When Eric Elbogen met Mick Jagger, the legendary singer-his intoxication level unclear-only said one thing to Elbogen: "Say hi to your mom."
At that time, Elbogen had the idea of starting a band and was looking for a good, catchy name. "I thought Say Hi to Your Mom would be a perfect name for a band," he said.
Since that day, Elbogen, under the moniker of Say Hi to Your Mom, has recorded three full-length albums and started his own record label, Euphobia Records. He is currently on an extensive tour for Ferocious Mopes, his third LP. With such an offbeat name, the fact that Say Hi's music is quirky ought to be unsurprising. His sound is minimal, with low-dubbed synth beats and guitars over often-whispered vocals, and his song material ranges from suburban vampires to falling in love with androids. Although he creates all his music alone, he tours with a full band.
"I think that the only way for people to fully experience my music is with a full band," he explained.
Elbogen has never followed conventions when it comes to creating music. "The bottom line is that I like to express myself in untraditional ways," he said. "I detest the stereotypical empty love song, and what I'm trying to do is explore the ways to be wacky and not take myself too seriously. At the same time, however, I try to be somewhat earnest and convey a mood or idea. I just happen to use unusual things like robots or spaceships while doing so."
Because of his idiosyncratic approach to music, Elbogen discovered the difficulties of breaking into the music scene after he finished recording his first album, Numbers and Mumbles. "I sent that record to every label that I could think of, and no one wanted to put it out," he said. "Instead of waiting around for a deal that might never come, I decided instead to look into making my own record label. And that's how Euphobia Records was born."
Over time, Elbogen has witnessed the success of his music. His songs have been featured in advertisements, most notably in an MTV promo ad, and he recently signed a distribution deal with big-time indie distributor Future Farmer Recordings. However, he is not fazed at the allegations of selling out.
"Anyone who thinks it's possible to survive as an indie band without being willing to license their music for something like MTV is probably misguided and doesn't know how little money is actually in indie rock," he said. "The thing is, I like to be able to pay my rent and to be able to afford to go on tour, not to mention the ability to make more records. Granted, it would have taken longer for me to decide if someone like McDonald's was approaching me to use my music, but I'm willing to do a lot to make sure I can continue to make music."
Despite his growth in popularity and willingness to give his music to MTV, Elbogen still very much feels a part of the indie rock music culture. "Say Hi to Your Mom is still an indie band and definitely makes that type of music," he said, "but it's an interesting time for the independent world. Just because a lot of film and TV today uses independent music doesn't mean that the scene is changing. In fact, to me it's a vast improvement over what was being used three or four or five years ago. In the same vein, I still make the same music, whether or not it's featured in an MTV commercial."
For the time being, Elbogen is content with moving at the same pace he has been since he first released Numbers and Mumbles. "As usual, we're touring quite a bit for Ferocious Mopes, and we just finished our last of the three-week tour with Nada Surf, which was amazing," he said. "I just want to live this life for as long as I can. I want to keep touring and keep making records.
I've been putting out almost a record every year, and I want to keep doing that. And it looks like I might be signing a few bands to Euphobia. Basically, I'm having the time of my life and I'd love to keep it that way."
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