Tiny Telephone for what will be my most ambitious studio project yet. It’s going to be another huge creative challenge, for sure—with some great musicians joining me on a batch of new original tunes. Who knows, maybe I’ll even haul my old trombone over to Oakland for the session!
A: Fortunately, Tiny Telephone is such a welcoming space that it didn’t take much to think of it as a small club rather than a recording studio. Listening to the album now, I love hearing the audience’s reactions. Like when they sing along on “E Is for Elephant.” Or laugh at my punchline in “Eating in My Car Again.” Or express their appreciation for featured performers Jules Leyhe (guitar) and Elisa Wendell (vocals). One of my favorite moments occurs when a hush falls over the audience as we pay tribute to the great Sinéad O'Connor by singing “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance.” These moments really bring the album to life for me.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shoutout to audio engineer Danielle Goldsmith for capturing everything that went into making this such a special night.
Q: Do you currently play the live album live?
A: I don’t intend to recreate the live album at future gigs. Having said that, I know that whenever Jules and I play out together, we’ll do so with the same spirit of collaboration and improvisation we created on this album. I went into this project knowing it would be a uniquely fun experience for me personally. What I couldn’t predict was how enthusiastically the audience would react to the show. I’m very, very grateful to everyone who showed up on that rainy night in Oakland.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: Now that this live album is in the books, I’m planning my next studio recording project. I won’t say much about it other than that I’ll be returning to Tiny Telephone for what will be my most ambitious studio project yet. It’s going to be another huge creative challenge, for sure—with some great musicians joining me on a batch of new original tunes. Who knows, maybe I’ll even haul my old trombone over to Oakland for the session!