Chauncey Chat : the remarkable bobby blue

Chauncey recently asked the extremely talented and creative powerhouse named Bobby Blue eleven questions to get as close to a peek inside the colourful world that the singer/songwriter/artist/producer/inspiration lives in.  We first met Bobby on the dance floor and naturally fell in love with his natural quirkiness, charisma and personality.  Later on, we discovered his voice and his musical sorcery…we fell in love again.  Mr. Blue is the third artist interviewed for The House of Dandridge’s new 11questions column and we are smitten by his generous answers, overall honesty and inspiring creative processes.  For the next few minutes…your borrowed time shall be something ‘blue’.

- In a nutshell, who is Bobby Blue?

A proud, quirky Costa Rican American who grew up in the middle of Indiana. It’s important that I stay true to myself. Also, I love everything vintage. I love to sing. I am a counter-tenor. I play guitar and write songs.

- The video for “Go” is magical and epic…what was the inspiration behind the vivid concept of the short film?

The lyrics of the song are the main inspiration. I’m an extremist (which I’m working on in meditation) so I believe to truly love someone is to inspire them to be the best they can be even if it means that I hurt. I wouldn’t want anyone to ever resent me for making them feel like they couldn’t pursue their dreams. This is your one chance to live. You can’t leave any rock unturned. People talk about reincarnation, even if it does exists you don’t remember it, and Past Life Aggression Therapy is expensive.

click to purchase from Itunes

We didn’t want a typical love story. Elizabeth Webb is Sasha Bot, who is one of my best friends in the world. She, in her real life, was on the verge of leaving New York City for a new life in Colorado so all the love, & well wishing that you see between us is very real. The genius director, Ian Cinco, was also ending a long term relationship which made it a bit hard for him to edit the video at times. We were all living the lyrics in this song. As far as the costumes; Sara Antoinette Martin is a good friend of mine and designs toys for Kid Robot. I asked her for her talent, and she was dying to bring her “fish/mermaid-type women” paintings to life yet asked me what I envisioned. I looooove robots so she made me into an old model clunky robot then turned Elizabeth (Sasha-bot) into one of her muses, a new model, sleek, sex-slave robot that was heavily inspired by her “fish women”. The costumes are genius. Also, we were working with NO budget which I prefer, which forces you to be more creative. I believe a true artist can make something out of nothing, and I’m really into lo-fi art. Money makes things too easy.

-You are involved in The Williamsburg Spelling Bee (click to visit site) and now The New York City Spelling Bee…can you tell us more about these two events?

I am the creator/founder. In 2002 I saw the documentary, Spellbound. I was so blown away. It was like a combination of a documentary, and American Idol, though more intense, and more entertaining. I always wondered why spelling bees were only for those in 8th grade and under.

I’m very fond of highly educated people. I’m not as intellectual as some of our contestants. I just love being responsible for it. I’m not a good speller. I just had the idea. Jennifer Dziura is the word caller and my co-host. It’s in a cabaret style. We have a theme song and Jennifer and I have a good back and forth. Jennifer is a professional comedian. I think I’m just funny. I really like to turn on as a host. It’s a really fun/funny show. The words are serious. They start out easy and get harder through 3 or 4 rounds. An example of a 4th round word would be Pyrrhic, which means “achieved at excessive cost”.

We are in our 6th year. We just had the 12th season finals. Season 13 starts on Monday, February 7th, 2011. 7pm.

-Can you name three singer/songwriters or performers you would compare yourself to if you had to and why?

1. Pink Martini – not only my favorite band in the world, but they sing in many different languages. For the moment I may only go between Spanish and English, but I plan to experiment with other languages.

2. Antony and the Johnsons – Because I think the sincerity in our songs really shines through and we don’t sing typical love songs.

promotional still from antony and bjork's 'dull flame of desire' video...click to watch

3. Bjork – because we are both recklessly experimental. Creates from where we are at the moment without focusing on a specific a genre. My next album is working in the direction of a 1950s style country album, with essences of old movie scoring.

I’m also pretty heavily influenced by Madonna’s ‘Music’ album and Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Canciones de mi Padre’ album. People compare me to Jimmy Somerville a lot because of my high voice or Jeff Buckley.

-What is the hardest part about performing your work in front of an audience?

I don’t think there’s anything hard about performing in front of an audience. I’ve been doing it since I was 4. I think some audiences are more difficult than others. In the gay scene they are really satisfied with 130 bpms, and not very responsive to hand-played instruments. Most gay audiences like songs that they know, but in the Indie-Alternative scene they are very attentive to someone with a guitar, and hang on every new word & note that you play. They are absolutely thrilled to hear something in a different language as long as it’s done well. They appreciate experiment with rhythms and playing household items or a lute.

I know that I’m generally known as a “dance artist” at the time, but that’s what the Hades Music Label promotes more of. Love the remixes, but I prefer originals. My album is very Latin/Folk-tronic.

-What feeling do you want people to leave with after attending your shows or events?

Wow!

click to visit bobby blue's blog

-What’s coming up next for Bobby Blue?

There is a 3rd music video release for ‘go’. Release is set for Christmas week and the mix is for the David Ohana Radio Mix. There could possibly be a forth. I loved all the mixes.

I have just started work with director Jared Outten on a new music video for a song called ‘He Loves Me”. The video is going to be crazy. We are thinking ‘polygamy’. My producer, Abe Seiferth of DFA Records, and I are in the process of putting the finishing touches on a full length album. The working title is called ‘Sunshine’.

-You are more than just a singer and songwriter, what other avenues of creativity do you explore?

What don’t I explore? I think that if you are a creative person you are not just creative in one area. I’m not saying I’m great, but I like to try everything. I’m not afraid to draw, paint, build furniture & lamps, decorating a home, cook, bake, and gardening. I love having a home project. I used to have a line of nic nacs that sold at Daniel Cartier’s shop in Massachusetts.

-Which of your artistic endeavors helps exorcise your demons best?

I think I’d have to say cooking and baking. I love nurturing something. You truly have to put love into the food you are making. I think I have a lot of love to give. I’m a good cook.

-Where do you see yourself and your art in eleven years?

Just more refined. I would like to sing part-time with Pink Martini. They have guests singers. They are on tour all the time. It would be fun to tour with a big orchestra like that.

I will have had that one project that will help me fund the rest of my life & to continue my interests. I make up jingles too for shits & giggles. I love local commercial jingles. They are very predictable & funny to sing. I think I have one now to a Katy Perry song…. actually, I have found that a lot of Katy Perry songs can easily be turned into jingles for Cool Whip, cold medicine, and more. Maybe I’ll sell one of those.

-Can you give a piece of advice to new performers or musicians who are about to unleash their work to the world?

When you are writing a song make sure you like it as much as your favorite song at the time. If it doesn’t sound as good as that then keep working. Oh, and write as many happy, positive songs that you can. You can be totally responsible for making someone have a good day. Which is better for everyone. You lift one person’s spirit, you can lift everyone they come into contact that day. Pura vida.

We would like to send a big house of dandridge thanks to Bobby Blue for spending the time to answer Chauncey’s 11questions!

And now…for the epic, eight minute plus video for Bobby Blue’s new single “Go”

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