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Welcome to another episode of The Unstarving Musician.

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I am Robonzo.

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This is a podcast for independent musicians and industry professionals intended to help you all with the ins and outs of creative marketing and business processes and all the things that help us make more music.

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And we do that here by sharing conversations with independent artists and industry professionals.

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How are you?

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Where are you?

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What are you wearing today?

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These are the things I need to know, as I’m always fond of saying.

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Since my last episode, Ozzy Osbourne passed, which is quite sad.

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Many of my friends really loved him.

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He was definitely in the backdrop of my youth and I had an opportunity to meet him at an Ozfest backstage, albeit very briefly.

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Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the best of shape at that moment in time, but he did manage to put on a heck of a performance.

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In any case, he made quite a dent in the music universe and beyond my condolences to his friends and family, and to all of his fans, and especially those who I know who are just really deeply saddened by his passing.

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My guest in this episode is Eli Lev, making his third appearance on the podcast.

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We first connected back in September 2018, when he was just a couple of years into his full-time music path.

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Then we connected again in January 2020, when he was wrapping up his Four Directions album series.

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Now, here in 2025, Eli has evolved into something of a touring machine.

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He did 250 shows last year alone, while maintaining his commitment to spiritual growth and community building.

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He’s built and nurtured what he calls The Levitators, his dedicated fan community, and he’s exploring new creative territory with his upcoming Past Lives EP.

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What struck me about this conversation is how Eli has learned to balance the demands of intensive touring with his personal well-being and spiritual practice.

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He’s someone who’s woven together influences from his Jewish upbringing, Buddhist studies, teaching from his time on the Navajo Nation and beyond into both his music and his approach to career sustainability.

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We recorded this conversation just after he released a beautiful video for a song called Where We Come From and that video was shot in a restored log cabin that dates back to 1765.

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It rests on Maryland’s Trial Run Farm.

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It’s the kind of attention to meaningful storytelling and authentic locations that personify Eli’s approach to his art.

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I decided to try something different in this conversation.

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Instead of saving the deeper, more challenging questions for the end, we started there.

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So you’ll hear us dive right into what’s slowing him down lately, what pain he’s willing to embrace for his music, and how he maintains his center while living much of his life on the road.

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Eli continues to inspire me and his fans with his intentional approach to both his artistry and business, music business, and I think you’ll find valuable insights whether you’re just starting out or you’re like Eli several years into building a sustainable music career.

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Here’s me speaking with Eli Lev.

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I’m going to try something new today which is to sort of turn my process a little upside down.

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I’d normally, meaning, yeah, I’d normally ask these types of things at the end of the interview.

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So we’re acquainted and we did this once.

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So the first one, just two of them by the way, what’s slowing you down most these days?

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What’s slowing me down most these days is my need to do everything as an indie artist.

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You know, I think that there is a power in concentrating our energy and our, you know, focus on one thing at a time.

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So what I have attempted to do is to do everything just one at a time.

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Now, that doesn’t always work.

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But what I’ve tried to do is, you know, I’m an independent artist and I need to write songs, I need to record them, I need to tour and I need to do shows and I need to do everything else.

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So what I have done now is I have kind of organized it seasonally.

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So I write songs in the fall, I record songs in the winter, I tour spring and summer and a little bit of fall, and then rinse and repeat.

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So for example, you know, I’ve done that process now, I’m in a release process now.

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So all my focus, all of my attention is social media, getting my music out there, connecting with PR and release motions.

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And then pretty soon, in two weeks, all of that concentration is gonna go towards crowdfunding.

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So I’m not sure when this episode is gonna air, but it might be during my crowdfunding campaign for my upcoming album, Past Lives, but it will be like 30 days of all in focus on that.

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So the spread of too many things can I think really kind of paralyze us.

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But I think the focus on one thing at a time is what really can, you know, move me forward and keep me kind of chugging along the right way.

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I’m so glad I asked that question.

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And I know, I mean, I’ve written about it recently.

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And I know that everyone struggles with this.

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But I’m having like a, I bet any given day of the week, I could say the same thing.

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But I’m having like a very personal experience with this because, and maybe you don’t do this, you can tell me, but like social media that I can push to the wayside really easily, as bad of a habit as that is, because I’ve been trying, as I mentioned, I’ve been working on this course material for an existing course for new podcasters.

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And the one section that’s really bogged me down is creating one on video podcasting.

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It’s new.

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I’m kind of learning in the process.

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Yeah, I just, I’m like, I got to focus on this one thing.

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I got to stop the other stuff because I’m never going to get this done.

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Yeah.

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And trying to be so laser focused, of course, the first thing, well, one of the first things for me that goes to the wayside is social.

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But I’m only talking like, I didn’t do much this week, you know.

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So, is that with regards to social media or maybe something else, do you have something like that, that easily kind of gets pushed to the wayside that you beat yourself up about?

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Well, it used to be social media.

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I guess it’s shifted now because social media is part of the release strategy.

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Sure.

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So, you know, every day, morning and evening, I’m on platforms, I’m sharing my music, making connections with people, you know, commenting on other people’s profiles, answering comments because those are building relationships.

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And, you know, the more that happens, the more the kind of the share can happen as well.

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So that is my release strategy now.

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So before, when I was on tour, interestingly enough, you know, I wasn’t necessarily posting every day, as I mean, like once or twice a week.

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But now, like as that is my main focus, like, I can see how important it is just to be visible.

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And, you know, to share uplifting or kind or positive or interesting thoughts with folks.

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So that has actually become a big part of my actions now.

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And is, again, speaking specifically about social media, that’s…

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Does it still feel kind of seasonal then?

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Like, there are just seasons where I’m gonna be there once a week, maybe.

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I hope to be there more, but the reality is…

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Yeah, it has been.

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But more and more I’m realizing now that, like, that is the town forum.

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That is where people are.

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So if I am an independent musician and I want to be where people are, that’s where they are.

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I mean, not everybody is there.

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And so I’m at the shows, I’m at the venues, and I’m, you know, doing that, which is great.

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But if there is, like, you know, let’s just imagine a, you know, a nature scene.

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There’s, like, a pool of water over here, and then there’s, like, this, like, giant music festival gathering of music fans over here.

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It’s like, you know, I’ll go to both places, but I better spend the time where there’s a lot of people that are listening and ready to engage in music.

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And right now, it’s not, let’s not call it social media anymore because it’s not very social.

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Let’s call it, I am on the entertainment platforms.

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Yeah.

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I heard it, I wish I could remember it right now.

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I heard a similar comment, you know, it’s not very social and we’d heard another name for it.

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And there are all kinds of ones we can make.

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What is your favorite platform these days?

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I have been, I mean, I was on Facebook when it began in college.

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I got the invite, you had to have a college email address to be on Facebook.

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What year was that when you got on?

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I think that was maybe 2003, 2004.

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Yeah, yeah.

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Tell me this is right.

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I feel like they opened it up in around 2007, but maybe it’s more like 2006.

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Is that right?

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I think they had kind of the only college invites, maybe 2004, 2005, and I think 2006, 2007, they opened up publicly.

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I’ve been on Instagram since that began as well, maybe 2015, 2013.

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Did that start in 2015?

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Wow.

