През последните месец-два, телевизиите въртят една реклама (новата реклама на Globul), в която чух една много красива песен. Както обикновено, първоначалната ми реакция беше да потърся в чичко Google, да преровя YouTube и да разгледам из Vbox7. Оказа се, че не само аз търся въпросната песен, но така и не успях да открия информация… Докато не се поразрових малко по-сериозно. Открих името на песента, “Everyone Wants to Adore You”; името на албума, “The Baby That Brought Bad Weather”; както и името на самия изпълнител – запознайте се с Greta Gertler:
Hi Greta! Actually, can I call you Greta?
Hi! Yes, of course!
As I told you, when I first wrote to you, I heard your song “Everyone Wants to Adore You” in a TV commercial, and I could not find peace of mind until I discovered who wrote and sang that wonderful piece. Apparently many other people wanted the same thing. It was not too hard; at first I tried by googling the first verse, which did not help much, but when I googled the second verse, I came across a website where I found your name. After that it was easy – I landed right on your own website. I think when I told you what led me to you, you were rather surprised. Am I right?
Yes, I was surprised! I had no idea that “Everyone Wants to Adore You” was being used in a Bulgarian TV Commercial, although my songs have been winding up on various television shows more often lately. I think this is the first time one has been used in a TV commercial. I’m happy that it’s quite a nice one – is that the Bulgarian countryside? I want to go there!
Could you tell me something about yourself? I read that you’re actually Australian, although you now live in NYC. Who is Greta, in a nutshell?
Yes, I am Australian, although I have been living in NYC for the past 10 years… I moved here in 1999 to learn more about music – the musicians here are incredible, and people in general are very expressive and open. I had no real plan to stay for this long, but it’s turned out to have been an incredible time, and I’m still learning a lot. In a nutshell, I now consider myself an Oz-Yorker.
I just thought of another Australian singer, whom I really like – Sia Furler, you’ve probably heard of her. Is there an artist who you look up to, who inspires you?
At the moment, it’s mainly my musical friends in NYC who inspire me, but you may not have heard of them.. people like Lee Feldman, Pete Galub, Noe Venable, Gutbucket, Chris Moore, Elysian Fields, Alice Bierhorst, Amy Allison, Barney McAll and more… – they should all be huge in Bulgaria! I also just saw David Byrne (Talking Heads) perform in Prospect Park in Brooklyn – he really inspires me.
Back to your song, who was it written for? Who does everyone want to adore? Is it a real person, or a fictitious character?
It was initially written for a friend who was going through a very dark, weird time on his way to becoming a famous rock star in Australia. More recently, the song has taken on other meanings to me…
And how about the album’s title – it reminds me of Magical Realism. How did the Baby bring Bad Weather? Who is that Baby?
That’s the name I gave my autobiography when I was 12 years old. I grew up with the story that I’d been born during a blizzard. It is definitely nod to a more magical/superstitious way of thinking. My next album will be called “The Universal Thump” – it’s based on a quote from Melville’s “Moby Dick”. I’m really excited about the new album… it’s inspired by whales and love. I’m working on it with an incredible drummer/producer, Adam D Gold, at his studio in Brooklyn.
You have a total of four albums behind you, but this seems to be the only one that you have recorded on your own. Do you prefer to cooperate and co-produce albums with other artists?
I do enjoy collaborating with a band or core group of musicians, such as my first band, Peccadillo and more recently The Extroverts, on my album “Edible Restaurant”. “The Baby That Brought Bad Weather” was recorded just after I moved to NYC. I was meeting so many incredible musicians, and wanted to include them on the album. Also, Noah Simon, who co-produced it with me, is amazingly talented. He was able to open up a lot of space in the songs for different types of sounds. I ended up having over 30 musical guests, including a string quartet, brass section, tap dancer and gurgling baby!
What does a day in the life of Greta Gertler look like?
Drink coffee. Rehearse. Work on the new album. Teach piano to kids. Walk around Brooklyn. Eat tamales. Swim. Drink a glass of red wine. Sleep.
Do you have a personal moto?
How about… “Drink coffee. Rehearse. Work on the new album. Teach piano to kids. Walk around Brooklyn. Eat tamales. Swim. Drink a glass of red wine. Sleep.”
Have you thought about doing a tour? Maybe in Europe? Many people love seeing a new artist, getting acquainted with a new sound…
Yes, I toured Europe in March playing duo shows with Adam D Gold – piano or keyboards and drums. We also brought whale sounds from Brooklyn with us. We went to Berlin, Amsterdam and London and played in small clubs there for the first time. We’d love to come back soon. I’m trying to organize a tour for October/November. I am also thinking of spending an extended period of time in Europe in 2010. I’m happy to hear that people enjoy hearing new music over there. I definitely sensed that when we were there in March.. the response was very encouraging.
How about participating in a “music festival” type of event, where more artists play their music within a few days?
Yes, I’d love to play at a music festival. Are there any Bulgarian ones I should apply for?
Do you know something about Bulgaria? Maybe you’ve met Bulgarians – they are quite numerous in NYC.
I really don’t know much about Bulgaria, unfortunately. I would like to know more! I actually only just recently met my first Bulgarian, who was a fellow guest at a wedding I went to. I asked her if she liked the Bulgarian choirs, and she said she didn’t as she’d heard so much of that music growing up. But I love what I’ve heard of Bulgarian choirs.
Is there something you would like to say, but I forgot to ask?
I guess the only thing is that I would encourage people to visit me at http://www.GretaGertler.net (where they can sign up for my email list) or on Myspace – http://www.Myspace.com/GretaGertlerMusic – I am going to give away the song “Everyone Wants To Adore You” as a free download for a limited amount of time. They can also say hi to me there, as I check it regularly. I will try to use the “Translate” feature on Google to interpret their comments. I would enjoy their feedback.
Thanks for tracking me down!
Thank you so much for your time! I hope to see you in Bulgaria some day!
You’re welcome. Likewise. I hope to be there soon.
Това е резултатът от моето прибързано, непланирано и непрофесионално интервю. Скоро ще го преведа и на български, но сега го качвам в този му вид, защото е прясно-прясно. Преведох го и на български. И да знаете – целият албум на Грета е много приятен, купих си го от www.CDBaby.com.
Изглежда като много приятна млада дама… до колко е млада не зная, защото добре, като всяка дама крие възрастта си. Понеже ми звучи топъл, изкрящ човек, ще прослушам албума и, а ако ми хареса… защо да не си купя един 🙂