Danny Saucedo
is an open book.
Would you like to ask a question?
Well, then fire away. To ask a question you can either, join the fanclub or send an email here. You can ask me about how I write songs, or what songs mean, or what books I like to read. I'll try to answer as honestly and as thoroughly as I can. There might be some questions that I can't answer out of respect for other people's privacy.
So, what do you want to know?
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How old were you when you first played guitar?
I started taking lessons in sixth grade at the Kirk Community Center in Willow Glen. After that, I took private lessons from the guy who taught that class. Of course, I had played the guitar a few times before I took that class. My childhood friend's sister taught me "Today" and "Disarm Me" by the Smashing Pumpkins a year or so before.
How old were you when you wrote your first song?
My first song was "Let the Dreams Come," which I wrote at the age of 14 at a NFTY event at Camp Swig. I wrote it with the help of Dan Novack and the harmonica help of Mr. Rich Slaton. It eventually went on my second album, Also Ran (sadly, sans harmonica.)
When did you decide you wanted to be an artist/musician/designer/writer?
If the question is "when did I decide to do any of these," I guess the answer is "at a young age." I don't know if I was aware of what a designer was, but in my elementary school sketchbooks you can find fake ads, movie posters and book covers. As far as the other three, I actively thought of them as things I'd want to do (though, at that time, I held to a practical, albeit discarded, belief that I would have to put those interests on the backburner while I brought home the bacon with a suit or labcoat job).
If the question is "when did I decide to do all of these," the answer is "fairly recently." My friend, the esteemed Dr. Hugo Bronstein, once described to me his idea of living "The Dream." His dream is one in which people can stitch together a happy little life, providing for themselves all that they need through the things they love to do. Right now, I'm trying to work toward that dream through art, music, design and writing.
Don't you have a show in LA COMING UP????
(This question and answer were posted Feb. 5)
Yes, actually, I do have a show coming up and you'll find out all about it later this week. Exciting stuff.
(Editor's note: The show went splendidly.)
How're your comics coming along?
Good question, anonymous question asker. For those of you who don't know, I'm currently developing about a dozen comic book ideas. Their statuses range from one-sentence treatments to fully plotted stories and I've finally begun typing up the script for a one-shot story. Don't hold your breath until you get to read one of my stories, because it's going to be quite some time before I'm ready to hand any scripts over to artists. In the meantime, I will probably post some webcomic strips which will be more akin to sunday cartoons as opposed to my serious work which is more graphic novel and superhero-like.
Have you thought of putting up a "currently reading/watching/listening to" thing to keep us posted? xanga wasn't SO far off...
First off, let's acknowledge that Xanga was probably the best thing to happen to... like, absolutely no one. (I just went to their homepage to snag that link and I can't believe it's still in use by apparently tons of people.) I did, however, love that feature. Maybe I will bring it back. I can tell you that, right now, I'm re-reading Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time and I'm on book 3, I'm catching up on the past seasons of Heroes, Venture Bros., and Ben 10: Alien Force, and I've been listening to a lot of Dr. Dog.
What do you think of Swedish Danny Saucedo? Have you heard his music?
I have for sure heard his music and I love his music videos. What do I think of him? Meh. He makes mediocre foreign pop music. I'm not angry he besmirched my good name or anything, I just think it's one of those great cosmic coincidences. I really hope to somehow interact with his life in the future.
How would you define indie (for example, where do you draw the line between indie and mainstream alternative? Is Death Cab indie?)?
I'll try to keep my answer succinct. I believe that much like the term Alternative or Pop, Indie no longer describes a state of being, but rather describes a certain sound and associated aesthetic and culture. Alternative bands remained Alternative long after they became the mainstream sound. One can make Pop music without being on popular radio stations. And, despite getting released by major multinational conglomerate record labels, Death Cab for Cutie is most definitely "hella Indie."
When it comes to the line between "mainstream alternative" and Indie, it's hard to say. I'm not sure the two are mutually exclusive. I think Weezer qualifies as mainstream alternative, since their sound is recognizably the same as back in '94 when they were part of the mid-90s alternative movement. However, a lot of what Weezer does could qualify as Indie behavior: ironic moustaches, self-referential lyrics and artwork (also the artwork for the red album's insert is very hipster-friendly, despite general hipster disapproval), and non-traditional concert formats that evoke old timey living (they had an actual hootenany). Personally, I've always had problems with how to define bands. My own bandmates and I have never known what to call our sound. Are we an Indie band? I really don't know.
Kar.