Say Hi (again)

My first encounter with Eric Elbogen’s music project was, like most other things, through my sister showing me music; this day, specifically, somewhere between the years 2007-2010, were the songs “I Like Birds” by Eels and, a song I thought equally ridiculous at the time, “Let’s Talk About Spaceships.” But, five to eight years later, when I was re-discovering every inch of my past, my mind suddenly pushed me directly back to “Spaceships,” where I would then find myself in a world of vampires, baby robots, and (briefly) Star Trek. It’s hard to know what goes on in the mind of someone who was able to write a song about Buffy the Vampire Slayer that includes lyrics that read like an incredible love song (“And your eyes got crimson when you got closer / And you might be the nicest thing I’ve ever seen”), but after being able to talk to the mastermind behind it all, it’s easy to tell why he has the most loyal fans and the greatest music in this (and maybe the next) galaxy.

Say Hi, formerly known as Say Hi to Your Mom (but we won’t go there), is the music project of Eric Elbogen, started back in Brooklyn in the ancient year of 2002. After creating, producing, and releasing four records from New York City, Elbogen moved himself and the project back west, this time to the Pacific Northwest treasure Seattle (although, in his own words,  “I’m a hermit, so I’m bad at answering [what Seattle’s best hidden gem is]…[but] it’s pretty great up here!!”). But the Seattle sound, vibe, whatever you want to call it, really seemed to influence the music, and has in some ways become synonymous with Say Hi itself (his ode to “Northwestern Girls” seems to show just that). But this is no Nirvana-esque grunge band, nor is it a bouncy SubPop Postal Service ripoff (although some would tend to disagree). Elbogen managed to carve out an entirely new genre, somewhere in between synthy-pick-me-up and lyrical poetry, that also skirts the line (but never crosses) of being able to write a song about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Honestly, it’s kind of perfect.

But before the release of his latest record, Caterpillar Centipede (2018), Elbogen made the decision to retire Say Hi completely. In early 2017 Elbogen launched a Kickstarter that also announced the end of Say Hi, which allowed fans to purchase his first four records on vinyl (and some other rewards, like having Eric come clean your house for a few hours, for the cool price of $50,000). And it was a decision Elbogen thought would be permanent, as he even moved on to new projects. “I made the Werewolf Diskdrive record once I thought Say Hi was done for good. It’s an experimental sci-fi rap record with a sense of humor. It seems as if it resonated with only a small number of Say Hi fans, but it might be MY favorite record I’ve ever made.” But his decision to return Say Hi to his most loyal fans came a little later on, through “a Centaur named David Bowie,” but also “a number of nice people [that] reached out with some very nice words when I announced the retirement. It was enough to convince me to reconsider the decision.”

The decision didn’t just include coming out of retirement, but also releasing a brand-new album and embarking on a North American tour. This summer Elbogen released his first single off of the new record, “Every Gauge is on Empty,” with the entire album releasing earlier this month. While there is a definite change in what Say Hi is now than what it was pre-retirement/hiatus, Elbogen ultimately created an album for his most loyal fans. “I think I definitely made a conscious decision for the new record to be a nostalgic-sounding one. I wanted it to be enjoyable for people who have enjoyed every part of the catalog, so I tried to come up with a way to combine the feeling of some of the early records with what I’ve learned since making those records.” And it seems that people having been responding well to the new music – “So far so good! I’m very pleased that people have been enjoying it!”

The tour, which began on Friday in Vancouver, isn’t your typical concert experience. Elbogen opted to do intimate living room shows for the return of Say Hi, something other bands, like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, have done in the past. In essence, there’s no stage, no sound equipment, no lighting; just Elbogen sitting in a (graciously volunteered) living room, with a small number of people playing an acoustic set. The decision to do so can seem hard to make for artist’s who associate success with numbers, but for Elbogen the decision was easy: “There is quite the disconnect between the band and the audience when you play in a rock venue. This way it’s just me [and] a guitar, hanging out in a small room and playing songs in a casual environment. Plus, we all get to go to bed at a reasonable hour!” Many of the tour dates sold out quickly, proving once again that these loyal fans would do anything to keep this project alive.

Say Hi was never a huge endeavor; the albums were mainly recorded in Elbogen’s home studio, and mostly released through his own label Euphobia. His past tours have been small, sometimes him accompanied by a few friends, sometimes solo. He’s even played for other bands like Big Scary, Telekinesis, and, briefly in 2013, as Fred Armisen’s bass player. It’s not the biggest project in the world, but it has seemed to impact a lot of people that way.

Even though Elbogen tried to leave Say Hi in his past, it seems like there’s some things you can never get rid of. Maybe it was the (several) times I yelled at my friends about how “Maurine” is the greatest song ever written (honestly how can you beat the greatest lyrics ever written, “But Maurine / I can’t come to your party ‘cause I think that I’m dead”), or maybe it was the fact that I’m not the only person that thinks so. It was a hard acceptance for many fans to think they would no longer have Say Hi in their life, but I’d like to think that no matter what the music is still there; you can’t erase 15 years and 11 albums of work. Oh, and don’t worry, I was able to get the answer everyone was waiting for – Eric Elbogen is much more of a cartoon vampire than he is a real one.

You can stream Say Hi’s newest album Caterpillar Centipede and the rest of the discography on Spotify, and purchase the records and albums on Bandcamp.

Written by Leka Gopal.