Austinist Interviews ACL: Eli "Paperboy" Reed

Roll With You (O Division) has boosted Allston-based soul crooner Eli "Paperboy" Reed into the national spotlight, and the lift is well-deserved. Reed's music is a major force in the 21st century soul throwback genre (alongside Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and to some extent, Gnarls Barkley), and his thrilling live set is just one more reason to check him out at this year's ACL festival. Eli performs on Saturday on the WaMu stage at 3:15, and at La Zona Rosa the night before with G Love & Special Sauce. He was kind enough to take a few minutes to catch us up on how he's handling all the attention, preparing for the festival and (yes) listening to a lot of modern country music.

You're very young to be receiving this much attention in the world of soul, a world that traditionally has favored the time-tested and grizzled, rather than the young and living in Massachusetts. Do you find there to be any resistance from the more established veterans of the field, and how do you feel you fit in with them?

ER I think it's interesting that people dwell so much on age when it comes to R&B, especially because during the golden age in the 1960s, the singers and musicians were all in their early 20s. For me, what I'm doing makes perfect sense because I'm young and I want to play exciting music. All the singers I love were my age when they started making records and that youthful energy is part of what makes the music so exciting.

You obviously have a slew of old-school influences, but are there any bands today that particularly strike you, or have inspired your way of thinking about music?

The guys in my band definitely broaden the scope of our influences. From one day to the next we might be listening to Archie Shepp or Ravel or Sa-Ra or Jimmy Martin in the van. That being said there isn't a ton of new stuff that blows my mind. I personally like modern country music and I think the songwriting definitely informs how I write my own stuff. Despite the terrible production values, I still think country music songwriting is the best in the business. But we also cover Motorhead live so I guess we're coming from alot of different directions.

I still think country music songwriting is the best in the business...
but we also cover Motorhead live so I guess we're coming from alot of different directions.

In the past you've cited the irony of today's pop music, and how you aim for something more real—because of this, it seems that no matter how badass your music gets, it seems destined to miss out on widespread "hipster" acclaim. With that in mind, how do you approach the idea of widespread accessibility or stylishness when it comes to your music?

Well I'm certainly shooting for widespread accessibility. I think a lack of irony in my music doesn't necessarily limit hipster appeal, I think it just broadens the scope of who you can get to be interested in your music. At our shows you definitely see your fair share of hipsters but there's also random teenagers, yuppies, and middle-aged couples. For me that's honesty exciting. My initial goal was to make music for my peers, which I still think I'm doing, but if other people get interested, more power to them. I just want to avoid irony in my approach, avoid the wink and the nod that so many bands have in their music, if you know what I mean.

Your live performances are always high energy and entertaining—sometimes it seems like you might blow your voice completely to pieces. Is there anything in particular that qualifies a performance in your mind as being "good"? What do you hope for the audience to get out of seeing your band?

I really want the audience to get completely involved and that's what makes the show a success for me. I also really want the band to sound tight and together as well, that gives me more confidence on stage. I just want the audience to get involved emotionally, to feel something. They ought to go home feeling drained but happy.

Is there any one instance that made it clear to you that this is what you want to do for a living? Can you possibly imagine doing anything else?

You know I really enjoy all aspects of music, the cultural element as well as the performance. I would love to do musicology/cultural anthropology type work. I've already kind of done some, though not in any professional capacity, and I think that really informed my music. I can't think of one moment that made it clear that I wanted to do this professionally but looking back on it I was always pursuing it, even when I was in college.

You've got yourself quite a band, and several of them have been playing with you for a while—how do you balance your own desires for your songs with incorporating a band?

It's a tough thing to do sometimes but then again it can be easy. The guys all have their own musical tastes and influences so sometimes I'll bring in an unfinished song or something that needs a bridge or a horn arrangement and they'll come up with something I never would have thought of that works perfectly and takes the song in a whole different direction. I've been writing alot with my guitarist, Ryan Spraker, and it's always nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. Most of my horn players are very jazz-informed so sometimes if you listen closely to a horn line you'll hear how dissonant it really is ("Stake Your Claim" is a good example) but it fits well with the song.

You've played in Austin before, but how does it feel to be playing at ACL, where you'll have a larger audience than you've had here in the past?

It's definitely exciting. I love playing in Austin and to be there when it's not SXSW will be fun since hopefully we'll be able to actually walk down 6th st. We've been playing alot of festivals recently and they're always fun in their own way but I think playing a festival in Austin will be great.

Anything else you'd like to add? Any declarations or clarifications, complaints or congrats?

I think that's it, just psyched for the festival!

Thanks for taking time to talk to Austinist, Eli.

Eli Reed [MySpace] [Official]