Q&A With Craig Elkins

From leading a Billboard-recognized band to performing at Woodstock, Craig Elkins has experienced the rush that accompanies being a successful musician. 

Elkins is the former front-man of Huffamoose, an American rock band which got its start in the early 1990's and performed on the mainstage of Woodstock in 1994. 

This August, Elkins will release his first solo album under his name, and the Sherman Oaks resident checked in with Patch to talk about his impending album, entitled "I Love You."

Patch: Tell us a little bit about the album and that album title?

Craig Elkins: When you listen to the record, you’ll see that all the songs are about relationship struggles, friendship struggles, and just basic struggles. Basically, the reason I chose “I Love You” is because we’re always telling our wives, kids, friends we love them, but behind that, there’s kind of the crap that goes on: letting your friends down, arguing with your wife, hiding stuff from your daughter (laughs). That’s what “I Love You” is, all the stuff that goes on underneath the umbrella of the words “I love you.”

Patch: Any song on the album that you’re drawn to, or is your favorite? Maybe your wife’s favorite?

Elkins: I’m not sure that my wife is too thrilled about any of the songs on the album (laughs). There’s a lot of relationship material there. But I really like the song, “I Can’t Stop Being a D*ck.”

Patch: Tell us about that song. How’d it come about?

Elkins: The title says it all. I set out every day trying to be this awesome person, but a majority of the time, three minutes into my day, I do some kind of d*ckish thing (laughs). I’m short with my wife or I yell at the cats, something like that. I’m just instantly back into the funk that is my daily routine.

Patch: What are some of the differences between being a solo artist and being in a band?

Elkins: The pros of being in a band are that you play with a group of people and after awhile, you start to be able to read each other’s minds on a musical level. It can be an amazing playing experience. Also, you get to know a few people really well and they become your second family. As a solo artist, it’s less of a democratic process. You get to decide exactly how you want something to sound and what you want to do.

Patch: Talk a little bit about songwriting. What’s the creative process? Where do you get your motivation?

Elkins: For me, I’m always getting little ideas from melodies, and I’ll just record it on my crappy little non-smart phone (laughs). With this record, I just got these little ideas and I record them. The songs for me that usually get written are the ones where I’m just going to record them, but more substance kind of comes to me right away. I’ll be inspired to stop everything and work out a verse. So I’ll write down my initial ideas, but I never bang my head against the wall. As soon as I encounter any sort of fatigue, I just drop it.

Patch: How hard is it to be a musician? People may think it’s such a glamorous profession, but one can imagine it’s a lot of hard work. How hard is the profession? To put together an album and find the right band mates, how difficult is that?

Elkins: Coming from where I’m coming from, which is having a family and living in LA, and having to work 14-hour days, it’s really difficult in that way. It’s hard to find an hour to make it to the Post Office and mail 100 CDs to somebody. That’s a big challenge for me. Coming up with the money to promote a CD is a huge challenge. Even though I don’t have to deal with a record label anymore, I still have to come up with thousands of dollars to print CDs and other things. 

Patch: So what is it that keeps you in music? It seems like it may be easier to find a gig where you don't have to work 14 hours a day. What is it that keeps you enthralled?

Elkins: For me, it's not a career choice, it's just something I have that's burning inside me. It's like asking somebody to stop painting. I'll always do it. I don't know if I'll always believe there is that "over the rainbow" moment where I'm going to hit it big, but I do it because I'm just driven. It's the way that I express myself. It's the only place in my life where I can really be honest and be who I am.