Few things torment me like knowing an amazing local act that no one seems to be “getting.” The only thing worse is when that act is no longer around and I can only ponder the “what ifs” that swish back in forth in my head along with the bourbon as I sit back and picture performances of the past. The occasionally beautiful and always tuneful song writing of Austin Stahl emerged from his lofi bedroom cassettes to a full band punching out four full length discs of romantic yearning and big dreams littered with references to everyday Baltimore. Built upon sturdy melodies and the type of harmonies (with the lovely Marian Glebes) rarely practiced these days, they dared to be genuine and pretty, hurt and poppy, confused yet direct. They made pop that the likes of Teenage Fanclub and Mojave 3 would happily call their own. Internet radio embraced them and local papers had them in their yearly top tens and tastemakers like Jack Rabid gave them the stamp of tuneful approval.

And you missed them.

You didn’t know it. But you did.

The band is no more (indefinite hiatus sign hanging on the front door…)

A victim of the growing up that had painted their recent songs? Perhaps. I had a chance to force Austin out from his bedroom recording to face the quiet music.

You have recently followed up 05’s “No Straight Lines” with the release of the well-received “Sweethearting” to local and national acclaim, yet quietly Private Eleanor started the year by disbanding. Tell us why?

Well, we haven’t ruled out playing together again in the future, but it’s at least going to be a very long break. Basically, I had gotten to a point where I was spending so much energy on the less exciting parts of being in a band (booking, publicity, etc) that I didn’t have much left for the stuff that’s supposed to be the fun part (you know, actually playing music) — and as a result it started to feel more like running a business rather than something creative. That feeling kept me from writing new songs, so we kept playing the same old ones, which we got tired of, even as other people’s interest in the record was growing. It became a big vicious cycle and by the end of the year, we just burned out. It felt like time to step away for a while.

You recorded “Sweethearting” at Silver Sonya with TJ Lipple and Chad Clark. What brought you down 95?

Chad mastered our previous record in 2005 — we had sought him out because we liked the work he’d done on a few other records — and when I came down for that session, I felt like he really understood what we were doing musically. About a year later, we decided we wanted to track the new record live in a studio (something we didn’t have the capability to do at home) and I thought of Silver Sonya right away. We met with Chad and TJ and it seemed that we were all on the same page, so we went for it.

Your cover of “Love Goes On” was chosen for the compilation honoring Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens (one of my favorite songwriters of all time.) The record has covers performed by The Clientele, Stars and Ivy among others and then this little band that could from Baltimore. How did that come about?

Pretty cool that we’re alongside all of those bands on that record, isn’t it? The label that put it out held a contest to find a cover of that song to be the title track. I read about it and thought, “That might be fun to do” — so I learned and recorded the song over a weekend, with a little help from Marian, and we sent it off. I don’t think we even told the rest of the band. Then a few months later I got an email saying we’d been chosen as the winners. Honestly, I felt a little weird at first, because there are bands on there that actually knew Grant personally, and then here I am, some kid who only got into the Go-Betweens 3 or 4 years ago… But we’re honored to be a part of it.

Playing the Walters Art Museum, which made the Baltimore City Paper’s top ten shows of 07, must have been a rush. Why such a unique setting for a pop concert? If the city remembers you just for that show, will you sleep well at night?

Definitely one of our favorite shows that we ever did! The Walters is an amazing museum that has art from all over the world, from ancient stuff all the way up through last century. They also have this big gorgeous auditorium where they screen films and have artist talks and such, and that’s where we played. We got to project images behind us on a giant movie screen, which was cool. It felt like we were creating a bigger experience than just another rock show.

I can’t take credit for the idea, though — the museum asked us to play as part of a series they were doing where they invited musicians into the space. We’ve always loved non-traditional spaces — over the years we played a number of art galleries, houses, even a couple shows in an old library… but this was probably the most beautiful space we ever played. At one point during sound check someone had to go and make sure the sound wasn’t disturbing the priceless ancient piece of art hanging on the other side of the wall. That doesn’t happen at your average rock club.