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Yeah.

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It’s pretty nuts when you think about it.

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It’s been around for at least 10 years and then-

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It’s not longer, but-

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It could be longer.

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Yeah, it could be longer.

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Then I wasn’t the first adopter of TikTok, but I’ve had an interesting flirtatious relationship with TikTok.

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But just recently, Rob, I have gone many viral.

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The first time that any of my posts have really taken off on TikTok and Instagram.

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I have to thank my TikTok Instagram community, especially my friends out on the Navajo Nation in Shonto, Arizona for really embracing my music.

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I posted about my understanding of the indigenous system of K’e.

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It’s like a Shonto relation way to figure out how people are, what clans they’re in and how the relations are happening.

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Then I posted about my song, Long Way Back to Shonto and that took off.

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Then I posted about how to introduce myself in Navajo, and I got a lot of feedback, a lot of help, which was amazing.

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Then all my students, like, hey, Mr.

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Lev, it’s been like 20 years.

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How are you?

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Painful.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So, you know, reconnecting with my student, former students and teachers and colleagues, it’s been, it’s actually been pretty, pretty awesome.

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And that’s been on TikTok and Instagram.

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Well, that’s, that’s community right there that you had that came around.

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That’s cool.

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Good to hear.

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Upside down question number two.

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Yeah.

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So I recently read a quote that goes like this.

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What we get out of life is not determined by the good feelings we desire but by the bad feelings we’re willing and able to sustain to get us to those good feelings.

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And I haven’t, I confess, I haven’t, I saved that, but I haven’t really contemplated it much myself.

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But I will ask you, what pain do you want in your life?

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What are you willing to struggle for?

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Yeah, that reminds me of kind of the idea that whatever like feels good right now is probably not good for you in the long run.

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Yeah, indeed.

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If I just sat down and ate like two boxes of chocolates right now, that would feel really good.

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But in the long run, I would probably regret that.

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So it’s a very interesting balance also to discern what those things are, you know, that we should be kind of like struggling through or struggling with.

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However, I would say that currently, my kind of, you know, my spiritual space right now is not having to suffer.

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Like, what are the things that I usually suffer through, like choose to suffer through, but not feeling like it’s like a negative feeling or anything, but actually just feeling part of the process.

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So, for example, touring 250 shows last year, from Canada to US to all over the country, going to, you know, England and Europe and all of that earlier this year.

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That was a big lift, big push.

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And in a way, you could have called it a struggle if you wanted to.

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You know, I really consciously thought to myself, it’s like, you know, yeah, I could think of it like that, but I could also think of it as like, this is part of the journey.

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This is something to enjoy.

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You know, this is not even not even if it’s not enjoyable, all of the moments, this is something that is required, something that is asked.

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And, you know, I think like any growth happens at the edge of discomfort.

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Right.

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I think that that that’s also alluding to that where it’s like, if we want to grow and if we want to learn, we have to be willing to, you know, enter those spaces.

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Right.

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In retrospect, on the touring thing, I’ve read, we probably talked about it a little bit, about the challenges, but in retrospect, do you feel, or how well prepared do you feel you were for those challenges and bumps and things?

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Or was it a little bit, were you taking it back somewhat?

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I’ve been traveling my whole life.

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I’ve been touring all over the world in one way or the other.

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I had trained my driving skills in the US.

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You know what I mean?

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I had learned how to drive manual way back in the day.

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I had to relearn it again.

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But I would say I was as prepared as I could be, but it was still different than touring in the US, going through Portugal, Spain, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, learning a new language and having new money and new cultural exchanges every two or three days was interesting.

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And it was a unique challenge, figuring out rental cars and sound equipment and flights.

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There’s a lot of logistics.

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But I think I was prepared for it.

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And I think that that experience has also prepared me for whatever’s next.

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I love it.

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So you have a relatively new video out that you recorded live in that cabin that you’ve done some other recording in, I think.

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Yeah.

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Where We Come From.

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I like it, by the way.

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Sounds great.

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Thank you.

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Your videographer, I looked at a little closer today.

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Great.

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Yeah.

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Sounds good.

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Where is that location in relation to where you live?

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And I guess, tell me more about the song for listeners.

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Yeah.

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Where We Come From is just released.

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It is the story of my mom’s side from the South.

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She was born in Mississippi, but her family is from South Carolina.

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They were workers in the cotton mills from the late 1800s on.

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And the story of my dad’s side of the family.

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His family is from Chicago by way of Eastern Europe, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine.

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And I wanted to honor both of those sides of the family.

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And I’m going to be singing in this song.

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It’s part of my EP called Past Lives, which is essentially bringing the voices of my ancestors to life.

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And these songs are very special and very sacred, and they need a certain space to really kind of, you know, get that effect.

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And me and my friend, Luke Justin Roberts, LJR, he’s the videographer.

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We were looking for places on Airbnb, and we found these, around Maryland.

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And this one was about two hours north, just outside of Baltimore, in this beautiful farm, it’s called Trial Run Farm.

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And they had found this, it was actually a home, it wasn’t a cabin, it was a log home built in 1765, on the side of the road.

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And they were just gonna kind of destroy it, and they saw these rafters, these like big, huge, massive, you know, logs that was made from.

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So they restored it completely, with the help of local Amish workers.

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No nails, no, you know, kind of mechanics, just like all, you know, old school.

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And it’s a beautiful space.

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There’s like an old revolutionary flag, you know, there’s like lanterns going on, there’s the front stoop.

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So we recorded a live performance video of all of the songs on the album at the Log Home.

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And it was, there’s a thunderstorm that came through just before.

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And there’s a live performance video of another song called Echo.

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There’s this huge lightning bolt that like comes down through.

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And it’s like, ah, the ancestors are here.

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They’re speaking, they’re with us.

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And it felt like a really cool kind of blessing for the project.

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Yeah, I don’t recall seeing that or maybe didn’t see the whole thing.

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I’ll have to re-watch it.

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Echo.

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Echo.

00:19:15.980 –> 00:19:16.600
Yep.

00:19:16.600 –> 00:19:17.860
So it’s cool.

00:19:17.860 –> 00:19:20.400
Each of the five songs are going to have a live performance video.

00:19:20.400 –> 00:19:26.880
And all of those videos were performed in the log house from 1765.

00:19:26.880 –> 00:19:27.780
Cool.

00:19:27.780 –> 00:19:29.680
Yeah, because I did see another one.

00:19:29.680 –> 00:19:32.160
I thought I wonder if we didn’t know where it was.

00:19:32.160 –> 00:19:35.020
I was like, I wonder if you recorded several at the same time.

00:19:35.080 –> 00:19:39.580
I’m probably was thinking that, because like knowing you, you did know Eli.

00:19:39.580 –> 00:19:42.020
He probably batched it.

00:19:42.020 –> 00:19:44.760
He probably put them all together and you’re correct.

00:19:44.760 –> 00:19:45.160
Yeah.

00:19:45.160 –> 00:19:46.800
No good idea.

00:19:46.800 –> 00:19:48.020
Sounds I bet it had.

00:19:48.020 –> 00:20:00.500
So I think you commented not just now, but I think I read perhaps in one of your e-mails that the the sound inside was really warm because of the wood.

