Theo Eastwind
Gig Seeker Pro

Theo Eastwind

Brooklyn, NY | Established. Jan 01, 2006 | INDIE | AFTRA

Brooklyn, NY | INDIE | AFTRA
Established on Jan, 2006
Solo Alternative Rock

Calendar

Music

Press


"Underrated Magazine (Cover) Theo Eastwind"

Cover and three pages with images of Theo Eastwind, his passion for music and individual expression.
- Rachael Darmanin


"Subway Idol Winner"

Theo Eastwind Won title of Subway Idol in January 2004 receiving the majority of votes from Fox5 NY viewers. - Fox 5 NY


"Good Day New York"

Invited to Fox 5 to perform on Good Day NY during the transit strike (see photos) - Fox 5


"Making Tracks (Pulse Cover, full-page)"

Best Subway Musicians Get Album, Higher Platform
Scraggly-haired singer and guitarist Theo Eastwind doesn't consider playing his music in the subway begging or even busking - it's community service.
"This is the service I give to New York," he says between tunes at Union Square yesterday. "This is my office."
It's been a good decade at the office for Eastwind as his reputation earned him a spot on "NYC Subway: Songs from the Underground," collection of the best subterranean homesick bluesmen (and women) in the city... - New York Post 16Aug05 (Mary Huhn)


""You're Going Places Kid!""

- told to Theo as Johnny dropped a dollar in his guitar case - Johnny Cash


"A Troubadour For Change - A coversation with Theo Eastwind"

As the rain continued to thoroughly saturate the corner of North 7th and Bedford, Theo Eastwind, with energetic creativity, goes on: “Honestly, the way I define myself would probably be like a modern-day troubadour kind of guy... living in a time where trucks seem kind of barbaric.”

It is a fitting response from an artist who refers to his fans as straphangers, and who is internationally recognized as one of New York’s best underground artists. Adding to an already long list of well-earned recognition, Theo recently received 1st place in the second annual Williamsburg Live Singer-Songwriter Competition.

However, Theo is not a troubadour in the traditional sense, regardless of his well-informed history of the 11th, 12th and 13th century knightly lyrical poets. “[Singer-songwriters] have an age-old responsibility that reaches back to the middle ages... the first time in history that we see the media being used [in] psychological warfare. And troubadours were the first ones, the first missiles, the first media missiles.”

It is Theo’s ability to make interconnections between time, reality and ideology that contribute to his sense of philosophy and revolution. It is no doubt that Theo, whose fourth album Story of the O is scheduled for release in June, is and has been heavily influenced by his own relationship with life. Theo’s story of arrival in the United States with a pocket containing his life savings is, in New York and American mythology, a familiar one. More visceral is his firm grasp and control over conceptions of freedom, responsibility and creativity, which far eclipse the care of average citizenry.

“If I set up on the corner with an amplifier and play my music, let’s say even moderately loud, the police [are] going to come and give me a ticket... It’s totally against the First Amendment... If you take your sh-t, and you go on the corner... you will be kicked out... And that will intimidate you, and then you will not do it again... I want to pull the fear away.”

Theo’s insistence on artists’ responsibly to educate and incite change accompanies his desire to liberate and activate the singer-songwriter community. Education occurs through change. It is the artist’s task to assemble and communicate a culturally relevant message with talent and passion, while identifying and manipulating the tradition of the bard.

“I am appealing to all singer-songwriters to rally and to recognize that there is a change... it’s a battle of mobilizing to create.”

It is this sense that creates the common ground that Theo shares with Gabriel Levitt, executive producer of the annual competition. The ambition to create and acknowledge is part of the thrust behind Levitt’s monthly Jezebel Music Showcase at Laila Lounge, which gave rise to the competition, and Jezebel Music, the promotion company centered around the music scene in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. As first-prize winner, Theo is to appear as Jezebel’s first featured monthly artist.

Theo’s self-examination of purpose melds with Gabriel’s and Jezebel’s desire to highlight the ‘explosion’ that is musical culture in Williamsburg, and, collectively, is emblematic of the underlying creative force that is so prevalent among Williamsburg’s residents and artists. Theo ‘implores’ the singer-songwriter community to collect and direct itself parallel to Gabriel’s efforts to organize these creative endeavors.

“It’s about changing something. This is New York, the capital of the world... We had Seattle, we had it all, we had Vienna, we had Salzburg, we had Berlin, we had the classical music revolution, we had Moscow, we had it... we had it all. Now, it’s our time, here, in New York... right here.” - Block Magazine 20April05 (James Gregg)


"Big Apple Idols"

City's best buskers have serious street cred - New York Post 17Jul04 (Pulse cover story)


"King the Underground"

