How do you juggle your different roles on this tour – playing with your own band in a club one night and then opening for The Who in a big arena the next night?
It doesn’t really change for me. I’m on stage playing music with my band, and we could be in an arena or in somebody’s living room and I’m still having the same experience of expressing my soul to whoever’s listening or just to my band. Or it could be nobody listening.
You put out an instrumental album back in 2007. Your new album has you singing on all the tracks. What has been the reaction from audiences so far?
When I hear things, I’ve heard positive things. I’ve also heard, you know, that people are surprised with the new direction that I’ve been going in, because they only know me as Tal the bass player. But it seems like the shock [about this new direction] has not translated into a negative shock but a supportive one, and that’s great. I’m sure there’s going to be certain people who are purists about what I once was, but I’m certainly not going to manipulate the direction I’m going in based on what somebody else may want to hear. This is just what my soul wants to express. I have no control it over it. I’m literally just following my heart and soul.
You just released the first single – “Corner Painter” – from your upcoming album. Is this song representative of the kind of tracks that will be on the album?
It definitely encapsulates me as a singer/songwriter or an artist right now. There’s definitely a lot of variety on the album stylistically and musically, lyrically even. But I think if somebody heard this song, they’d be able to understand what the album may sound like.
Have you finished recording the entire album?
I have recorded it, but haven’t mixed or mastered it. We’re putting out a pledge campaign to help us finish it and put it out.
What current artists are you into?
The guitarist who played on my record, whose name is Blake Mills, I really love what he brings to the industry in all aspects – as a producer, as a guitarist, as a musician and as a personality. It’s been nice to collaborate with him over the last six years.
What’s next after this tour with The Who concludes at the end of this month?
We’re literally trying to figure that out right now. We have some dates booked in the summer with my band, and we’re just waiting to see over the next couple of weeks what we can put together. There’s just so much going on right now that it’s hard for me to figure it all out.
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