00:20:00.540 –> 00:20:01.780
Yes.

00:20:01.780 –> 00:20:02.320
Yeah.

00:20:02.320 –> 00:20:06.080
It was just all wood with some carpets.

00:20:07.320 –> 00:20:13.200
And there was this kind of like really organic natural feeling.

00:20:13.200 –> 00:20:20.140
And yeah, just like the spirits of people who had been in and out of that space for the last 200 years.

00:20:20.480 –> 00:20:21.820
That’s so cool.

00:20:21.820 –> 00:20:27.400
There’s a venue here in Queretaro for music and probably other things.

00:20:29.440 –> 00:20:30.920
It’ll hold a good number of people.

00:20:30.920 –> 00:20:32.980
It basically has bleacher style seating.

00:20:33.460 –> 00:20:44.740
It’s open air inside a structure, but very open air, very high ceiling, a lot of stone actually.

00:20:46.460 –> 00:20:52.860
I went to see a band from Argentina there and saw a local act as well.

00:20:52.860 –> 00:20:56.020
I was really curious how it was going to sound.

00:20:56.700 –> 00:20:59.020
I was shocked at how warm it sounded.

00:20:59.020 –> 00:21:07.300
But my guess is the stone was because of its contour, sort of maybe a little bit like that wood effect or something.

00:21:07.300 –> 00:21:12.780
Because I was thinking this is going to be loud and echoey, I bet, but not so much.

00:21:12.860 –> 00:21:13.640
It was really nice.

00:21:13.640 –> 00:21:16.460
It’s surprising what old places can do.

00:21:16.460 –> 00:21:22.880
It’s really fascinating how the sound or the audio profile of the space can affect the show.

00:21:22.880 –> 00:21:28.420
Usually when we go into a venue, we’re just like, oh, the seat’s comfortable.

00:21:28.420 –> 00:21:29.080
You know what I mean?

00:21:29.260 –> 00:21:30.500
Is the lighting nice?

00:21:30.500 –> 00:21:31.820
Yeah, that’s very helpful.

00:21:31.820 –> 00:21:43.960
But whether it’s a live venue or a live performance or a recorded audio, I found that the acoustics really do affect a performance.

00:21:43.960 –> 00:21:46.460
So it’s really interesting to find the right spot.

00:21:46.460 –> 00:21:47.840
Totally.

00:21:47.840 –> 00:21:48.520
Totally.

00:21:48.520 –> 00:22:04.440
I love reading about that stuff from my favorite recordings from when I was young and just like maybe arguably first getting into music, how they found this super cool space that was otherwise nothing special, but it just sounded amazing.

00:22:04.440 –> 00:22:05.620
So they do the whole album there.

00:22:05.700 –> 00:22:25.540
But going back to all the touring you did last year, I know that you have written about and talked about the mental health and just maybe just the health strains that that kind of thing can put on you.

00:22:26.800 –> 00:22:31.760
And I know you’ve even talked to some podcast hosts about it.

00:22:31.760 –> 00:22:36.920
I don’t recall, I know we talked a little bit about it too in the past, the recent past.

00:22:36.920 –> 00:22:52.060
But I don’t recall asking you very specifically, like what was moment that seemed like it was a bit much to bear, maybe too much to bear, maybe you felt a moment of crisis or something, or just like, oh, what am I doing?

00:22:52.060 –> 00:22:57.900
But can you share one or, if you have more than one, share those moments?

00:22:57.900 –> 00:22:58.620
Yeah, absolutely.

00:22:58.620 –> 00:23:03.120
I appreciate the question too, because it’s a chance to share testimony.

00:23:04.020 –> 00:23:12.960
And part of the point of talking about mental health is just to speak about it, and not to make it this isolating thing.

00:23:12.960 –> 00:23:15.920
And interestingly enough, it was the isolation.

00:23:15.920 –> 00:23:20.480
It was the feeling, the disconnect.

00:23:20.480 –> 00:23:25.660
That really was the trigger, or that really was the red flag for me.

00:23:25.660 –> 00:23:28.060
It’s like, oh, wait a second, what’s going on here?

00:23:29.420 –> 00:23:35.480
I’m on the road for eight hours a day on my own, then I go into this venue and it’s great and it’s fantastic.

00:23:35.480 –> 00:23:38.620
And I’m like, you know, helping him be like entertained and everything.

00:23:38.620 –> 00:23:42.300
And then it’s just like a quick switch off again.

00:23:42.300 –> 00:23:56.220
So navigating those two extremes, being away from friends, family, partner, you know, like it just, it began to feel very isolating.

00:23:56.220 –> 00:24:03.380
And so that was an indicator to me to reach out, get the right support and find the right resources.

00:24:03.380 –> 00:24:10.580
Luckily, I found a organization called Backline.

00:24:10.580 –> 00:24:19.780
And Backline I think has been really one of the top organizations actually lately that’s been getting a lot of support from other artists.

00:24:19.840 –> 00:24:27.520
I know Chappell Rohn did a contribution and matched it and other artists matched hers and they just got more funding.

00:24:27.520 –> 00:24:34.680
They even partnered with Spotify to have mental health resources for artists, which is amazing.

00:24:34.680 –> 00:24:42.400
So yeah, they helped me pair with a therapist, got me a good kind of price for it and had a whole bunch of other resources.

00:24:42.400 –> 00:24:51.780
And that was really kind of the stability and the connection that I needed to keep me going through tour and also to help me with the transition off of tour.

00:24:51.780 –> 00:25:02.860
Because those are also two really big kind of difficult transitions to navigate, both going on tour and off tour.

00:25:02.860 –> 00:25:04.640
So they helped a lot with that too.

00:25:04.640 –> 00:25:06.600
What’s the come down aspect of it?

00:25:06.600 –> 00:25:12.780
Like, I hadn’t thought about that a lot, but I know, well, and I mean, like the end of the tour.

00:25:14.260 –> 00:25:18.740
I’ve talked with and certainly have experienced it to a degree.

00:25:18.740 –> 00:25:37.900
I wouldn’t say that the same level that you have, but I’ve experienced it like when you do some shows and there’s just a lot of electricity and then it’s over, you know, but doing that night after night for maybe close to a year, what does the come down cycle or what was your experience with the come down cycle?

00:25:37.900 –> 00:25:42.360
Well, this is why artists have historically struggled with addiction.

00:25:43.120 –> 00:25:46.760
Because there is such a high.

00:25:46.760 –> 00:25:49.480
And without that, what is there?

00:25:49.480 –> 00:25:50.340
You know what I mean?

00:25:50.340 –> 00:25:56.780
Booze, drugs, women, men, like whatever, like that has been historically the thing that has replaced it.

00:25:56.780 –> 00:26:02.620
And just help try to help artists maintain that, whatever that is.

00:26:02.620 –> 00:26:05.080
That’s very dangerous over a long period of time.

00:26:05.080 –> 00:26:11.260
It can help like from on tour or just off tour between tours, but over a long period of time, it’s terrible for our health.

00:26:12.440 –> 00:26:20.020
So what happens is tours are a rush, you know, every night, different place, different, cool, new experiences.

00:26:20.020 –> 00:26:25.300
And then coming off of tour, it’s like, oh, I’m just in this one place.

