bobby blue

Artist Information

Biography

When most people hear me sing they think I am a woman. I am a counter-tenor, and have a 4 octave vocal range.

Pumping Norteño bass scored my childhood soundtrack in the small motor town of Bedford, Indiana. An energetic culture-clash forged my home, sparked by contrasting parents: My factory-worker father, a good ole’ boy from the Indiana backwoods, was my hero. He had nothing in his childhood, but grew to give us everything. My mother came from a tiny village in the Costa Rican rainforest to search for a better life in the US. A fantastic cook, she encouraged my spirit, music, dancing, and imagination. Once, we were coloring and I didn’t have a green crayon for the trees. “The trees can be any color you want,” she told me. That’s been my philosophy ever since.

Growing older, though, my imagination and independence could make for a hard time. My ever-changing, crazy hair and Madonna-wannabe ensembles were a bit much for Bedford. Bullied and picked on, a teacher once even threatened to beat out my sissiness with his fists, but the spirit of music kept me going. From age four, I sang, performed, and composed in school plays, recitals, choirs, and voice lessons: Glen Campbell at family parties. Bjork and Sinead O’Connor at my bedroom mirror. I prayed for Madonna to rescue me. She never showed. So I got the hell out of Bedford.

My mother loved Mexican music, and my father loved old country. Always looking for something my own, I focused on pop and dance, missing the supremely beautiful melodies right in front of me. Not until I started performing in New York City did I play those hundred-year-old Mexican songs. They matched my counter-tenor voice, often compared to Karen Carpenter, Sinead O’Connor, and Jeff Buckley. Reworking myself as a songwriter and guitarist, audiences loved the Spanish classics combined with my original English songs. At legendary venues such as The Knitting Factory, CBGBs, The Annex, Pete’s Candy Store, and Galapagos, I have woven together inspirations from The Carter Family and Styx to The Mamas & the Papas, Kraftwerk, and John Mellencamp.

When most people hear me sing they think I am a woman. I am a counter-tenor, and have a 4 octave vocal range. In the studio, my songs take on a “folky electronic” sound, recording with producer Abe Seiferth. Played on radio stations from Nicaragua to Micro Asia, DJs have also created hi-energy dance mixes, catching the attention of New York’s dance label, Hades Music. My first release, In A Song, went to #15 on Billboard’s Dance Club Play Chart, spending 13 weeks on the countdown. Follow-up All the Stars, went Top 10 and was a worldwide dance hit. My new album, Sunshine, will collect original songs and updated Mexican classics, including Lola Beltran’s Cucurrucucu Paloma and Bread’s If.

When not singing, I’ve been the founder and co-host of The Williamsburg Spelling Bee at Pete’s Candy Store. Since 2004, we’ve been covered by NBC, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, NPR U.S.A., NPR Germany, NPR Japan, Time Out NY, Paper Magazine, and many international newspapers and airline travel magazines.

From Indiana to Costa Rica, Country to Norteño, and “axolotl” to “sesquipedalian,” that’s my pura vida.

Instrumentation

abe seiferth - all programing & some guitar
bobby blue - Acoustic Guitar, Songwriter, All Vocals

Discography

in a song (maxi single) - went to #13 on Billboards Dance Chart
all the stars (maxi single) - world wide dance hit
go (maxi single) - current promoted single

Official Website

http://www.bobbybluemusic.tumblr.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• soundcloud
• youtube
• itunes

Audio

• sunshine
  Listen   Download
• go
  Listen   Download
• he loves me
  Listen   Download
• feel good
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• pura vida
  Listen   Download
• go (djs from mars fm remix)
  Listen   Download
• all the stars (djs from mars fm edit)
  Listen   Download
• in a song (trl's radio edit)
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• go
• in a song
• sunshine
• he loves me

Video

go - bobby blue (official music video)

In_A_Song_HDweb

Photo Gallery

Press

• Lisa Germano Review
  

  “I think your voice is very beautiful, heartfelt, full of a deep sense of both pain & joy.

