Pianoman: An Interview with Chris Garneau
Back in June, pianoman Chris Garneau (www.myspace.com/chrisgarneau) and his band were sent to a Beijing hotel because they sat two rows away from a H1N1 carrier on a plane from America -- an unfortunate turn of events that postponed his China tour for a few days. Now he's back for another tour covering Shanghai (Jan 2), Nanjing (Jan 3), Wuhan (Jan 5), Chengdu (Jan 6), Changsha (Jan 8), Guangzhou (Jan 9), Shenzhen (Jan 10) and Hong Kong (Jan 11). As he prepared for his Beijing show on New Year's Day and the ensuing travel madness, we spoke with him about leaving Berklee College of Music for Brooklyn, his French connections, previous day jobs and how he copes with bad reviews.
the Beijinger: What made your leave Berklee for Brooklyn?
Chris Garneau: I wasn't feeling productive in school and I was not inspired by much of anything around me in Boston. I felt like everything was static and I wanted something bigger. I was really excited to move to New York, but I was also really scared. It took me a long time to feel at home there, it took me a long time not to feel anxious to leave my house and talk to people. But now it is home, I love it more and more everyday.
tbj: You lived in Paris as a child for a few years, what do you remember about the city?
CG: I go to Paris very often. My European label is based in Paris and we usually start tour from there. I feel very comfortable there though the connection to it as a child feels very distant compared with my current relationship to the city. I was so young when we lived there that the energy I developed from it then has little, or nothing, to do with my current life. Besides having learned the language at a young age and some customs/traditions, my relationship to France now is something I've had to work at to build.
tbj: Besides making music, have you had other jobs?
CG: When I lived in Boston I worked as a room service boy. And I saved money to move to New York over a few months, then when I got there I worked in countless restaurants for about five years. I also worked as a court maintenance boy at a professional Tennis Tournament, and I also sold stuff at a holiday fair during the winter in New York. That was terrible. Lots of different kinds of terrible jobs...
tbj: Besides piano, do you play other instruments?
CG: Besides piano, I play harmonium at shows. And I play a bit of guitar but it's quite a challenge to me somehow. I play a bit of accordion but have not mastered this. I would like to buy a cello sometime soon. I love all kinds of keyboards: rhodes, wurlitzer, pianets, organs, etc.
tbj: Do you read your own album reviews?
CG: I read a lot of them. It's....hard....to avoid.
tbj: What was the worst comment on your album then?
CG: Someone (Pitchfork) said my first album Music for Tourists sounded like Elmo tickling Sufjan Stevens on suicide watch. This was the first review that was quite important that was this bad. It was hard to process at first, but when this same writer, Marc Hogan, positively reviewed a John Mayer record a month or so later, I felt a lot better about myself.
tbj: What brought you to China apart from the plane?
CG: A very kind and hard working man named Holger (and his wife Shumai) who have been working arduously with myself and Pocket Records (口袋唱片) here in Beijing over the last year and a half or so. We were so glad to finally make it over here this past summer. And we are even happier to be here now and looking so forward to this tour!
Chris Garneau performs at Yugong Yishan on January 1 (Friday) with folk rock group Buyi (布衣), indie rock darling Wu Hongfei (吴虹飞) and twee-pop collective Thumb Girl (拇指姑娘). RMB 150, RMB 100 (advance). 8pm. Door opens at 8pm. 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu (100m west of Zhangzizhong Lu subway station), Dongcheng District (6404 2711). 东城区平安大道张自忠路3-2号(地铁五号线张自忠路站往西100米)