00:26:25.300 –> 00:26:27.840
Like, did all that really happen?

00:26:27.840 –> 00:26:28.380
You know what I mean?

00:26:28.380 –> 00:26:32.140
Like people aren’t cheering for me when I have breakfast.

00:26:32.920 –> 00:26:35.800
People are waiting in the coffee shop.

00:26:35.860 –> 00:26:36.480
Right.

00:26:36.480 –> 00:26:40.480
Like, I just got like a subway sandwich and people don’t recognize me.

00:26:40.480 –> 00:26:41.000
You know what I mean?

00:26:41.000 –> 00:26:44.340
Like I’m just a regular person in line or something, you know?

00:26:44.340 –> 00:26:56.140
And, you know, re-establishing the relationships that were virtual and re-establishing them in person, family, friends, partner can be tricky.

00:26:56.140 –> 00:26:57.240
Can be tricky.

00:26:57.240 –> 00:27:02.840
And establishing routines and, you know, staying connected with fans.

00:27:02.840 –> 00:27:04.380
There is a really big transition there.

00:27:05.480 –> 00:27:08.500
It’s called, Backline had a term for it.

00:27:08.500 –> 00:27:12.200
They call it entry and exit friction.

00:27:12.200 –> 00:27:14.480
That can happen.

00:27:14.480 –> 00:27:25.260
So, you know, there’s a, you know, before tour, like a week or two weeks before tour, that can be a lot of issues, you know, you’re going away, you know, you’re like getting stoked and stuff.

00:27:25.260 –> 00:27:27.480
Kind of like you’re not always present.

00:27:27.480 –> 00:27:35.500
And also being able to identify those stages and know that they’re there and have the tools to like work with it has been really huge.

00:27:35.500 –> 00:27:38.420
So shout out to Backline for helping me with that.

00:27:38.420 –> 00:27:46.880
And that was a really big support system for going on tour, during tour and coming off tour.

00:27:46.880 –> 00:27:47.780
That’s cool.

00:27:48.940 –> 00:27:51.160
And interesting.

00:27:51.200 –> 00:28:05.140
I have mentioned, shared Backline, it was fortunately a fairly easy resource to find when I started looking into health on the road in general, you know, mental health and physical health and all that stuff.

00:28:05.140 –> 00:28:14.580
And yeah, I’ve heard a couple of artists talk, extoll the virtues of it, and I’m glad to hear that they’re doing well and getting good partnerships and stuff.

00:28:14.580 –> 00:28:17.060
And so, yeah, all right.

00:28:17.060 –> 00:28:17.740
Thanks for sharing that.

00:28:17.740 –> 00:28:24.700
I hadn’t really talked much with anyone about that entry and exit phase.

00:28:24.840 –> 00:28:30.160
I just experienced it, read about it, but it’s kind of interesting to hear.

00:28:30.160 –> 00:28:32.520
And I’m sure everybody’s experience is a little unique.

00:28:32.520 –> 00:28:39.420
For you personally, are you, do you by chance thrive on real life connection, like in person?

00:28:39.420 –> 00:28:41.980
Or is that like a big charge?

00:28:41.980 –> 00:28:43.700
Yeah, I found that it’s both.

00:28:43.700 –> 00:28:46.820
I need my alone time and I need to feel connected.

00:28:46.820 –> 00:28:49.480
So just having that balance has been really important.

00:28:49.480 –> 00:28:50.920
And that’s the same virtually, too.

00:28:52.060 –> 00:28:57.540
I like to get online and message people and let them know they’re doing a good job.

00:28:57.540 –> 00:29:03.480
And it’s really awesome to get messages of encouragement from people online.

00:29:03.480 –> 00:29:06.180
But at the same time, it’s nice to have a private life.

00:29:07.700 –> 00:29:12.220
To have like our own corners, our own kind of spaces.

00:29:12.220 –> 00:29:14.880
So just balancing that is good, too.

00:29:14.920 –> 00:29:15.700
Totally.

00:29:15.700 –> 00:29:21.520
You reminded me for as long as I’ve been on and off social media and all these things I do that really require it.

00:29:21.660 –> 00:29:28.540
I still stop myself sometimes go like, what is the best way to tell this person?

00:29:28.540 –> 00:29:32.380
I loved something that I read or saw or heard.

00:29:32.420 –> 00:29:37.360
So an example, I was reading multi-contributor.

00:29:37.360 –> 00:29:41.760
I got a newsletter from Arnold Schwarzenegger and it’s a multi-contributor thing.

00:29:41.760 –> 00:29:45.660
He’s got two guys that are like staff editors.

00:29:46.520 –> 00:29:53.280
One of the guys, Adam Bornstein, has written some really nice stuff, particularly recently that caught my attention.

00:29:53.280 –> 00:30:03.040
So I clicked on his link in the e-mail because I wanted to say, dude, good job again because I recently had told him as much.

00:30:03.040 –> 00:30:10.540
But in the first case, he had a very related post on Instagram, which is where his link took me to.

00:30:10.540 –> 00:30:12.520
Today, I’m like, this isn’t on there.

00:30:12.520 –> 00:30:21.140
Should I just drop him a DM or should I post on one of his recent posts and say, okay, not related, great post, but I have to tell you blah, blah, blah.

00:30:21.140 –> 00:30:22.340
What do you think?

00:30:22.340 –> 00:30:23.540
Yeah.

00:30:23.540 –> 00:30:24.460
No, it’s always good.

00:30:24.680 –> 00:30:39.140
I always appreciate it when my fans let me know if there’s a typo or if like, hey, this didn’t go there or this link is down or like your photo is messed up or this show isn’t on the right calendar or the timing is wrong.

00:30:39.140 –> 00:30:39.940
It’s great.

00:30:39.940 –> 00:30:44.200
It’s great to have a bunch of agents checking all the stuff.

00:30:44.760 –> 00:30:45.820
There’s so much stuff out there.

00:30:45.820 –> 00:30:47.220
There’s going to be mistakes.

00:30:47.220 –> 00:30:50.300
I’m sure the positive stuff is just amazing.

00:30:50.300 –> 00:30:53.360
I know when I get in like, oh, someone’s listening.

00:30:53.360 –> 00:30:53.660
Great.

00:30:53.660 –> 00:30:54.160
Thanks, man.

00:30:54.160 –> 00:30:55.680
That’s amazing.

00:30:55.680 –> 00:30:57.160
Yes, as you know.

00:30:57.160 –> 00:30:59.780
Yeah, it’s great to know that people are listening.

00:30:59.780 –> 00:31:04.480
It’s also good to know if something isn’t translating or something is confusing or something.

00:31:04.480 –> 00:31:07.100
That happens quite a bit for me too.

00:31:07.100 –> 00:31:12.780
So I always appreciate it when people let me know there’s an update that I need to make or something that I missed.

00:31:12.780 –> 00:31:13.080
All right.

00:31:13.080 –> 00:31:14.140
I answered my own question then.

00:31:14.140 –> 00:31:17.160
I’m just going to DM him and say, dude, I love this piece.

00:31:18.800 –> 00:31:19.840
Just let him know.

