by Rick Landers
Geoff Byrd in Las Vegas, NV.
A few years back, singer-songwriter Geoff Byrd and I met in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. at a restaurant where we grabbed a couple of drinks, dinner and later did our first interview over dessert at another place. At the time, Geoff had already released his CD called Candy Shell on Sundholm Records (2003) and earlier in the day had sat down for an interview at XM Radio downtown.
Candy Shell received a ton of accolades and Byrd’s huge voice was clearly impressing everyone that had a chance to give his album a listen or who was able to get into a live performance.
After only listening to a couple of tracks from his CD I decided to send a note to his press agent, suggesting we do an interview.
So, there we sat chatting and chewing, all the while Byrd’s eyes roaming the street through the window behind me, catching some of D.C.’s finest. I called him on it and we laughed hard enough to spill a drink, but still we got through the interview. I found it as easy to like the guy, as much as his music. We hung out for a while and then his tour bus stopped to carry him off for the rest of his 50 city U.S.
Byrd signed with Granite Records to help launch his music career, but later he would decide to go it alone and move his music and his life in a manner that he found more satisfying. And he moved back home to Oregon. His new CD,X-Ray Vision, will catch you a bit off-guard if you’ve heard some of his earlier songs, with it’s funk-induced rhythms and melodic edge. As a creative artist, Byrd continues to evolve and stretch his musical inclinations to good effect.
Guitar International recently caught up with the man who has been called the “first pop star truly born on the Internet!”while he was at home and where he’s continuing to evolve and thrive as a performing and recording artist.
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Rick Landers: A lot has happened to you since our first interview, you moved to L.A., then back to Portland, then back to L.A. What happened?
Geoff Byrd at Dantes
Geoff Byrd: Actually, I am back in Portland again. (Laughs) I went to L.A. to film a movie and do that show Next Great American Band. I guess I was in my final throes of “Let’s really try and break through.”
Now I am at a place where I just have a pure relationship with my music. I let go of worrying about sales, or how many people show up to a gig, or what people are going to think, or how much commercial appeal it has. I just feel reconnected to the purity of writing songs again and making records. I realized that happiness is more important than success. I was losing my love for playing and recording because I was worrying too much about the business side of things, more specifically the results. Now I just play twice a month in Portland, work on film and TV stuff here and there and make new records as the songs come. I got my heart back.
Rick: Your music continues to evolve and you worked with Brickman on a song that did well. How did that collaboration come about?
Geoff: Well, I was on tour with Hall and Oates and Jim wanted Daryl to do a guest vocal on his new album, but Daryl was unavailable. So, Daryl or someone mentioned that I might want to do it and I got the call. The song turned out pretty cool for a Christmas ballad.
Rick: What’s the music scene like in L.A. at the moment?
Geoff: I wouldn’t know anymore but I did find that in Portland and other cities people come out in droves with a lot of heart felt support. I don’t know what it is about L.A. but I never got the kind of grassroots vibe or real following like I do at home. My favorite cities to play are Portland, Montreal, Seattle and New York.
John Oates (left), Geoff Byrd (center) and Daryl Hall (right)
There were a lot of great other places and venues but for some reason I have had real magical moments in those four cities especially. I went on tour in Canada with Hall and Oates and an American tour. I have to say in general, don’t look past Canada, there are some amazingly nice people and great music fans. Sometimes I feel like we are post concert and post album. We are into listening to singles as we get ready to go out or as background music at a party. But, there are still lovely die- hard old school music lovers out there that look to connect with the soul of the artist. I fricken love those people! They make it all worth it.
Rick: You’ve worked some with Billy Morrison who was with the Cult and is now with Circus Diablo. Are you two working on composing music?
Geoff: Billy is a talented dude. I mean very talented! We worked well together and he has been very kind to me on his radio show and in person. I think we created a nice tune when we did this song called “The Light” which is on my website but otherwise unreleased. He rocks. I don’t think he even realizes his true potential. He’s done great work, but he has got more under the surface as a songwriter and even as a singer. I think he’s working with Ozzy now. I met him through my good friend and also the very talented Jed Leiber.
Rick: The last time we met was backstage at a Hall and Oates concert where you were playing with them. What’s it like working with them?
Geoff: Oates became a friend and mentor to me. He kind of took the Byrd under his wing. I told him he could make a fortune growing the mustache out and selling it on E Bay, he said he’s considering it. I mean the damn thing is an icon! He is such a great guy on stage and off and he’s often discounted because Daryl is so talented. But, John really contributes in a magical way. John is world class in his own right and the ultimate collaborator. He just always makes things better. I can’t explain it. Daryl taught me a lot about singing and expressing and phrasing. Both of them were very kind to me and I got to play 50 shows with them as the opening act. Some of those shows were simply the best moments of my career, as far as live performance. I have written a few with Oates since the tour and our song “1,000 Miles of Life” Oates, Leiber, Byrd actually got nominated for a Nashville Music Award this year. Elvis Costello, who I love, won but it was nice to see us up there right next to him!
John Oates and Geoff Byrd
Rick: When you left your first label were you planning on totally giving up on the music business or just needed a break to rework your career plans?
Geoff: I considered both frankly. I wasn’t sure what to do, but after the dust cleared and all the legal crap passed, I decided I would never worry about all the marketing and business stuff and just do what I wanted to do in the purest artistic sense. Now I play all the parts and record everything myself in my studio in my house. I feel a sense of romance like Brian Wilson tinkering around with old detuned toy pianos and Theremins.
Well, at least in my mind I feel connected to that kind of beautiful experimentation now. I am not comparing myself or anything, I just feel connected to that kind of timelessness and romantic notions of recording and creating in general. The late night recording sessions in my boxers are how I always imagined making records would be, dangerous. What does that mean? I don’t know. (Laughs)
Rick: Some of the groups that weren’t eliminated before you on the Next American Band were mediocre, that must have been a let down. Tell us about highlights and the disappointments?