• Ben Kreiger [+ Show ]
  

  “The key is bobbyblue’s undeniable tenor (alto?) vocals and a confident, charming stage persona. I h...“The key is bobbyblue’s undeniable tenor (alto?) vocals and a confident, charming stage persona. I have seen a lot of great showcase performers, but never have I seen one that I would call a party...until now. Don't miss this guy.”
  - Ben Krieger / Jezebel Music
  

• Dan [+ Show ]
  

  “Listen to bobbyblue sing Cucurrucucu Paloma & tell me the dude can’t sing!” - DanDippolito / The D...“Listen to bobbyblue sing Cucurrucucu Paloma & tell me the dude can’t sing!”
  - DanDippolito / The Deli Magazine
  

• The Amazing bobby blue [+ Show ]
  

  The amazing bobby blue is tumblogging for you! freshly brewed for the internets comes a complete ...The amazing bobby blue is tumblogging for you!
  
  freshly brewed for the internets comes a complete revamp of colourfully talented vocalist/songwriter bobby blue’s weblog. a bobby of many a hobby has many tricks up his sleeve. bb will using this blog to shed some colour onto the stories behind the songs and the experiences in his life that inspired him to write in the first place. he has a sweet voice that jitterbugs along every beat and bleep irregardless of the production or melody. reminiscent of erasure’s andy bell in more ways than one, bobby’s songs are sung with such feverish optimism with strong melancholic undertones and often wrapped up in a candy coated glaze. released under the hades music label, you’ll be sure to fall in love with his voice and songwriting skills. and he’s a pretty amazing dancer too!
  
  check out his video for his single ‘all the stars’ and his other brilliant projects including 'the williamsburg spelling bee' and 'the new york city spelling bee'…bobby blue will soon be a part of the status quotient of the house of dandridge
  all the stars
  
  This is the story of the mythical creature, bobby blue, who lives inside a disco ball, & like fairy tales his story is a bit dark.
  
  Filmed, directed, & designed by B.A. Miale. Remix by DJs from Mars.
  
  bobby blue, along with comedian jennifer dziura are responsible for the manifestation of the much acclaimed ‘williamsburg spelling bee’ which has led to the creation of the new york city spelling bee as well. click on the banners below to be whisked away to the perspective sites including schedules of events, photos and so much more!
  
  

• bobby blue interview [+ Show ]
  

  Chauncey recently asked the extremely talented and creative powerhouse named Bobby Blue eleven quest...Chauncey recently asked the extremely talented and creative powerhouse named Bobby Blue eleven questions to get as close to a peek inside the colourful world that the singer/songwriter/artist/producer/inspiration lives in. We first met Bobby on the dance floor and naturally fell in love with his natural quirkiness, charisma and personality. Later on, we discovered his voice and his musical sorcery…we fell in love again. Mr. Blue is the third artist interviewed for The House of Dandridge’s new 11questions column and we are smitten by his generous answers, overall honesty and inspiring creative processes. For the next few minutes…your borrowed time shall be something ‘blue’.
  
  - In a nutshell, who is Bobby Blue?
  
  A proud, quirky Costa Rican American who grew up in the middle of Indiana. It’s important that I stay true to myself. Also, I love everything vintage. I love to sing. I am a counter-tenor. I play guitar and write songs.
  
  - The video for “Go” is magical and epic…what was the inspiration behind the vivid concept of the short film?
  
  The lyrics of the song are the main inspiration. I’m an extremist (which I’m working on in meditation) so I believe to truly love someone is to inspire them to be the best they can be even if it means that I hurt. I wouldn’t want anyone to ever resent me for making them feel like they couldn’t pursue their dreams. This is your one chance to live. You can’t leave any rock unturned. People talk about reincarnation, even if it does exists you don’t remember it, and Past Life Aggression Therapy is expensive.
  
  We didn’t want a typical love story. Elizabeth Webb is Sasha Bot, who is one of my best friends in the world. She, in her real life, was on the verge of leaving New York City for a new life in Colorado so all the love, & well wishing that you see between us is very real. The genius director, Ian Cinco, was also ending a long term relationship which made it a bit hard for him to edit the video at times. We were all living the lyrics in this song. As far as the costumes; Sara Antoinette Martin is a good friend of mine and designs toys for Kid Robot. I asked her for her talent, and she was dying to bring her “fish/mermaid-type women” paintings to life yet asked me what I envisioned. I looooove robots so she made me into an old model clunky robot then turned Elizabeth (Sasha-bot) into one of her muses, a new model, sleek, sex-slave robot that was heavily inspired by her “fish women”. The costumes are genius. Also, we were working with NO budget which I prefer, which forces you to be more creative. I believe a true artist can make something out of nothing, and I’m really into lo-fi art. Money makes things too easy.
  
  -You are involved in The Williamsburg Spelling Bee (click to visit site) and now The New York City Spelling Bee…can you tell us more about these two events?
  
  I am the creator/founder. In 2002 I saw the documentary, Spellbound. I was so blown away. It was like a combination of a documentary, and American Idol, though more intense, and more entertaining. I always wondered why spelling bees were only for those in 8th grade and under.
  