00:31:22.200 –> 00:31:41.420
So when you’re on the road, and the connectionlessness sets in, maybe it’s something you’re developing now because of the 250 shows experience.

00:31:41.420 –> 00:31:50.940
But do you have any strategies for connecting with people in person when you’re on the road?

00:31:50.940 –> 00:32:02.840
Anything that you plan ahead or that you will plan ahead for so that you have that sort of checked off that fulfillment thing and you’re also serving your fans probably or whatever?

00:32:02.840 –> 00:32:05.500
Do you have anything that you use?

00:32:05.540 –> 00:32:10.380
Yeah, there’s always little tiny oases on tour.

00:32:10.460 –> 00:32:18.680
It’s like my college friend is here, my cousin’s there, high school buddies over here, got a musician friend in Nashville.

00:32:18.680 –> 00:32:22.440
I’ll stop by Omaha to see my buddy, stuff like that.

00:32:22.440 –> 00:32:25.140
Yeah, just one musician friend in Nashville, by the way?

00:32:25.140 –> 00:32:27.760
A few, multiple.

00:32:29.000 –> 00:32:30.080
So that’s always nice.

00:32:30.080 –> 00:32:32.500
And that’ll happen maybe once every week or two weeks.

00:32:32.500 –> 00:32:37.640
It’s kind of nice to just check in and feel like a little bit connected and at home with folks.

00:32:37.880 –> 00:32:43.540
And if that isn’t the case, I mean, even in Europe, you know, I lived in Andorra for three years.

00:32:43.540 –> 00:32:56.340
So I met all my Andorran friends there and I saw, I like went back to the Spanish town where I got lost at on a bike ride ten years ago, Cañete de las Torres.

00:32:57.520 –> 00:32:58.540
And they all remember me.

00:32:58.540 –> 00:33:00.000
It was awesome.

00:33:00.000 –> 00:33:02.040
England, you know, I saw old friends.

00:33:02.820 –> 00:33:04.120
So it’s good.

00:33:04.120 –> 00:33:07.180
You know, there’s people pretty much all around the world.

00:33:07.180 –> 00:33:12.460
And it’s nice to have those bases, those little bases along the way.

00:33:12.460 –> 00:33:19.820
On the rare occasion that you find yourself in no man’s land with regards to acquaintances or anticipated, do you ever think about that?

00:33:19.820 –> 00:33:23.380
And is there anything you’re just like, well, if I got to make some friends little by little?

00:33:23.380 –> 00:33:27.600
Yeah, that has happened in Montana, you know, North Dakota.

00:33:27.600 –> 00:33:42.440
But even if I don’t know folks, usually a Levitator fan is sending somebody to a show or a family member knows somebody, like, hey, check out, you got to live in Minneapolis or something.

00:33:42.440 –> 00:33:44.740
So that happens quite often, which is kind of nice.

00:33:44.740 –> 00:33:45.140
That’s good.

00:33:45.140 –> 00:33:50.500
That speaks a lot to the community that you’ve built and the importance of it for others.

00:33:50.500 –> 00:33:55.720
I don’t know that I’ve asked you much about this ever, but Levitators, right?

00:33:55.720 –> 00:33:56.300
Levitators.

00:33:59.800 –> 00:34:02.800
What is the secret sauce that you use or have used to build it?

00:34:02.800 –> 00:34:06.720
And also, if you can describe the community for listeners.

00:34:06.720 –> 00:34:07.640
Sure.

00:34:07.640 –> 00:34:08.900
My name is Eli.

00:34:08.900 –> 00:34:11.460
My last name is Lev, L-E-V.

00:34:11.460 –> 00:34:17.800
When I was beginning my community, I put out a call to folks and be like, hey, what should we call ourselves?

00:34:17.800 –> 00:34:22.840
And two different people, two separate people thought of Levitators.

00:34:22.840 –> 00:34:24.060
And I thought that was awesome.

00:34:24.460 –> 00:34:36.800
Levitation is like, you know, there’s a lightness, there’s a raising, there’s a mystical, magical quality to it as well.

00:34:36.800 –> 00:34:38.000
So I thought that was perfect.

00:34:38.000 –> 00:34:42.040
So we decided our name was going to be Levitators.

00:34:42.040 –> 00:34:44.740
And they are in my music videos.

00:34:44.740 –> 00:34:52.180
I make music videos with Levitators, sending in videos from all around the world, splicing together, we do live streams together.

00:34:52.180 –> 00:34:55.080
And it really is kind of like a mutual support thing.

00:34:55.080 –> 00:35:00.160
I feel like a lot of Levitators would be like, oh, thank you, Eli, for doing all this and for sharing your music.

00:35:00.160 –> 00:35:01.320
You’re awesome.

00:35:01.320 –> 00:35:03.360
But it’s also like my own salvation.

00:35:03.360 –> 00:35:15.780
Like I need it just as much as an artist to feel like I’m part of something bigger than myself, to feel that there’s an act of service there, and to feel like there is a movement around the music.

00:35:15.940 –> 00:35:20.940
So I would say it’s a mutually beneficial relationship for all involved.

00:35:20.940 –> 00:35:22.280
I do have a place on my website.

00:35:22.280 –> 00:35:22.980
People are interested.

00:35:22.980 –> 00:35:30.580
They can go to elilev.com, and there’s a button on the bottom, and it says, are you ready to levitate?

00:35:31.460 –> 00:35:33.620
That’s where the journey begins.

00:35:33.620 –> 00:35:34.800
That’s amazing.

00:35:34.800 –> 00:35:35.720
Yeah.

00:35:35.720 –> 00:35:37.180
It’s a good story.

00:35:37.180 –> 00:35:37.540
Good one.

00:35:37.800 –> 00:35:39.640
You’re a levitator.

00:35:39.840 –> 00:35:40.560
You’ve been a long time.

00:35:40.560 –> 00:35:41.140
I am, aren’t I?

00:35:41.140 –> 00:35:42.680
I never really thought of myself that way, but I am.

00:35:42.680 –> 00:35:43.460
You are.

00:35:43.460 –> 00:35:46.500
You are a long-time levitator.

00:35:46.500 –> 00:35:47.060
I am.

00:35:47.400 –> 00:35:49.780
Do you know Dean Johanneson by chance?

00:35:49.780 –> 00:35:56.360
I’m dropping names on you from people who’ve either been on the podcast or I’ve met that I’m thinking you may have met on your journeys.

00:35:56.360 –> 00:35:58.340
So he’s another guy you should know.

00:35:58.340 –> 00:36:02.620
He’s based in, I think, maybe Sarasota, definitely in Florida.

00:36:03.160 –> 00:36:10.420
He has this genre, perhaps that he is the granddaddy of called Circus Swing.

00:36:10.420 –> 00:36:12.220
Okay.

00:36:12.760 –> 00:36:36.100
I don’t know that he anticipated staying in that lane for as long as he has, but I’ve been on his list for quite some time too, and he’s actually a big contributor for my Liner Notes newsletter, just in terms of things that he shares, and he’s been on the podcast a couple of times like yourself, and he’s just always reading and commenting and stuff, and that means a lot.

00:36:36.100 –> 00:36:39.340
But I don’t know if he has a cool name for his community like Levitators.

00:36:39.340 –> 00:36:40.940
I’ll have to ask him.

