- viennateng: Clarification! Q&A is 6-9pm Pacific TODAY (which is Sun 1-4am UTC). Sorry for the typo. See y'all soon! #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng Power at Red Rock, yes. :) #vtqna - when you're trying to tell yourself something, by what name do you call yourself? :) - reirei86: @viennateng Are you going to cover or write anymore Chinese songs? #vtqna - disarming: So excited you've scheduled a DC show - I haven't seen you a year!! On that note...what are the best concerts you've ever attended? #vtqna - CharlieWaters: @ViennaTeng - Hi Vienna - any plans to gig in the UK in the near future? (Love your music!) #vtqna - viennateng: @_flynn I scold myself as V for musical mishaps (or *cough* missed flights to gigs), but for more personal stuff, usually C. #vtqna - Eridanus: @viennateng Whilst recording IT u preferred studio to live shows; 2 yrs ago the reverse. D'you *actually* prefer whatever's current? #vtqna - trialia: @viennateng for this? yep #vtqna also, my q, when are you coming back to Britain, any plans to in the near future? :) - kurtharsis: @viennateng #vtqna Your arrangements tend towards unique with unusual instrument choices. How much of that is you? What guides the decisions? - _flynn: @viennateng Thanks, one (two?) more for the moment: which songs've been hardest, and easiest, to play out? #vtqna - disarming: @viennateng: So excited you have a DC show coming - I haven't seen you in a year! What are the best concerts you've ever attended? #vtqna - viennateng: @reirei86 We recorded a cover of [kanji] (Ganlanshu/The Olive Tree) for Inland Territory, will probably come out as a b-side sometime. #vtqna - viennateng: @CharlieWaters Would love to return to the UK. Timing CD release there has proven tricky but we're working on it! Hopefully next year #vtqna - annaybunny: Oops, that was supposed to have a hashtag. @viennateng What's the story behind Augustine? What inspired you to write it? #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng You might also start answers with a "." (.@whoever) so that your followers see all the answers more easily... #vtqna - viennateng: @Eridanus Hmm, you're right. Recording/playing live, the current activity is what I prefer. Guess it's better than the inverse... #vtqna - invokeuse: @viennateng: I'm curious about why you switched over to first-person tweets? #vtqna - smallred9t7: @viennateng Any plans on coming across the border and touring Canada? #vtqna - viennateng: @Eridanus Prefer for different reasons, I guess: live performance is play, studio is work. Work->sense of worth. Play->instant grat #vtqna - reirei86: @viennateng I can't wait to hear The Olive Tree! Do you play for private parties? A.k.a. My house :)? Free room and tour of the city! #vtqna - kurtharsis: @Lefsetz In light of your disc w/ A Palmer about connecting w/ the audience, @viennateng is doing a Twitter Q&N: #vtqna - viennateng: @trialia Hope next time we'll play places outside London, I know the city can be claustrophobic for some (though I confess I love it) #vtqna - annaybunny: @viennateng I'm in love with your cover of Idioteque. Any chance of an official recording? - viennateng: @kurtharsis Album arrangements or live? Lately for both Alex (@highceilings) plays a central role; he's behind most inspired choices #vtqna - viennateng: @annaybunny Experimenting w/only octaves on piano + memories of reading Confessions in college + fascination w/faith & conversion #vtqna - viennateng: @_flynn I figure I won't flood non-participants with tonight's tweets, and anyone who wants to tune in can search for #vtqna...Good plan? - kurtharsis: @viennateng Album arrangements specifically, but speaking of live, whom do I have to bribe to get you to play in St. Louis? - viennateng: @_flynn Gravity is still most satisfying & malleable to play. White Light is tough. Going to brave putting Radio in the set soon too. #vtqna - Eridanus: @viennateng I asked cos of how you interact with an audience.Live: inevitably tech.'imperfect' - but with a vibrance the studio lacks #vtqna - kalenabear: I'm il-twitterite, so let's hope this is right. What's one of the biggest misconceptions of the industry,iyo? Thanks for the q&a! #vtqna - trialia: @viennateng thought of something else- your music is used in Battlestar Galactica fanmixes for Roslin & Adama a lot. Ever watch it? #vtqna - viennateng: @invokeuse 3rd-person inhibited sentence construction. Having an observer tweet on yr account in 3rd person would be funny though. #vtqna - Eridanus: @viennateng Relieved you still like Gravity - the remarkably intense&versatile song which hooked me when you&Marika played it for BBC #vtqna - viennateng: @invokeuse e.g. "_ has that pensive look, like she may have found some gravel in this mouthful of Grape Nuts but isn't certain yet" #vtqna - proclubboy: @viennateng How did you come to realize you wanted to be a musician when you were at Cisco? Were you scared of the job switch? #vtqna - trialia: @viennateng also if you ever get the time, would love sheet music for DTTN someday :) if it's a possibility? thx! #vtqna - viennateng: @smallred9t7 Playing in Canada is often tricky to justify financially (1-2 shows for steep immigration/work permit fees) #vtqna - roofboy179: Oh. Using #vtqna is actually a better idea. -Feels suddenly #unmanly - - Eridanus: @viennateng *I'd* like some Augustine hints too. @zzcett & I (Scott & Rotkehlchen) puzzled about the lyrics since you published them #vtqna - viennateng: @smallred9t7 But if we could tour w/Canadian artist (e.g. Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards) that would be a great way to get there #vtqna - viennateng: @annaybunny Idioteque was another fine idea from @highceilings. Plotting for live album, that'll likely be in the set. Glad you like! #vtqna - rflrob: @viennateng At what point, and why, did Blue Caravan lyrics change from "Go IF you have to" to "Go WHERE you have to"? #vtqna - Eridanus: @viennateng Geeky BTW: Hope someone'll archive your #vtqna within a week,since it'll probably disappear from @Twitter Search soon after that - _flynn: @viennateng Concur w/@Eridanus on Gravity. You've already heard how much I liked White Light live. :) #vtqna - annaybunny: @viennateng A live album sounds awesome! I'll look forward to it. :) #vtqna - trialia: *pokes @Eridanus* actually, I was going to myself! :P If @viennateng doesn't mind? #vtqna - viennateng: @Eridanus Yes, studio/live provide different parameters for making music, focus one's mindset in different ways. #vtqna - viennateng: @kalenabear Perceptions by the industry, or of the industry by music fans? (Also, hi!) - viennateng: @trialia Fanmixes = fascinating new form to me, albeit foreign since I hardly watch TV. Should watch more SF shows and anime perhaps. #vtqna - kalenabear: @viennateng what can we Angelenos do to help get you in SoCal more often? :p Appreciate it every time you make a stop here, tho! #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng Ah, two more: how many interpretations have you heard for who "she" is in Recessional, and what's your favorite? #vtqna - annaybunny: @viennateng What are your favorite albums of all time/of the moment? #vtqna - frazierd: @viennateng Who are your favorite artists/bands? Who did you enjoy playing with the most? #vtqna - viennateng: @proclubboy Realized I wanted to pursue music well before Cisco, so it was just a matter of timing. Signing w/Virt was the impetus. #vtqna - kalenabear: @viennateng @kalenabear "Perceptions by the industry, or of the industry by music fans?" the latter. #vtqna - roofboy179: @viennateng What song from IT do u like playing live the most? Also, do u want another pie when u make your way back thru Milwaukee? #vtqna - viennateng: @proclubboy But leaving Cisco was still scary. Mostly b/c I had no idea what to do music-business wise and had no talent for it. #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng Not sure of the title but years ago you did something live with the chorus "...and the boy with the piano plays on..." #vtqna - viennateng: @kurtharsis I believe we're working on a Nov date @ Off Broadway in St. Louis. Send good booking vibes Jordan Burger's way :^) #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng Did you ever record that? :) #vtqna - viennateng: @trialia The goal is to have sheet music for every album over the next few years. Maybe released concurrently w/audio, eventually! #vtqna - JohnnyNaked: @viennateng Can you see the sun setting from where you're sitting? (Enjoying the informative & pleasant tweet cacophony!) #vtqna - Eridanus: @viennateng Do you enjoy your Forum as much as we do? I like to think you lurk occasionally, & secretly read some of what we post ;) #vtqna - reirei86: @viennateng Do you publish majority of the songs you write or do you keep a lot private? #vtqna - viennateng: @disarming Some favorite shows: Spring Standards, Kaki King, Pete & J, Radiohead @ Bonnaroo '06, Regina Spektor @ Outside Lands '08 #vtqna - invokeuse: @viennateng When