Geoff: Oh God, that whole thing was a disappointment to me. I would like to say I was really struggling for some reason. I just wasn’t comfortable in my own skin in front of millions especially doing covers.
The only reason I even agreed to be on the show was I thought it wasAmerican Idol for songwriters. I thought it was an all original music talent show. I thought that would have been cool instead of what they watered it down with.
I thought it was all about original music so I was not stoked to find myself playing fricken Bob Dylan covers…oh God. Make it stop. But, the bottom line is I really couldn’t find a groove and that was my fault. I don’t know why. I guess I just realized this whole star path was not for me. I’m an under the radar pop singer songwriter guy that loves to play the underdog not the young beautiful front-runner. I wouldn’t do it again but at the same time I don’t regret it because it made me realize what was important in life.
After that, I reduced everything to simplest parts. I just asked myself, what about music do you love and what parts of it do you despise doing? What is important to me? Love, relationships, music with no worries about sales, figures, and charts and radio play and all that crap.
If five people buy my new record, cool. I’ll still love it. Maybe I’ll have grandkids that will hear it on the internet some day. And I keep meeting cool people that just find it out of obscurity and “get it” and often I become friends with them. It’s healthy, it’s the coolest.
Rick: You’re still writing some great songs, including “Fall From Grace”. What inspired you to write those lyrics?
Geoff: I think that song is maybe my best so far. I don’t know when you get done writing it and you don’t really know what the hell it’s about but every time you sing certain lines you break down in tears….that’s a keeper. It’s about my reckless ambition (not much left of it) but it’s also about guilt and bad choices. The song is asking for forgiveness and conjuring new hope.
Rick: Didn’t you have a role in an independent movie last year?
Geoff: Yep. The movie is pretty bad and I’m AWFUL in it! I am nobody’s actor. I need to stick with my day job!
Rick: What’s next as far as music or the entertainment business?
Geoff: I just finished a new CD called X Ray Vision that is a departure for me. It’s kind of my version of a contemporary Prince record or something. I really like it. They are 3 minute pop songs that stick and move. There are some fun tracks on there like “The Phoenix” and “Cool Police.” I get a little edgy with my lyrics there. I actually had to label a couple of my tunes as explicit on iTunes. It was a proud moment. (Laughs) I am starting a new record called LOVEJOY. I just started recording the first song on that one called “Fashionista,” which is about dating a 22- year old girl who I had absolutely zero in common with. I’m sure she’ll love the lyrics!
Rick: Any other collaborations you’re working on?
Geoff: I wrote a song with a new artist called Anchored. Brandon, the lead singer, is a really cool guy. The label is headed by Waymon Boone, who is the lead singer of a band called Splender. They had a tune called “I Think God can Explain” that I liked a lot. It was very honest. Anyway, we wrote this tune with Anchored called “Dirty in Texas” where Brandon is from and it turned out to be the first single, so I am hoping that does well. I would like to be the songwriter behind the scenes and let them do the hard work! Kick ass out there Brandon!
Rick: With all of the artists on major labels and the incredible amount of indie musicians who have the internet to get their music out, how do you come up with a strategy to make yourself unique enough to rise above the crowd and make a living as a working musician?
Geoff: Anymore I just make sure I have an always updated website, use Facebook, Twitter, my website, Myspace, iTunes and CDBaby. Everything else is just an updated mailing list where I keep in touch with my friends and try to make good music and play a couple shows a month. I don’t worry about the results anymore. I just try to put out good new music that I really like. My muse is back because of the new attitude of simplicity and clarity.
Rick: Are you hoping for a major label deal or do you think being an independent artist is a healthier career path for musicians today?
Geoff: I don’t want a deal like that. Those days are over. That whole industry is over. I enjoy it just the way it is right now. I think if anything I would like to write and collaborate with other artists more often and write a theme song for a movie or two.
Rick: Your latest music takes you on a different tangent as far as style. What are the major influences that took you in that direction?
Geoff: Prince, Michael Jackson, Pink. I think Pink rocks. I have a chance to submit some songs for her next record and I hope to write with her one day. I love that girl, fearless! And her voice is no joke. I would also like to work with Prince, Elton and Elvis Costello one day. Alright and a Paul and maybe a Brian should I be so lucky. There’s my wish list.
Rick: Will any music videos be produced to coincide with the tracks?
Geoff: I filmed a video to “When I Fall From Grace” myself. I was holding my iPhone in one hand, singing on camera, and holding the camera with my left hand. It was hilarious. I was stuck in an awesome snow storm in Portland last year. I couldn’t even get the car out to see my mom on Christmas. I mean it was two or three feet of snow. I thought the snow would be perfect for “When I Fall From Grace.” So, the whole video is just me singing in the snow. That was cold! My good friend from high school, Dan Larsen is a very talented and funny guy. We did a one day shoot together and put together a no budget video for “The Phoenix” that I think turned out cool too. 
Rick: Any chance that you’ll be touring soon?
Geoff: I might do a little Northwest U.S. tour, but only if it’s affordable and seems important or if it’s opening for John and Daryl or some big draw like that. I love it when they bring people out and I just play. That’s a sweet gig. I would much rather be the opening act than the main draw any day of the week. It’s no pressure and I love playing to a full house. Thanks for that dudes!
I also want to give a shout out to my man Mick Page who is a frequent collaborator, one of my biggest influences and greatest friends. He is another under the radar guy that writes great songs. He’s got a great voice as well. I would also like to thank my friends and fans that have stuck with me through tough times. I love you. Cheers mates! Much love!
Geoff’s latest: The Phoenix
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