Private Eleanor grew from you writing alone in the bedroom and tracking songs as you went. Will you be returning to that simpler format of working on your songs? How has your writing style evolved over the years?

I’m already returning to that way of working, and it’s really fun so far. I bought myself a cassette 8-track, which I’ve recorded a couple things on, and it feels like I’m reconnecting with what I really loved about music in the first place. The magic of analog recording, building things piece by piece and hearing them played back — that’s what I first fell in love with.

After I put together the band, I started to write more and more with our strengths and capabilities in mind, and that really opened up a lot of new ideas. My bandmates’ input and contributions on their instruments had a big influence on how I played guitar, too — the guitar didn’t have the be the foundation anymore. And I guess the biggest thing was, on this last record, starting to write songs for Marian and I to sing together… Knowing the way our voices sounded together and thinking of that blended voice as a single instrument I could write for. I’m hoping I can take all of those lessons back into the bedroom and keep experimenting and coming up with stuff — even if the final result doesn’t leave the house.

Honestly, I mean this in a good way, you and Marian form possibly the cutest front couple in the area in quite some time. How has the band effected your relationship - both positive and negative?

Well, thanks. “The guitar player’s girlfriend joining the band” is such an awful cliche… But I think we’ve made it work pretty well. Sometimes it can be hard to switch to “bandleader mode” when we need to practice and get things done. But for the most part it’s just nice getting to share all of the adventures of playing in a band with each other. Touring with someone can really teach you a lot about them, and it was nice to discover after our first tour together that we still liked each other when we got home.

You were often referred to as “twee” and “quiet” but I never really got either of those qualities from your music. Was that an assessment you agreed with or annoyed you?

I never understood it either. I always thought we were a rock band. I guess to some people, “lack of guitar solos and Marshall stacks” equals “twee and quiet”. That’s OK.

What will you miss about being in a band (and what will you be happy to never experience again?)

One thing I’ve discovered is that the less time I spend trying to book shows, the happier and less anxious I am in general. It’s incredible how much easier it is to relax when there isn’t a band to obsess over! So that’s a good thing. I imagine I will start to miss the social aspect, though — I am basically a hermit by nature, and playing music forces me out of the house and gets me to talk to people. When I do eventually get back into a band, this will probably be part of the reason.

Do you think there will ever be another full band taking on the Private Eleanor catalog?

We’re trying not to worry too much about the future of the band — but maybe. At the moment I don’t have much interest, but I don’t know how we’ll all feel down the line… Of course, we could always hold out for ten years and then do the highly lucrative reunion tour.

Either way, I’m sure that we’re not done playing in bands. We’ll be out there again one way or another.

What is on the horizon for the future (musically and otherwise?)

As I mentioned, I’ve been writing songs again and recording at home. I’m going to keep doing that, even though I might not show that stuff to anyone for a while. I’m also playing drums occasionally with a band called Small Sur (myspace.com/smallsur). My “real job” is as a graphic designer, and I’ve been trying to work hard and get better at that. Taking a day job seriously (for the first time!) actually feels pretty nice. Marian is making really good art, going to grad school, and trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up.

I assume you will be continuing heavy involvement with The Beechfields record label. Tell us a little about the cool stuff happening at the label and what the future holds there as well.

My big pet project right now is the first Beechfields compilation album, which we’re almost finished with. We’re working on artwork and sequencing… trying to have it out by April. That will feature the final two Private Eleanor songs (for now, anyway) and a bunch of other great Baltimore bands.

The new album by a band called the Red Vines just came out too. They have kind of a 60s-guitar-pop thing going on. Very fun record.

Most importantly - now that your adoring public is not there to harass you into a haircut - how big will the fro get?

Marian is still here to harass me into a haircut, though. So not too big.

You can catch Austin and Marian taking their songs for a spin tonight at Galaxy Hut with Sad Crocodile. Don’t miss out as it could be many a winter before they brush them off again (if ever.)

http://www.privateeleanor.com
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