picking songs for an album, which is more important: a song's individual strength or how well it plays with the others? #vtqna - viennateng: @rflrob I think "if/where" switch in Blue Caravan happened over course of a tour. Seemed right to have him accept an inevitability. #vtqna - BahamCrackers: @viennateng Do you ever listen to your own music for enjoyment or is that too weird? Do you have a favorite song of yours? #vtqna - viennateng: @kalenabear Trying to figure out how to do something a bit different each time we return to LA. Would love to play theaters more... #vtqna - kalenabear: @viennateng Since you mentioned it, I took your recomm. on fb and saw Spring Standards @ the Levitt Pavilion, CA. AMAZING! so, thx! #vtqna - smallred9t7: @viennateng Who is the original artist on The Olive Tree? #vtqna - FredLI: @viennateng Do you have a favorite venue type as performer or as audience member? Theater, sit-down club, ballroom, outdoor, etc? #vtqna - viennateng: @_flynn Re: interpretations of Recessional, I love the one where someone actually put the lyrics in reverse: http://bit.ly/18SZpE #vtqna - recessional: @viennateng of all your released songs so far, which lyrics are you most proud of? in its entirety, i mean, not just one sentence. ;p - FredLI: @viennateng Concur w/Eridanus on forum. Good folks. #vtqna - viennateng: @disarming Enjoying shows is as much about environment as performers I think. Sadly was distracted for much of @ImogenHeap show once. #vtqna - viennateng: @annaybunny All-time favorites: most of Simon & Garfunkel and Radiohead discographies. Current obsession: Laura Veirs' Saltbreakers. #vtqna - recessional: @viennateng of all your songs, which lyrics are you most proud of? (asking again, because I forgot the hashtag last time. oops. :D) #vtqna - viennateng: @kalenabear Main misperception of industry: that there is a single music industry, maybe. Many worlds that hardly know of each other. #vtqna - viennateng: @roofboy179 Grandmother Song is most fun live from Inland Territory, though success rests heavily on audience. Also Antebellum. #vtqna - viennateng: @roofboy179 Thanks for awesome pie last time! Also, not sure whether to thank or hate you for getting @highceilings that xaphoon ;^) #vtqna - gulliverbear: @viennateng I love the new album! I was wondering about 'Watershed'... what inspired that song? #vtqna - viennateng: @_flynn Boy At The Piano was fun to play live for a while but lyrics are hard to sing w/a straight face these days :^) Should be... #vtqna - viennateng: @_flynn ...some on archive.org though, as I've greenlighted releasing bootlegs of it: http://bit.ly/HxZx6 #vtqna - FredLI: @viennateng Is there buzz in the industry about the 2010 Lilith Fair? Are you interested? #vtqna - roofboy179: @viennateng Are we ever gonna hear "House", which I think was cut off the new album. Unless i'm horribly mistaken #vtqna - gulliverbear: @viennateng Also that would be AWESOME if you came to St Louis! #vtqna - viennateng: @JohnnyNaked On 2nd floor of a cafe, can see sunset reflecting off palm trees across the street. Many geeks w/laptops all around... #vtqna - viennateng: @Eridanus I do lurk on the forum about once a week. Lovely group of folks, though occasionally *strange* ;^) Also sometimes... #vtqna - disarming: @viennateng LAist interview piqued my interest - what became of the songs with the really emo titles? What's one you could recycle & redeem? - OSMOSExINVERSEE: @viennateng Will you do a tour Canada? #vtqna - viennateng: @Eridanus ...exceedingly polite/sincere re: me. Critical/sarcastic is OK, no really! But grateful for such thoughtful listeners. #vtqna - disarming: @viennateng Also would love if you shared more titles - as it's comforting I wasn't alone in writing emo poetry all over my Trapper Keeper - chirrio23: No room for an LA show in the fall? #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng How many folks at the cafe have figured out what you're doing? #vtqna - JohnnyNaked: @viennateng You may want to be careful what you ask for! (So says the one who curbs his sarcastic tongue way too much in his old age.)