Linda Eder's Weekend in New England

Linda Eder will be appearing with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Steve Tyrell for two shows this weekend at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset and the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis. She will be performing standards, but her new CD "The Other Side of Me" scheduled for release in September features songs with a pop, country feel. Linda spoke with us on the telephone from her home in New York before heading north.

BWW  Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I know you've given many interviews to BroadwayWorld and I think you have a lot of fans on the site, including me. Speaking of fans, you appear to be very connected to your fans, very approachable. Are they really all friends and relatives?

LE  They are friends that I've gotten to know from my concerts. I often see the same faces at my shows. I see them more than my friends. I take care of my 8-year old and my boyfriend, so there's not much time for a social life. My closest friends are all busy.

BWW  Now you are about to release this album that is a departure from what you're known for – are you confident that your fans will "go" with you to that new place?

LE  I think the majority of them will. I've already done it (new songs in concert) five times and the response has been great. Pop music is pop music for a reason, there's a broader fan base. The bottom line is I love it and I think they know that. They've gotten to know me. I've already got fans coming up to me telling me they love the new music.

BWW  Do you expect to tap into another audience? The song "Waiting For the Fall" seems to appeal to a hipper (read: younger) audience.

LE  I wrote that one. I love that kind of music and I wanted one that was more upbeat.

BWW  Did you write other songs on the album?

LE  I was involved in another one, but I didn't take songwriting credit. They just kept rewriting it until I was comfortable with it. One of the great things about this is I've been writing a lot more. It's nice to get back to it. I don't write standards or Broadway songs.

BWW  Will there be more singer/songwriter stuff on future albums?

LE  Oh, yeah. I still do the other stuff, too, but this has revitalized me for all of the shows. I do four diffeRent shows.

BWW  Ultimately, it is about the music and your connection to it. This seems to be a more personal project for you. How important is commercial success?

LE  I'd love to hear it on the radio, I'd love to be driving down the road and hear it come on the radio. Verve Records (her label) is good at placing songs on TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy" so that would be cool, if it happens.

BWW  Can you tell me something about your song choices for the album?

LE  "If You Believe" was written for An Officer and A Gentleman, which they're hoping to bring to Broadway. My entertainment lawyer works with those people and we put it in a pop format. "Ghosts" - the Indigo Girls – I heard it years ago and loved it. "Lifted" gave the CD its direction, and "Pieces" is the cornerstone by Shaun Barker who co-wrote four songs on the album. Billy Stein (co-producer) brought it to me and I loved the arrangement and the song.

BWW  Will your shows this weekend include you on the guitar?

LE  Not these shows. I bring my own 7-piece band, but one song I do in both shows is "If I Could" by Ken Hirsch,which has been recorded by Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Barbra  Streisand.

BWW  Will you have some time to enjoy Cape Cod?

LE  Not enough.

BWW  You were a tremendous hit when you sang with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus last year. When did you develop a gay fan base and do you embrace that?

LE  Probably when I came to New York and did Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde really kicked it off. When you sing the kind of music I do, if you don't have a gay following, you're doing something wrong.

BWW  The BroadwayWorld audience would be interested in an update on your prospects of doing another show. What's going on with Sheila Valentine?

LE  I don't really know. The people involved with it are still working on it in some capacity. It's up to them to really finish it. It's not my focus right now because of my son. Part of me doesn't want to go back to Broadway – I'd never see him.

BWW  Do you read your reviews? How do you stay grounded with comments like "spectacular vocal power and range" – albeit true!

LE  Oh, yeah, I read everything. I'm not afraid; they're usually pretty good. They want me to be one (diva) – I'm sometimes criticized for not being one! You love getting the good reviews, but the bad ones stay with you longer. I'm a horrible critic, I'm never satisfied.

BWW  You wrote on your website about your benefit concert for Women At Risk, women living with HIV/AIDS in L.A. Do you have a personal connection to the cause?

LE  That was new, my agents brought it to me. That's new in my life. I do a lot of benefits.

BWW  You have upcoming performances with Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. Have you sung with him and symphonies before?

LE  Oh, yeah, I do quite a lot of that.

BWW  Any chance of you singing with the Boston Pops?

LE  I have, I sang with them at the Fourth of July concert (1999) and at Radio City Music Hall (2004).

BWW  What's it like to sing in front of half a million people?

LE  No diffeRent than in front of twenty. Ask me to do it in front of one, that's difficult.

BWW  Is there anything else you'd like to share with the BroadwayWorld readers?

LE  My main focus is the new music; it's driving everything I do. I want it to be successful. I'm thrilled to have a new record deal. EMI pulled out in December, then Verve came along and bought it specifically for this music.

BWW  Thank you, I really enjoyed talking with you. I'll be at your show Sunday night. Could I come by and say hello?

LE  Of course!

An Evening With Linda Eder and Steve Tyrell

South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset

Saturday, July 19, 8 p.m.

781-383-9850

Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis

Sunday, July 20, 8 p.m.

508-775-5630

To post a comment, you must register and login.