by Elisa Zuckerberg, Founder of HearItThere.com
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Eliot Lewis is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has toured the world over as a member of the Daryl Hall & John Oates band, as well as a former member of the Average White Band. Eliot has also been the only musician to appear on every episode of Daryl Hall’s popular, “Live From Daryl’s House” show all while keeping his own solo career going at a seemingly impossible pace.
Lewis will be performing at Brookfield Theatre on Saturday, August 19 at 8pm at a fundraiser for the charitable organization, Brookfield Lions Club.
In a recent interview, we spoke about Lewis’s long and successful career performing and recording with Hall and Oates, his numerous musical collaborations and writing and recording solo albums. We also chatted about the upcoming special event in Connecticut.
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LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:
EZ: Hi, Elliot. It’s very nice speaking with you today.
Eliot Lewis: Likewise. Happy to be with you.
EZ: Let’s talk about your upcoming Brookfield, Connecticut gig on August 19. I hear that you’re from Connecticut originally, is that true?
Eliot Lewis: Yes, I am a Connecticut native – all my life. I’m from Norwalk originally, and now New Haven County.
EZ: So, this is almost like a hometown gig.
Eliot Lewis: Yeah. You know, I always said when I was younger, I’d probably live outside (the state), but when you’ve traveled so much as I have, and come back to Connecticut, you realize it’s not really a bad place to live at all. I still love it here.
EZ: Wiki says that you are a Rock, Soul and R&B artist, but your website describes you as a singer-songwriter. Having listened to some of your live performances, I’d say you’re a rocker. Like how would you describe your music?
Eliot Lewis: Well, it’s all the above. I am a singer and a songwriter, obviously, but I would say sometimes it’s hard to define what we do. My first love is classic rock and soul and all the stuff that I grew up on and was exposed to when I was young, David Bowie and Todd Rundgren, The Who, Cheap Trick. You know, but then there was my love of Soul music too, Stevie Wonder and Sly and The Family Stone. But I do lean a little bit more towards the rock side.
EZ: Well, you’re very versatile. I mean you performed with the Average White Band…
Eliot Lewis: Yeah, exactly.
EZ: You’re a multi-instrumentalist as well. Did you generally play guitar in the bands that you perform with?
Eliot Lewis: If I go way back, I started as a drummer. I gravitated to guitar because I wanted to be able to write music and have some fun in the front of the stage. Once I got to 17 or 18 years old and started getting more serious about it, I realized that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a real serious songwriter, so I learned keyboards. I started playing keys in the early eighties and then once the technology boom started happening, we were able to put together a lot of music via keyboards with sampling and sequencers. It served me well because I’ve been able to adapt to certain situations. Like in the Average White Band you’ve just mentioned, I was able to play some keyboards. I played bass guitar in some of the songs and I sang. Then later when Daryl Hall asked me to join Hall and Oates, the position that was open was the keyboard. So that just sort of stuck and just continued with it. I mean, I love all the instruments, but I sort of view myself more than anything as a guitar player.
EZ: You’ve been touring and working with Hall Oates since 2003, if my information is correct?
Eliot Lewis: Yeah, I think it was 2003. I’m no longer with Hall and Oates. I just came to a point, I had to decide what and where I wanted to put most of my time and energy. I have been managing my own solo career for a decade now alongside Hall and Oats. So, I thought this is a good time to just really dive into my own career one hundred percent.
EZ: Tell me about Live at Daryl’s House, too. I know you’re a staple there, you’ve been in every show.
Eliot Lewis: Yeah, it started out very small and then it eventually went to network and now a streaming service. Yes, I’ve been on every episode and filmed some of the new episodes that haven’t been released. There are some very cool guests we worked with.
EZ: You mentioned that you’ve put out solo albums throughout the years, even when touring. I read 10 solo albums?
Eliot Lewis: About 10. If people were wondering why a lot of my stuff still isn’t on Spotify right now, I’m about to re-release a lot of music and they’ll be a lot of stuff that hits all the streaming services very soon.
EZ: You mentioned that you’re focusing on your solo career right now, How did you come to that decision?
Eliot Lewis: For so long I was just focused on being an artist myself. When a band like Hall and Oats come along and they invite you to join the band, it’s <laugh> a hard situation to turn down. I traveled all over the world with them as I did with the Average White Band, but, Hall and Oats were playing big arenas and big festivals. My dream gig as a child was always Madison Square Garden.