#vtqna 1 minute ago from web     - kalenabear: @viennateng Silly/stupid ?: Ever consider doing smthg as tongue'ncheek as http://bit.ly/W19px [w/ Alex]? :P #vtqna 1 minute ago from web     - _flynn: Informal poll: how many people watching #vtqna are in fact listening to @viennateng? @reply me if you'd be so kind. ;) 3 minutes ago from TwitterFon     - viennateng: @frazierd Some great hangs on tour: @paper_raincoat @bensollee @julianvelard @davidberkeley @jennyowenyoungs @kylerengland #vtqna - viennateng: @frazierd Also @thecatapult @katieherzig @glenphillips, Brandi Carlile. Marc Cohn and Joan Baez were wonderfully kind headliners too. #vtqna - trialia: @_flynn lol, was singing Love Turns 40 actually, but watching early Stargate: SG-1 so not listening. too busy logging #vtqna to a text file! - viennateng: @reirei86 Any song that gets finished usually sees the light of day. Sometimes I keep private ones that aren't really written for... #vtqna - viennateng: @reirei86 ...strangers to listen to (too many inside references in lyrics to be accessible, or attempts @ new style that aren't good) #vtqna - kalenabear: @_flynn not listening atm but listen every morning on the way to work btwn the 4 albums. Shame that my commute is only 15 mins ;) #vtqna - FredLI: @viennateng Concur w/you re: Joan Baez. Very classy; she's boosted many others' careers over the years (e.g., Dar Williams). #vtqna - viennateng: Uh oh falling behind in the #vtqna stream. I was keeping pace so well for a while there! - OSMOSExINVERSEE: @viennateng will you come to canada? #vtqna - viennateng: @invokeuse Song inclusion on album depends on a) quality & b) whether similar one is already on/out there. Art not science though. #vtqna - roofboy179: Taking over the copy-paste-Word documentation of VT's Q&A #vtqna - viennateng: @invokeuse Grandmother Song was tough call for Inland Territory; unlike rest of album but we really wanted it on & not as bonus track #vtqna - viennateng: @BahamCrackers I'm often in the awkward position of not liking my own music for listening (genre/sound in general). Tried creating... #vtqna - viennateng: @BahamCrackers ...my own station on Pandora recently and much preferred Andrew Bird Radio & Jesca Hoop Radio. #vtqna - thinkshrink: @viennateng InlandTerritoria -cannot get enough of it. Antebellum? War Protest Song?#vtqna - OSMOSExINVERSEE: @viennateng will you come to canada? the fans in winnipeg would love to see you perform! #vtqna - dslnyc: @viennateng Where are you going to base in coming years? - viennateng: @recessional Most pleased with...Recessional, actually. Hee. In Another Life, Passage & a fair # on Dreaming are up there too. #vtqna - reirei86: @viennateng How often do you get to go home when you're on tour? Do you ever get homesick? - CharlieWaters: @vienna Gotta sleep, it's 4.42 in London, but thanks for the #vtqna - and (cheesy abba moment) thank you for the music! - viennateng: @smallred9t7 Not sure who originally performed The Olive Tree, but Qi Yu's version is most famous I think. #vtqna - thinkshrink: ViennaTeng-Each song on Inland is so unique & incredibly complex. The variations are staggering.#vtqna - dslnyc: @viennateng CHYI YU was the original singer of oliver trees. She is the most sophisticated Chinese singer. - invokeuse: @viennateng Glad Grandmother Song is on IT, though, the "good boys in grad school" line always gives me a giggle #vtqna - viennateng: @FredLI Favorite venue...tough call! Bowery Ballroom, Rockwood in NYC have great energy. Many cozy listening rooms all over that... #vtqna - DanielPLawson: @viennateng How much of "Recessional" is biographic? I often wonder. It's my favourite of yours; I relate to it like no other song. #vtqna - viennateng: @FredLI ...make you feel totally connected to performer/audience. Altes Pfandhaus in Köln Germany is unique http://bit.ly/MOfDt #vtqna - CharlieWaters: @viennateng Gotta sleep, it's 4:52 in London, but thanks for the #vtqna - and (cheesy Abba moment) thank you for the music! - _flynn: @viennateng OK, on to the important stuff. What's your grandmother think of Grandmother Song, and what's your favorite drink? #vtqna - thinkshrink: ViennaTeng #vtqna I has been so helpful that you twittered while on tour and while recording Inland. It gave us so much more insight. - nowhereguy: @viennateng fav on IT is Augustine - recall you saying it struggled to the surface. What holds a song back? Any struggling right now? #vtqna - viennateng: @FredLI Oh, and @Cayamo! An entire ship of raptly attentive crowds for great music. Sometimes solid-ground festivals are magic too. #vtqna - viennateng: @gulliverbear Watershed inspiration: jamming w/delay pedal & Nord Electro + read Jared Diamond's _Collapse_ + heard Björk's Oceania #vtqna - roofboy179: @viennateng In addition to @_flynn 's question; You're in a coffeehouse, i think. What are you/were you/will you be drinking? ;D #vtqna - viennateng: @FredLI Would LOVE to play next year's Lilith Fair. I may build altars to the gods of festival booking to help make that happen... #vtqna - thinkshrink: ViennaTeng #vtqna Will you be on Cayoma 3? - _flynn: .