  I’m very fond of highly educated people. I’m not as intellectual as some of our contestants. I just love being responsible for it. I’m not a good speller. I just had the idea. Jennifer Dziura is the word caller and my co-host. It’s in a cabaret style. We have a theme song and Jennifer and I have a good back and forth. Jennifer is a professional comedian. I think I’m just funny. I really like to turn on as a host. It’s a really fun/funny show. The words are serious. They start out easy and get harder through 3 or 4 rounds. An example of a 4th round word would be Pyrrhic, which means “achieved at excessive cost”.
  
  We are in our 6th year. We just had the 12th season finals. Season 13 starts on Monday, February 7th, 2011. 7pm.
  
  -Can you name three singer/songwriters or performers you would compare yourself to if you had to and why?
  
  1. Pink Martini – not only my favorite band in the world, but they sing in many different languages. For the moment I may only go between Spanish and English, but I plan to experiment with other languages.
  
  2. Antony and the Johnsons – Because I think the sincerity in our songs really shines through and we don’t sing typical love songs.
  
  3. Bjork – because we are both recklessly experimental. Creates from where we are at the moment without focusing on a specific a genre. My next album is working in the direction of a 1950s style country album, with essences of old movie scoring.
  
  I’m also pretty heavily influenced by Madonna’s ‘Music’ album and Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Canciones de mi Padre’ album. People compare me to Jimmy Somerville a lot because of my high voice or Jeff Buckley.
  
  -What is the hardest part about performing your work in front of an audience?
  
  I don’t think there’s anything hard about performing in front of an audience. I’ve been doing it since I was 4. I think some audiences are more difficult than others. In the gay scene they are really satisfied with 130 bpms, and not very responsive to hand-played instruments. Most gay audiences like songs that they know, but in the Indie-Alternative scene they are very attentive to someone with a guitar, and hang on every new word & note that you play. They are absolutely thrilled to hear something in a different language as long as it’s done well. They appreciate experiment with rhythms and playing household items or a lute.
  
  I know that I’m generally known as a “dance artist” at the time, but that’s what the Hades Music Label promotes more of. Love the remixes, but I prefer originals. My album is very Latin/Folk-tronic.
  
  -What feeling do you want people to leave with after attending your shows or events?
  
  Wow!
  
  -What’s coming up next for Bobby Blue?
  
  There is a 3rd music video release for ‘go’. Release is set for Christmas week and the mix is for the David Ohana Radio Mix. There could possibly be a forth. I loved all the mixes.
  
  I have just started work with director Jared Outten on a new music video for a song called ‘He Loves Me”. The video is going to be crazy. We are thinking ‘polygamy’. My producer, Abe Seiferth of DFA Records, and I are in the process of putting the finishing touches on a full length album. The working title is called ‘Sunshine’.
  
  -You are more than just a singer and songwriter, what other avenues of creativity do you explore?
  
  What don’t I explore? I think that if you are a creative person you are not just creative in one area. I’m not saying I’m great, but I like to try everything. I’m not afraid to draw, paint, build furniture & lamps, decorating a home, cook, bake, and gardening. I love having a home project. I used to have a line of nic nacs that sold at Daniel Cartier’s shop in Massachusetts.
  
  -Which of your artistic endeavors helps exorcise your demons best?
  
  I think I’d have to say cooking and baking. I love nurturing something. You truly have to put love into the food you are making. I think I have a lot of love to give. I’m a good cook.
  
  -Where do you see yourself and your art in eleven years?
  
  Just more refined. I would like to sing part-time with Pink Martini. They have guests singers. They are on tour all the time. It would be fun to tour with a big orchestra like that.
  
  I will have had that one project that will help me fund the rest of my life & to continue my interests. I make up jingles too for shits & giggles. I love local commercial jingles. They are very predictable & funny to sing. I think I have one now to a Katy Perry song…. actually, I have found that a lot of Katy Perry songs can easily be turned into jingles for Cool Whip, cold medicine, and more. Maybe I’ll sell one of those.
  
  -Can you give a piece of advice to new performers or musicians who are about to unleash their work to the world?
  
  When you are writing a song make sure you like it as much as your favorite song at the time. If it doesn’t sound as good as that then keep working. Oh, and write as many happy, positive songs that you can. You can be totally responsible for making someone have a good day. Which is better for everyone. You lift one person’s spirit, you can lift everyone they come into contact that day. Pura vida.
  
  We would like to send a big house of dandridge thanks to Bobby Blue for spending the time to answer Chauncey’s 11questions!

Setlist

1. aspettami
2. sunshine
3. tu solo tu
4. he loves me
5. in a song
6. hay unos ojos
7. the love me song
8. go
9. sound of music
10. la paloma
11. cucurrucucu paloma
12. i feel good
13. if

Basic Requirements

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