Audioholic Media

If you want the short version, Bobby Long’s initial success was catapulted by only a few verses. Having co-written a song that may or may not have been featured in some unknown indie film which involves vampires, his name has spread like wildfire in a very short amount of time.

We met with Bobby before his show at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, his last gig amongst a handful of American tour dates before making his way back to London to finish college. During our time with him, we learned that the kid is smart. He’s thought more about the future of the music industry than some of the most respected veterans in the business. He’s taking his career seriously. He has a genuine respect for his fans. His music and lyrics show no signs of youth but are instead sometimes cryptic and unnervingly wise. Of his writing style, Bobby told us, “I don’t think there are easily-accessible lyrics on a lot of the songs.” He’s not kidding. And, as with his lyrics, Bobby Long isn’t opposed to a bit of complexity in his career. “You shouldn’t go straight into it and be playing a 2,000-seat stadium. You should go in at the bottom and work your way up. That’s the way to be respected.”

Audioholic Media: I read that you recently signed a publishing deal with Bug Music. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Bobby Long: Bug are this really wicked company that have been around since, I think the ’60s, and they started off with this bloke called Del Shannon. It’s expanded and expanded into, like, Ryan Adams, and Gram Parsons, and… who else? Kings Of Leon, they publish all their music. They’re a really big company; a really cool company. A lot of country artists work with them, as well. Quite folk-y kind of stuff. They’re going to take care of all my publishing, and they’re going to help me out with America.

AM: Do they own the rights to your songs, as well?

BL: They own the rights for a period of time, and with handing over that quite small percentage, they go out and put you on the roster and they put you into the situations where you can do the things you want to do.

AM: It sounds as if you get all of the benefits of being on the record label without any of the obvious drawbacks that come with it.

BL: Actually, it is kind of like that. They don’t necessarily do anything with the album, but they help with everything else.

AM: It seems as if your lyrics are very honest and come from an introspective place. Is it difficult for you to hand your music over to someone else to produce and interpret?

BL: I think you can only write from an honest place, otherwise people see through it and don’t believe it. But in terms of handing [the songs] over to Bug, for them to do stuff with, it’s completely cool. You like who you’re working with, and it’s all really great stuff.

In terms of recording with a producer, as long as I’m always in control, I think that would be OK. I would never just go, “Here’s the song. Record it however you want.” I think you have to be really careful with your songs and be really protective.

AM: Does the experience of working with a producer allow you to see your songs in a different way?

BL: Yeah. In a nice way. I always take my music really, really seriously, but once somebody who has that kind of history behind them is taking you seriously, it’s like, “Maybe I have got a real opportunity for doing this kind of stuff.” It’s a real nice confidence booster, do you know what I mean?

In terms of the experience changing you, or anything else, I’m not resting on my laurels, and it hasn’t gone to my head that a few girls shout my name [laughs]. All that stuff is fickle.

AM: In today’s version of the music industry, there’s a lot of oversaturation with MySpace, and YouTube, and everything else. How have you been able to rise above that and stand out?

BL: I think all that comes to is just the live show. It’s so important for a musician to put on a good live show, and if they’re not good live, it’s just not gonna work. When people come to my shows, they see that I am honest. I’m an honest musician. I really like what I’m doing. I’m really passionate about what I’m doing, and that comes across. If not, I’m just some kid.

But I do work with the oversaturation thing. You’ve got MySpace, YouTube; it’s so accessible now. I think it’s really important, as a musician, to keep a little mystery about you. You should be attainable but unattainable.

AM: With your career, your fans have gotten to see the whole process. From the demos recorded in your bedroom to professionally-produced tracks. Has this had a noticeable effect on the relationship you have with your fans?

BL: I think one of the reasons people are interested in this and why people come to the shows and are really loyal is because you don’t often get an opportunity to watch an artist start from this, with very little recorded material and slowly working up. Not since the 1960s have they been able to see an artist slowly do an EP, then do an album… An artist now is determined to be in the limelight. They’re like, “Here we are. This is it.” Two albums, and they’re gone. This is an opportunity for me to have a long career. With all of my favorite bands, I love going from the first album to the last album, just seeing how they grow, seeing what happens, who dies, and all that kind of stuff. [laughs] Do you know what I mean? That’s what is really interesting. And Dylan was like that. You could see Dylan really start to explore with each album.

AM: You’ve listed artists like Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley as your primary influences, and their influence is present in the depth of your writing. The industry has changed a lot since their time, and the Internet has made music accessible in a different way. Do you feel as if your writing and artistry can be interpreted with the same depth as music was back then?

BL: Yeah… well, it’s just going to have to be, because that’s the way I am. [laughs] As an artist, you can’t just start changing anything because… people are fickle, and record labels are kind of watching what’s taking over and seeing who’s big at what time.

I think there’s just as much good music around now as there ever has been.

AM: I agree.

BL: I think music’s more unattainable– and more accessible at the same time. I think people are always trying to find good music, and they always want that slightly deeper stuff, I think– I hope. Otherwise, it’s back to college.

AM: What are you going to school for?

BL: I’m just finishing up my degree in sound in film. I just did it to move to London, really; to get a student loan. I’m just desperate to finish. I’ve got 7,000 words to write. I have to go from New York, to L.A., to Nashville, doing some really cool shows, then go back university. It’s going to be a real head fuck. [laughs] I got an extension on my work because I’m doing it on American folk music. I said I’m going to America to research. [laughs]

AM: The appeal of your music is that your sound isn’t packaged for a certain marketability or streamlined to be be mainstream, yet you have garnered a mainstream following rather quickly. Is that a difficult balance to wrap your head around?

BL: Yeah. I think some songs could be radio songs, but that’s just happened naturally. I just kind of do what I want to do and write the songs I want to write. But it is quite weird having an audience that perhaps wouldn’t have usually listened to my music, I don’t think. But I’m extremely lucky for that fact. You can’t buy people, you can’t beg them to come to your gigs, and especially in today’s climate where people aren’t buying records, you need to sell out shows, and you need to have that support there.

AM: Your lyrics are a little cryptic sometimes, so it is surprising that your music has been received really well by such a large group of people, but nothing about your songs is at all…

BL: Obvious?

AM: Yes.

BL: I think you should be able to interpret it any way you want to. I really hate when singers go, “This song is about Tracy, and she took me to go bowling, and I got my finger stuck in the hole. It’s called ‘Trapped.’” I find that boring.

I mean, sometimes you write songs and people might go, “Man, that’s deep.” And it’s just about a bad day or rain. It’s just your interpretation of it.

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Bobby’s live version of “Being A Mockingbird” is now available on iTunes.
For more information on Bobby Long, visit his MySpace page at myspace.com/musicbobbylong.