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Listen to live interview (above) about Eliot’s musical inspirations and performing all over the world.
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Eliot Lewis: So that was the pinnacle of success for me. With Hall and Oates, I played there several times and played all of the big venues all over the world. So I just thought it was the right to do. It’s why I got into music for, to be my own artist and try to communicate my own music to people.
EZ: Yeah, I understand. If you’re a songwriter in your own right, you want people to hear your music.
Eliot Lewis: Yeah, exactly. That’s what I got into it for. You know, there are so many kinds of musicians. There are musicians that just play their instrument and become great at it. But I started more as a songwriter, and that was to me, more important than just being really proficient musician.
EZ: You mentioned those who influenced you musically when you were younger. Who else inspired you?
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Listen to the interview (above): Eliot talks about his his older brothers influences on his musical tastes. Artists such as Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and JAMMING with Peter Frampton at age 14 which put fuel on the fire for Lewis to continue his music journey. Working with childhood heroes, Joe Walsh, Glen Tillbrook, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) professionally. Additionally, Lewis talks about various musical collaborations.
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Eliot Lewis at Daryl’s House Club 5/6/21 (Click to watch.)
EZ: I wanted to ask you about your new album, Anything is Possible. I watched you perfect a few cuts on YouTube, songs called “Perfect Storm” and “Bump in the Road.” I assume that a lot of that was inspired by Covid times.
Eliot Lewis: Yeah, some of it was, absolutely. I think there was a song on it called “When This Is All Over” that I wrote when nobody could go out and Covid first hit. What a time that was! I remember the last time I played at Madison Square Garden was the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020, literally weeks before it exploded.
Eliot Lewis: “Anything is Possible” and a lot of the other songs just reflect my outlook on life. They’re very, very optimistic. It’s hard for me to write really anything dark and negative just because I’ve had a very blessed career and am very fortunate. There’s a lot uplifting and inspiring messages in the record.
EZ: I could tell. Listening to your lyrics, I can tell that you keep an optimistic point of view regardless of the circumstances. I love one of the phrases from the song “Perfect Storm,” when you describe the “sunshine in my brain.” That’s such a great line, inspiring.
Eliot Lewis: It’s all our perspective, right? When things are not going great around us, we can still make them good if our attitude is right. That’s sort of what I’m trying to say there.
EZ: That’s why I know that people who attend your upcoming show in Brookfield and see you on tour are going to appreciate your songs and positive outlook. I think we all need that right now. On August 19th you’re going to be playing solo, is that correct?
Eliot Lewis: Yeah, that will be solo. This is what I’ve been doing for a couple of years and it’s unique. It’s called the Live Looping Show. I’m creating all this stuff live and building up songs. And what’s interesting for me is that every time I play a song now, it’s a little bit different – the arrangement’s different, the tempo’s a little different. Sometimes things happen that I’m even surprised about. I try to read the audience and the energy of the audience. I can take one song and go into another song sort of on the spot. It’s real interesting.
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Listen to the interview ~ Eliot Lewis talks about his sophisticated use of technology, looping and orchestration/arrangement and how the music sound like a full band.
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EZ: I’m a big fan of original songwriting, but also wondering if you’ll be playing any cover songs.
Eliot Lewis: Absolutely. Yeah. Obviously, I have a lot of my own music that I love to play and I think it’s so important to support original artists. But in my show, I do play a bunch of cover songs – those that are special to me. Some Todd Rundgren, Cheap Trick, and Hall and Oates. Sometimes I’ll throw in a Joe Walsh song, but almost all the covers are songs that I’ve actually played with them. They’ll be different. I don’t try to make them exactly like the records.
EZ: I think there’s an audience that appreciates original music, but that they’ll really love hearing a cover song that they know you’ve actually played on.
Eliot Lewis: I’m adding a new song to my set that I think a lot of people will know. A song by Tina Turner who sadly passed away. I was fortunate to play
on one of her big hits when I was doing session work back in late eighties. A song called “Simply the Best.”
EZ: Wow! I guess we’ll have to come head over Brookfield, Connecticut Saturday, August 19th to hear it!
EZ: thank you so much for speaking with me. I really appreciate it. I’m really looking forward to seein you.
Eliot Lewis: Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.
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Tickets are on sale for Eliot Lewis LIVE at Brookfield Theatre, 184 Whisconier Road Brookfield, CT
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