00:36:40.940 –> 00:36:44.460
Well, if he’s got the circus theme going on, there’s tons of stuff he could do with that.

00:36:44.460 –> 00:36:48.200
I know, and he may have one because he shows how observant I am.

00:36:48.200 –> 00:36:52.440
I have been on your list for a while, and I’m like, oh yeah, I’m part of the crew, I guess.

00:36:52.480 –> 00:36:53.600
You are?

00:36:55.140 –> 00:36:56.220
That’s amazing.

00:36:56.220 –> 00:36:57.580
That’s amazing.

00:36:57.580 –> 00:37:05.580
Speaking of magical and mystical, you’ve described your songs, I believe, in the past as songs for everyday enlightenment.

00:37:05.580 –> 00:37:16.300
You have, I don’t know if a triad is a good word, and maybe not even accurate, but your spiritual journey seems to come from more than one place.

00:37:16.300 –> 00:37:23.760
Where do you feel like you land if you are in a triangle, or maybe you’re in sort of a dual spiritual space in terms of philosophical beliefs?

00:37:23.760 –> 00:37:35.380
And then, of course, if you can talk about the way you balance this sort of great pop sensibility with the deeper philosophical things rambling around in your head.

00:37:35.380 –> 00:37:41.120
Yeah, I think it’s been an evolving journey, evolving spiritual journey.

00:37:41.120 –> 00:38:02.600
Being raised Jewish, still celebrating Christmas, connecting with Buddhism in college, practicing kundalini yoga out of college, then being exposed to the indigenous lifeways and pathways of the Navajo Nation, of the Southwest.

00:38:02.600 –> 00:38:09.460
And refresh my memory on the Navajo Nation, that is simply through exposure, no direct relation ties?

00:38:09.460 –> 00:38:10.040
Correct.

00:38:12.020 –> 00:38:28.380
Then traveling all over the world through Australia and the Middle East, connecting with Judaism, Islam, going to Andorra and connecting with Catholicism, Spanish Catholicism.

00:38:29.800 –> 00:38:38.040
Getting into the Midwest and Indiana for my master’s degree and connecting with rural Christianity.

00:38:38.660 –> 00:38:39.780
It’s been amazing.

00:38:39.780 –> 00:38:44.140
Then just recently, the Baha’i faith, the Baha’i community.

00:38:45.240 –> 00:38:56.220
Really a very special group of people, a really interesting history and a very beautiful, collective vision of humanity as a whole.

00:38:56.220 –> 00:38:59.500
Where do I land in all that?

00:38:59.500 –> 00:39:04.640
I land in a place where meditation is really important to me.

00:39:06.340 –> 00:39:09.300
My Jewish identity is really important to me.

00:39:09.300 –> 00:39:14.700
My Southern roots and family community is really important.

00:39:14.700 –> 00:39:21.700
Also having the space to explore and to be open to other belief systems and interpretations.

00:39:22.880 –> 00:39:26.040
It just keeps evolving.

00:39:26.040 –> 00:39:28.480
But the spirituality is there.

00:39:28.480 –> 00:39:34.320
That’s why when you might listen to the songs, you might start noticing there’s multiple layers going on.

00:39:34.440 –> 00:39:47.060
And the song, there’s the presentation lyrics, there’s the metaphors, there’s the meta metaphors that are happening, and then how they all connect with each other.

00:39:47.060 –> 00:39:55.080
There’s the different instruments and the different sounds that I use, whether it’s Native Flute or mandolin or guitar or harmonica.

00:39:55.080 –> 00:40:00.020
All of those have a place and a space that they’re from.

00:40:00.020 –> 00:40:05.340
So yeah, all those experiences are reflected and expressed through the music.

00:40:06.720 –> 00:40:16.620
It sounds like you actively seek out or actively explore different faiths based on these things that you’ve mentioned.

00:40:16.620 –> 00:40:18.360
Where does that come from?

00:40:18.460 –> 00:40:22.380
Because I don’t think that, and I ask it that way because like, I don’t know that it’s in me.

00:40:22.380 –> 00:40:48.020
I find different faiths fascinating, and I find organized religion fascinating, and I read a lot on Buddhist philosophy, but I don’t see myself as someone that I’m assuming that you may be, who sort of actively looks to explore these faiths a little deeper, maybe even in some sort of personal manner.

00:40:48.020 –> 00:40:48.740
Is that true?

00:40:48.740 –> 00:40:51.040
And if so, where does it come from for you?

00:40:51.040 –> 00:40:53.420
Yeah, I think there’s a couple influences around there.

00:40:53.420 –> 00:40:58.920
I think first of all, I grew up in a very diverse community, suburbs outside of DC, Montgomery County.

00:40:59.380 –> 00:41:08.420
There’s a street called New Hampshire that comes out from DC as like a spoke, comes through the Silver Spring area.

00:41:08.420 –> 00:41:10.300
And on New Hampshire, I am not kidding you.

00:41:10.300 –> 00:41:17.820
I think it has, I’m pretty sure it’s the densest population of religious institutions in the entire country.

00:41:17.820 –> 00:41:18.980
No kidding.

00:41:18.980 –> 00:41:32.880
Every block, you’ll have a Thai Buddhist temple, you’ll have a Muslim center, you’ll have a Greek Orthodox, you’ll have a Catholic church, you have a synagogue, you have an Indian worshiping place.

00:41:32.880 –> 00:41:34.000
Like it just keeps going.

00:41:34.000 –> 00:41:38.560
You drive down that road and it’s just, it’s amazing.

00:41:38.560 –> 00:41:43.620
So I grew up two blocks from that street, driving up and down that street to high school.

00:41:43.620 –> 00:41:46.040
My friends were Jewish, Christian.

00:41:46.040 –> 00:41:49.300
They came from Hong Kong, they came from Korea.

00:41:51.100 –> 00:41:55.160
They had Sikh religion was there.

00:41:55.160 –> 00:42:06.540
So growing up around all that influence, really just made me realize that there’s a lot of different ways of connecting and believing in spirituality.

00:42:06.540 –> 00:42:11.000
I think also travel has a lot to do with it.

00:42:11.000 –> 00:42:22.260
The more I travel, the more I see how different people live and how similar it is in the depth of it.

00:42:22.260 –> 00:42:27.620
Spirituality is one way to experience a culture.

00:42:27.620 –> 00:42:32.780
So is food, so is place, so is people, so is language.

00:42:34.000 –> 00:42:46.020
I think spirituality and belief systems have been part of my understanding of communities and cultures and also, myself and how I relate to them.

00:42:46.020 –> 00:42:53.980
Yeah, I would imagine that the two blocks away from that area was like a big contributor.

00:42:53.980 –> 00:42:56.200
Yeah, pretty cool.

00:42:56.200 –> 00:43:10.080
What is your process for turning like your own personal journey, the good stuff, the difficult stuff, into songs that clearly resonate with people?

00:43:11.660 –> 00:43:31.460
I think a lot of us probably have a challenge even seeing that we have that stuff in ourselves, and a lot of us may think like people like Eli are just like, you have such an interesting background, all these the diversity of your family and this place you grew up, and I don’t have any of that stuff.

