Introducing Elliah Heifetz
Hey Elliah, how the heck are you?
Not too bad! Thrilled to have my album finally out in the world.
Give us a flavour of your week, what have you been up to?
Currently out in Los Angeles working on a few projects.
Introduce yourself to our campers.
Hi, I’m Elliah! First-generation American country/folk singer-songwriter and theatre composer. Dad joke aficionado. Cheers fan. Boyfriend to the incredible Jane Bruce. Not tall, not short, not bad.
In two sentences describe your new album, First Generation American.
A tour through all kinds of “stereotypically-American” sounds—country, folk, roots, Americana, what have you—all about my experiences of feeling “less than American.” My attempt to put immigrants and first-generation Americans in the spotlight as the heroes of our American folk myths.
Obviously the album’s full of cool songs, one I really love is ‘Modern Man’, which has a proper rock ‘n roll feel to it. What can you tell me about how that song came together?
I was listening to “Kmag Yoyo” by Hayes Carll, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” by Bob Dylan, “Choctaw Bingo” by James McMurtry, songs that are sung from the POV of a super confused and overwhelmed character and kind of ramble into this weird, bluesy, rock’n’roll delirium. I thought that kind of captured the feeling in the air and the general public response to the beginning of the pandemic so I did a bit of a stream-of-consciousness over some blues chords and this song came out!
‘Molly Margarita’. Another great song. What’s it about?
A lot of Americans with strong anti-immigration views tend to forget that our country is incredibly, incredibly young. No matter how long your family’s been here, one of your ancestors came here as an immigrant in just the last couple centuries. That’s not that long ago, on really any historic scale. So “Molly Margarita” is about an American teenager in 2022 who could use a little reminder about all that.
My other half is a big fan of the margherita, I love a daiquiri, what’s your favourite cocktail?
Rye on the rocks with a splash of lemon juice.
There are some great lyrics throughout, and ‘Country Harmony’ is a song that is playful and reverential at the same time. How important is humour in your music?
The songs that hit me the hardest emotionally as a listener are usually the ones that “kill with laughter,” sneaking their gut punches into sly jokes, winks, and grins. So as a writer, having an element of that is pretty important to me.
I’ve got to ask about ‘The Last Great American Cameleer’ as I love that song. Where did the concept for the song come from?
This song was inspired by two different stories: the true story of the American Camel Corps (cameleers brought from the Middle East to explore America’s deserts) and the story of my friend’s grandfather, who recently passed away in Plano, TX but was born in Baghdad.
What’s the song on the album you feel hasn’t been spoken about as much as others, the lost track if you will.
‘Buzzin’! It’s always been a dream of mine to play with Nashville honky tonk all stars and I got to on this track. Put it on and go dancin’!
When was the first time you remember hearing roots music and thinking “that’s what I want to make”?
My parents took me to see ‘Big River’, which is a country musical written by Roger Miller, one of my (now) all-time favorite country artists. I was too young to understand why, but I knew immediately there was something to this kind of music that hit different.
My surname is Mazonowicz and I’ve heard many an interesting pronunciation of it, how do you pronounce your first name? And what’s the most mangled it’s got in Starbucks? I’ve had Mike, Mark, Mac, instead of Max.
In terms of pronunciation, someone once called me “EE-low-EYE,” which… is a real head-scratcher. But what gets me the most is when I email people (my email address contains my full name spelled out) and they respond with, “Hi Elijah.” Where did you get the “j?” Do you think I misspelt my own name in my email?!
I read an interview where you were compared to John Prine and Kris Kristoffersson, that’s a pretty crazy couple of guys to be compared to, how does that make you feel?
That was pretty crazy! The reason I make music at all is because of the way music like John’s and Kris’ make me feel - it’s records like ‘Bruised Orange’ and ‘Border Lord’ that made me think, “Damn, I want to make that.” So to be compared to them is really, really special.
I know you referenced the Pop Matters review of the album on Twitter, how do you feel when someone really gets your music?
It makes me feel like I’m not crazy—like all of the weird, whacky ideas I came up with alone at my guitar aren’t complete nonsense—like I’m not the only person who sees the world the way I do, who feels and responds to it the way I do.
I was recommended your album by Jane Bruce, have you got anything you want to say to Jane for the free promotion?
Thanks, honey! I love you! Everyone should be listenin’ to your incredible album called My Bed which you put out recently!
Your Instagram bio says “I write musicals and country songs!”, we’ve talked about the country songs, tell me about the musicals.
Yes, I also write musicals! I primarily generate the music and lyrics but I also love getting involved in breaking a story. Two of my musicals are in commercial development and a third was just performed at Iowa State University this past April. Can’t quite announce a ton about some of these things yet but keep your eyes peeled!
With the poor $ numbers from streaming, what’s the best way for people to support you and your music?
Bandcamp is always great, but so is talking me up to your cool friends in the music industry (many winks, several nudges).
What else is coming up in 2022 for you now the album is out?
I’ll be workshopping two of the musicals I’m writing over the coming months and hopefully announcing a string of shows by end of summer.
If you could recommend one artist to listen to this week, who would it be?
If you haven’t already listened to Jane Bruce, one of my favorite current artists is Tre Burt. A must-listen for any fan of folk, country, roots, etc.
What’s the question I should have asked you today but haven’t?
Well, if you’d asked me, “What’s the best new song you’ve heard in a while,” I’d say ‘Carousel’ off the new Miranda Lambert album. It’s crazy good.
Finally, how do you take your coffee?
Regular ol’ hot coffee with a bit of regular ol’ milk!
To find out more about Elliah you can visit his website or check out what he’s up to on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Eliah’s debut album, First Generation American is out now, you can buy it from Bandcamp or stream from Tidal (and other streaming services).