@roofboy179 Good thing we're not in Amsterdam or the cafe/coffeehouse distinction would be important. #vtqna - viennateng: @roofboy179 House & The Olive Tree will get released eventually. We do like 'em, didn't want to make a 14-song album is all... #vtqna - viennateng: @chirrio23 We're looking to open for/share w/someone for our next LA show. Routing didn't work for this fall, but next spring! #vtqna - Jenster: @viennateng i really hope your music and YOU will come to Hong Kong some day soon! - viennateng: @_flynn There's been live music up here for the past hour, and I've sadly become one of those jerks on her laptop at a performance... #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng Oh no! :) Hope the music is good, at least. #vtqna - thinkshrink: ViennaTeng #vtqna Do you consider NYC to be your 'home" or is it still San Francisco? - viennateng: @kalenabear I SO want to be in a spoof music video! My sister thinks @highceilings & I should cover I'm On A Boat for next Cayamo. #vtqna - _flynn: @viennateng Thanks, Vienna, gotta run here -- and thanks, too, to everyoe else chiming in for making it more entertaining! #vtqna - viennateng: @thinkshrink Antebellum (& much of Inland Territory) came from thinking about parallels between personal relationships & politics... #vtqna - viennateng: @thinkshrink ...seems like the struggle of human beings trying to living w/each other is hauntingly similar no matter what the scale. #vtqna - kalenabear: @viennateng "I'm On A Boat" at Cayamo?! lol. Genius. ;) #vtqna - annaybunny: @viennateng I would die if you covered I'm On A Boat. Hee. #vtqna - viennateng: @annaybunny @kalenabear Bet we could rope Brandi Carlile & Katie Herzig's bands into I'm On A Boat too. ;^) #vtqna - thinkshrink: ViennaTeng #vtqna I think I listened to an interview you did abt that. Not parallel universes- as in Mark Oliver Everett.s father (ELLS) ??? - viennateng: @thinkshrink Home = strange concept these days. I guess SF is "where I'm from" (roots), NYC is "where I'm based" (state of mind now) #vtqna - viennateng: @thinkshrink Yes, we'll be on Cayamo 3 for sure! http://www.cayamo.com/Artists/ - viennateng: @OSMOSExINVERSEE RT Playing in Canada is often tricky to justify financially (1-2 shows for steep immigration/work permit fees) #vtqna - viennateng: @OSMOSExINVERSEE RT But if we tour w/Canadian artist (e.g. Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards) that would be a great way to get there #vtqna - viennateng: @roofboy179 Lavender chamomile tea. Mmm. :^) - thinkshrink: vienna teng #vtqna My Fall Concert schedule in Mpls/SP is beyond belief. Sept-Brandi, Oct -You at The Cedars, and Nov RayLaMontagne. - OSMOSExINVERSEE: @viennateng aww thats to bad =[ us fans in winnipeg would love to her you sing! =D #vtqna - viennateng: @nowhereguy Most songs struggle in the writing process...Augustine just took longer than most (3 yrs). All are struggling right now! #vtqna - viennateng: @disarming There was one called Farewell To the Unknown Soldier that wasn't *too* bad. Might make it a b-side of b-sides one day... #vtqna - viennateng: @disarming Some of the more egregious included "it's me. but you wouldn't know that." and "Sorrow's Melody" #vtqna - reirei86: @viennateng How often do you get to go home during the year? Do you ever get homesick? #vtqna - viennateng: @reirei86 I don't get homesick because I...have no home, at the moment. I do get wistful for things like gardening & a closet though. #vtqna - viennateng: @jenster Hope I get to come to Hong Kong too! Still searching for a good way to tour in Asia...working on it... #vtqna - viennateng: @dslnyc Don't know where I'll be based, though staying in NYC would be great. Maybe LA, maybe Chicago/Ann Arbor, maybe abroad... #vtqna - thinkshrink: ViennaTeng #vtqna I think you first introduced me to the term Chamber Folk? I started early with French Horn, then could not let go of Folk - OSMOSExINVERSEE: @viennateng well, i do hope some day you can come to Canada ^^ #vtqna - viennateng: @DanielPLawson Recessional is fictional, but draws on personal events for mood & certain details. Like most of my songs, actually. #vtqna - viennateng: Thanks everyone! That was great fun. Will have to do it again, maybe on a night off on tour this fall :^) Off to find food...g'night! #vtqna