00:43:32.800 –> 00:43:39.320
But I’m assuming, I think my assumption probably is that a lot of us have that, maybe all of us have something like that.

00:43:39.600 –> 00:43:46.340
It may not even really be so much around culture, but some other facet of our personality.

00:43:46.340 –> 00:43:55.820
So yeah, I think it would be helpful for people to hear how you think through turning those experiences into music.

00:43:55.820 –> 00:44:03.800
I’m going to say something that is almost revelatory to myself as I say it.

00:44:03.800 –> 00:44:13.680
But there’s a big shift that happened with me, where I realized songwriting isn’t about producing, it’s about processing.

00:44:15.420 –> 00:44:28.980
So instead of creating something for somebody else to consume, instead of writing as a way to make something, you know what I mean?

00:44:28.980 –> 00:44:31.920
To contribute something.

00:44:32.900 –> 00:44:42.460
Instead, I have come to realize for myself, songwriting is a way to process what I’m going through.

00:44:42.460 –> 00:44:47.900
There’s no shortage of process, never, because we’re always processing.

00:44:47.900 –> 00:45:02.000
Whether it’s about what somebody said to us that made us feel a little bit down or somebody keeping the door open for us when we went into the gas station, or just feeling overwhelmed, or feeling grateful, or feeling love.

00:45:02.000 –> 00:45:08.220
We are a continually processing being as human beings.

00:45:08.220 –> 00:45:15.860
There’s never a missing ideas or things to sing about or to connect on.

00:45:15.860 –> 00:45:17.340
It also takes the pressure off.

00:45:17.340 –> 00:45:18.900
I wonder if someone’s going to like this.

00:45:18.900 –> 00:45:21.100
Doesn’t matter.

00:45:21.100 –> 00:45:21.840
Doesn’t matter at all.

00:45:22.080 –> 00:45:27.300
It’s just a processing thing for ourselves as a creative.

00:45:28.520 –> 00:45:31.320
Now, it’s amazing when people do connect with it.

00:45:31.320 –> 00:45:40.680
And what I have found is the more personal that processing can become through music, the more universal it becomes.

00:45:40.680 –> 00:45:44.960
So because that’s human and because everybody has felt that.

00:45:44.960 –> 00:45:55.080
Changing it from producing to processing is one of the biggest things, the biggest shifts that I have discovered in the creativity realms.

00:45:55.800 –> 00:45:57.000
That’s so interesting.

00:45:57.000 –> 00:46:02.720
And I would imagine that many, if not most, music artists are doing that very thing.

00:46:02.720 –> 00:46:12.680
And as you were finishing that thought, I was like, Oh, actually, you know, in the small amount of music I published and in the writing I’ve done, that’s all I’ve been doing.

00:46:12.680 –> 00:46:19.180
But and then, you know, and part of it actually is processing my music experience as well.

00:46:19.180 –> 00:46:22.740
Yeah, you know, there’s things from up here pointing at my head.

00:46:22.820 –> 00:46:25.260
And then and then there were these musical experiences.

00:46:25.260 –> 00:46:30.460
But I think the front part of my mind is, you know, was focused on.

00:46:30.460 –> 00:46:31.940
Well, it’s probably this.

00:46:31.940 –> 00:46:33.400
I was going to say something that’s not really true.

00:46:33.400 –> 00:46:41.080
I was going to say that the front front of my mind is was focused on processing the music, not really fully understanding that that’s what I was doing.

00:46:41.080 –> 00:46:50.800
But maybe that just somehow seems like something I want to get across even more than all the monkeys in my head on the lyric sheet.

00:46:52.360 –> 00:46:58.660
But I guess maybe that could just be the order in which things happened for me more than anything.

00:46:58.660 –> 00:46:58.940
Yeah.

00:46:58.940 –> 00:47:02.480
And even if we don’t realize it, we are still doing that.

00:47:03.720 –> 00:47:04.760
What’s going on?

00:47:06.020 –> 00:47:09.300
So for you, was it just a realization that you were doing that anyway?

00:47:11.340 –> 00:47:15.560
And if so, what difference has it made for you?

00:47:15.580 –> 00:47:25.620
You mentioned like, you know, pressure, kind of like the pressure’s off, but has there been other things about that that have transformed your ability to stay creative?

00:47:25.620 –> 00:47:34.880
There has been a realization, but also with that realization has been an opening to that process, kind of like letting that take over.

00:47:34.880 –> 00:47:41.920
And the songs feel more personal, you know, and I get more excited about the songs because it’s like, it means a lot to me.

00:47:41.920 –> 00:47:42.340
Makes sense.

00:47:43.340 –> 00:47:49.680
And people, I mean, our whole world is phony, so people are all about like, what is authentic around me?

00:47:49.680 –> 00:47:52.220
That’s the stuff, that’s what I want to get to.

00:47:52.220 –> 00:47:58.820
So the more authentic we can be connected to ourselves, actually, the more power that has.

00:47:59.920 –> 00:48:04.240
So yeah, it’s been, it’s been liberating, it’s been interesting.

00:48:04.240 –> 00:48:13.480
You know, it’s like the my music on this album, Past Lives has a different sound, a different feel, than previous music.

00:48:13.480 –> 00:48:17.900
Some people might enjoy that more, and some people might not, and that’s okay.

00:48:17.900 –> 00:48:33.660
You know, they can listen to the old songs, and maybe there’s new songs coming down the way, but right now, this is, you know, there’s some deep and sacred and mystical kind of sounds and themes in this project that I know are important.

00:48:33.720 –> 00:48:34.760
Yeah.

00:48:34.760 –> 00:48:44.960
You know, for me, as someone who’s listened to your music, I wouldn’t call me like, I know your catalog like the back of my hand, but I’ve listened to it for a while now.

00:48:44.960 –> 00:48:46.160
Yeah, you’re an OG.

00:48:46.160 –> 00:48:47.200
Yeah.

00:48:47.200 –> 00:48:54.180
For me, it feels like the two things that are evolving are the stories, which is natural, I think, or good.

00:48:54.180 –> 00:48:54.620
It’s good.

00:48:54.620 –> 00:48:57.480
It’s not natural for all artists.

00:48:57.480 –> 00:48:58.500
Hasn’t been.

00:48:58.500 –> 00:49:01.180
But also your voice.

00:49:01.380 –> 00:49:12.440
I mean, you were always a good singer to me, but when I hear you more lately, I’m like, and I can go back maybe a year and go, wow, man, your voice is getting really, really good.

00:49:12.440 –> 00:49:26.920
So, but but I could see that I would think that for most people, I say those two things because I think musically and melodically, well, you know, there is the introduction of different instruments, which keeps it fresh, keeps it really fresh.

00:49:26.920 –> 00:49:35.860
But I think that has been the part for me, the music and the musicality of what you do has been kind of consistent.

00:49:35.860 –> 00:49:45.780
So, I feel like I kind of know in a way what I’m getting into when I step into a new song by Eli Lev, which is good.

00:49:47.340 –> 00:49:48.340
Cool.

00:49:48.340 –> 00:49:54.340
Yeah, the musicality and the lyrics and the storytelling is kind of like a constant.

00:49:54.340 –> 00:50:03.380
But then there’s a lot of kind of flexibility with genre, instrumentation, you know, mood.