If you’ve ever spent time in the New York City subway system, you may have already heard the music of singer/songwriter Theo Eastwind. The Oasis-approved artist (the band tapped him to perform as part of last year’s “Dig Out Your Soul in the Street” street promotion) has released his fifth album, King Of The Underground, on NYC indie label Soujorn Records. The new disc was recorded entirely on a subway platform in 2007.
Says Eastwind of his daily vocation, “If you can get a New York City straphanger to purchase your CD in the 30 seconds it takes for their next train to arrive, you’re damn good.”
The disc includes the artists’ “10 Rules and Guide to Mass Transit Artistry”, which seeks to improve commuter-busker relations. (You can also read his 10 commandments for “underground” musicians at Theoeastwind.com. Rule No. 5: Do Not Appear Intoxicated.)
In 2004, Eastwood clinched Fox News’ “Subway Idol” competition. Last year, he was a winner in MSG TV’s “NYC Soundtracks.” His voice is prominently featured in a new Miller Beer commercial, “It’s American Time, It’s Miller Time”, but you won’t hear it in the States. The commercial plays in Vietnam, where it announced Miller beer’s official launch in the Vietnamese market.
A press release for King Of The Underground fills in the back story:
Theo is the essence of a self-made man. Born in Vienna, Austria, Dyslexia and strabismus in his left eye (corrected later in life through a surgical process) made school extremely difficult for him. He quickly grew impatient and dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He then enrolled in a trade school and started an apprenticeship for a degree in the confectionery arts. There, a new passion and talent for baking was found. In 1995, he answered an unemployment notice seeking a baker to run a Viennese bakeshop called “Lipizaner” in New York City, but when he arrived in this country from Vienna, he learned that the business had lost all its backers and the venture had fallen through. Theo was left on his own in a strange city with his life savings in his pocket.  His only possession was a beat-up old guitar strapped to his back.  He was too proud and stubborn to return to Vienna, but his savings quickly ran out. With no place to live, and without knowing a soul in this new country, the reality of the tough city was now setting in. Down and out, strolling through the subway, a voice captured his attention. A man, Carlton, was singing a cappella for money. This subway musician and many others such as (Kathleen Mock, Alice Ridley, etc.) inspired Theo to do the same.
He began by singing cover songs by Nirvana, Sade, Fountains of Wayne, Foo Fighters, Sting and Oasis. He was inexperienced, shy, and could barely make five cents in three hours. Theo realized he had a lot of hard work to do if he was going to eat and pay the rent.  Theo furiously practiced day in and day out, determined to cultivate his musical technique, and he began, with no formal training, to write his own music and lyrics.
In 1998, Theo joined forces with bassist, Steve Brown, who became his close friend. Together, they played and became regulars in such New York clubs as Under Acme, Mercury Lounge, The Livingroom, CB’s Gallery, and The Cutting Room. They also started writing commercial jingles freelance as a business.
Ruth Dibbel, a mutual friend, then loaned them a generous amount of money to set up a project studio and TheoSophical Music was born.  With all the music Theo had accumulated over the years, he and Steve immediately began recording their first album, the shimmering and soulful, W.I.P. (Work in Progress). Their second album, Oh La La Li…, which was dedicated to Nick Drake, one of Theo’s biggest inspirations, was released in 1999.
Theo’s third album, the richly textured and emotionally diverse “One”, was recorded in 2000 and was produced and mixed by Fearless Music’s Jamie Lamm. One was a collaborative effort of many talented and accomplished artists, including Matt Johnson (former drummer for Jeff Buckley), Steve Holley of the Saturday Night Live Band, Billy White (electric guitarist from Dokken), Steve Schlitz from Longwave, and many more.  On Halloween of 2002, the song “7500” from “One”, was featured in an independent film, “The 13th Child”, staring Robert Guillaume, Christopher Atkins, and Cliff Robertson.
After “One” was released, the band went in different directions and Theo branched out on his own. He collaborated with several different artists including Soul Farm and Rachel Sage where he had the opportunity to play at such clubs as Irving Plaza, The Bottom Line, and the Hard Rock Cafe.
Theo’s fourth record, “The O”, released in 2006 through Select bands entertainment, featured the instantly memorable “Set Up”, with which he won the “Williamsburg Singer Songwriter” contest, “The O” is a startling and refined recording produced by the multi-talented Mark Ambrosino (who also produced Theo’s new record “King of the Underground”), at Madhouse Studios.
Eastwind’s extraordinary voice conjures up images of Jeff Buckley, David Gray, and Sting, and his captivating songs elicit comparisons to Dave Matthews, Colin Hay, and Nick Drake. His guitar playing is raw, passionate, and loaded with heart and soul. Put all these elements together and you have the alchemical Theo Eastwind.
King Of The Underground track list:
Marlena
Setup
Rite of Passage
Fell For It Again
Really Believe
High
Anabelle
Movin’ On
They All Think
C’est La Vie - American Songwriter Magazine


Discography

The O (full CD - April 4, 2006 release)

Songs from the Underground (compilation - lead track)

Select Bands Vol. 1 (compilation)

One (full CD)

Oh La La Li… (full CD)

Work in Progress (full CD)

Photos

Bio

Modern day troubadour, Theo Eastwind, through the years has become an icon on New York City subway platforms as a Busker and Music Under New York performer. Theo’s blend of edgy alternative strumming and graceful melodies quickly hook straphangers and have landed sales of over 50,000 records, plus hundreds of thousands of downloads, above and below ground. He was featured on MSNBC.com, earned “Big Apple Icon” label by the New York Post, won the 100-musician Williamsburg Live Singer/Songwriter Competition, battled to the finals in "NYC Soundtracks" on the MSG channel, Won "Subway Idol" on Fox 5, Is crowned "King of the underground" by the American Songwriter magazine, and most recently contested on Fox 5 NY's "New York Star of the Day" a primetime NYC music competition hosted by Ernie Anastos with Bernie Williams leading the house band. Theo regularly appears on NY News 12 Brooklyn, Fox 5 and local print media as well as planning a tour across America, October 15 - November 31st 2016. Theo passionatly founded and runs the one and only "NYC Buskerball" showcasing New York's best Subway and street performers and helps to educate buskers on their rights. Together with organizations such as City Lore & BuskNY Theo continues to advocate on behalf of buskers everywhere. 



Band Members