00:50:03.380 –> 00:50:04.680
So, yeah.

00:50:04.680 –> 00:50:10.380
I’d love to hear you since you say that, I’d love to hear you push the genre aspect harder just as a fan.

00:50:10.380 –> 00:50:11.280
Yeah.

00:50:11.280 –> 00:50:12.260
Yeah.

00:50:12.260 –> 00:50:15.240
Yeah, you know, like the shifting of them.

00:50:15.240 –> 00:50:25.600
I think that would be cool because you have a real strong, for me, everybody’s different, but you have a real strong kind of sound that feels consistent to me.

00:50:25.600 –> 00:50:26.180
Cool.

00:50:26.180 –> 00:50:38.700
And so, while now that you’ve said that, I know I could look back and go, oh yeah, I can kind of see, you know, I can, I mean, I can’t even think about it on some of the things I’ve listened to that you’re blending these different styles and music cultures.

00:50:38.700 –> 00:50:49.920
But maybe it’s like sonically or something, sonically or rhythmically, I think it would be fun to hear you push those to what feels more extreme for you anyway.

00:50:49.920 –> 00:50:51.040
Yeah, absolutely.

00:50:51.040 –> 00:50:55.360
I am, Past Lives is part of a three-part series.

00:50:55.360 –> 00:50:59.520
Present Journey, Past Lives, and Future Myths is coming.

00:50:59.520 –> 00:51:02.900
After the three-part series, it’s called Three Worlds.

00:51:02.900 –> 00:51:06.360
I’m going to begin another project called Two Friends.

00:51:06.360 –> 00:51:10.580
And Two Friends is all about collaborative songs.

00:51:10.580 –> 00:51:12.580
It’ll be me and another artist.

00:51:12.580 –> 00:51:15.820
And what I like to do is to have those artists be international.

00:51:19.300 –> 00:51:24.080
So you’ll be getting your wish will be coming true.

00:51:24.080 –> 00:51:25.640
That’s a great idea.

00:51:25.640 –> 00:51:26.300
That’s a great idea.

00:51:26.300 –> 00:51:27.800
Do you self produce?

00:51:27.800 –> 00:51:31.960
I always work with other producers.

00:51:32.340 –> 00:51:33.780
Let me qualify that.

00:51:33.780 –> 00:51:34.380
Yeah.

00:51:34.380 –> 00:51:45.340
Do you have anybody in the production booth who acts as kind of like director, coach, you know what I mean, like trying to help you steer your sound?

00:51:45.340 –> 00:51:46.300
Yeah, always.

00:51:46.300 –> 00:51:48.640
So I always go to a studio.

00:51:48.640 –> 00:51:50.380
The producers are always different though.

00:51:50.380 –> 00:51:58.780
So for example, this Past Lives, I worked with Taylor Rigg out of Masterdisc Studios in Peekskill, New York.

00:51:58.800 –> 00:52:03.040
And I worked with him before on True North from the Four Directions.

00:52:03.040 –> 00:52:08.760
But for Present Journey, I worked with Austin Bellow out of Manassas, Virginia.

00:52:08.760 –> 00:52:15.540
My first two records, All Roads East and Way Out West, I worked with Jeff Gruber from Blue House Productions.

00:52:15.540 –> 00:52:22.060
And in my duo group, Wild Whispers, I worked with the producer out of Nashville, Ben Reno.

00:52:22.060 –> 00:52:33.040
So I have worked with, including the other solo one-off songs that I’ve done with folks, I probably worked with seven different producers.

00:52:33.580 –> 00:52:34.400
I always like that.

00:52:34.400 –> 00:52:43.620
I always like having somebody else on the controls, helping me with producing and building sounds, helping with the direction of the project.

00:52:43.840 –> 00:52:47.240
I like that a lot, working with someone else.

00:52:47.240 –> 00:53:08.980
I don’t know if it was you that I did this with somewhat recently or another artist, but it’s fun whenever you can find it to look at the work of a producer with an artist, say, like yourself and then give a listen to the other stuff they work on is always so fun, because you start to experience their diversity in the work that they do.

00:53:08.980 –> 00:53:17.620
Yeah, it’s really cool, and a producer will be stretched by the artist, and the artist will be stretched by the producer, so there’s always that middle ground that happens, which is really cool and unique.

00:53:17.620 –> 00:53:19.780
Yeah, hopefully, it’s a two-way street, but that’s a cool idea.

00:53:21.020 –> 00:53:30.460
I’d say it makes sense if it’s a good pairing that the stretching would go the other way towards the producer, too.

00:53:30.460 –> 00:53:35.120
It’s probably, I mean, it’s probably very frequently that way, I would imagine, having really sat in the chair.

00:53:35.120 –> 00:53:46.700
But I can imagine, you know, like, I was trying to give you my whole production thoughts on your future music, but I could imagine if I was a producer, it would be so different from one artist to the next.

00:53:46.700 –> 00:53:48.880
Yeah, it can be, which is cool.

00:53:48.880 –> 00:53:49.740
Yeah.

00:53:49.740 –> 00:53:52.480
I think I said this last time, but so many things I could be asking you.

00:53:52.660 –> 00:53:58.020
Maybe I’ll send you an e-mail if you have time to answer some other things.

00:53:58.020 –> 00:54:00.320
That would be great.

00:54:00.320 –> 00:54:00.920
Refresh.

00:54:00.920 –> 00:54:02.420
Wait, I have it.

00:54:02.420 –> 00:54:03.660
You don’t have to refresh my memory.

00:54:03.660 –> 00:54:08.700
It’s Eli-lev, not hyphen spelled out, but elilev.com.

00:54:09.940 –> 00:54:16.360
You have a nice website that kind of shows everybody what’s happening and lets them know what you’re working on.

00:54:16.360 –> 00:54:21.720
So I’d recommend people check that out lest I forget to mention it in the intro.

00:54:21.900 –> 00:54:24.620
And thanks again for spending time with me.

00:54:24.620 –> 00:54:26.360
It’s always great to talk to you.

00:54:26.360 –> 00:54:27.100
It’s fantastic.

00:54:27.100 –> 00:54:29.860
I’m glad we reconnected and able to catch up.

00:54:29.860 –> 00:54:32.200
And I’m just excited for your musical journey.

00:54:32.200 –> 00:54:40.500
And very grateful for you to continue to shine the light on the musicians you enjoy and their process.

00:54:40.500 –> 00:54:42.060
So I appreciate you.

00:54:42.060 –> 00:54:43.880
Thanks, man.

00:54:43.880 –> 00:54:46.780
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00:54:46.780 –> 00:54:48.820
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00:54:48.820 –> 00:54:51.280
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00:54:56.740 –> 00:55:03.340
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00:55:03.340 –> 00:55:05.660
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00:55:20.720 –> 00:55:25.240
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00:55:36.200 –> 00:55:40.500
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00:55:40.500 –> 00:55:45.260
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00:55:45.260 –> 00:55:56.020
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00:55:56.020 –> 00:56:00.120
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00:56:02.640 –> 00:56:04.040
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00:56:04.040 –> 00:56:06.220
Peace, gratitude, and a whole lot of love.