thaFormula.com - After your deal at Warner Brothers, you did a lot of writing for others, now that you have been releasing a lot of your own music are you moving away from writing for others and wanting to keep everything for yourself or are you still looking to write for others?

Eric Roberson - I would love to continue writing for other but with touring, and trying to run a label and company it just gets difficult. I'm open to it, I still write for other people as well, just not as consistently. A songwriting career such as the one I had before, that's a steady, steady amount of studio time and working with the artists and coming up with the songs. It's hard because I pretty much tour half the year pretty consistently. It took a lot out of me to do this album the way I did, but I would still do it. I'd say before the end of this year I'll probably work with one or two artists. I've probably promised to work with about ten people, and I appreciate their patience so hopefully they can continue to hang on a little bit.

thaFormula.com - When you're an Indy artists and covering all the costs yourself, at what point does it become necessary to begin putting together your team of a publicist, manager and/or lawyer?

Eric Roberson - Whenever you find them. When you can find a good publicist, a good assistant and when you can start paying of course, that's most important. You just need to find good people that understand what you're trying to do and where you're at. You can definitely get good help for free and I had people work for next to nothing for a long period of time, but I've been fortunate enough to turn this into more of a business and put together a staff. It's very important to have that though. For a long time I was trying to do everything on my own and it just affects you, the way you perform just everything all across the boards. You're not Hercules or Superman so you're gonna need that kind of help to get to that next tier.

thaFormula.com - On your "Erro Live" the CD/DVD you released last year, you gave everyone a look into your studio, at one point you were in the booth with a remote and were able to cue the music, record yourself and it was pretty much self contained, how important is it to have a setup like that?

Eric Roberson - For me it's very important. I can't stress how important it is. I've been in this business of writing and recording for a very long time but my artistry took another step when I got my own equipment. One reason is that you're not on someone else's dime, you're not someone else's responsibility. Second, you worked hard for equipment so you're going to be more serious about how you handle your time and it allows you a certain relaxation and a certain approach. Like if I have a sound in my head, all my music comes from an idea in my head and that leads to an obsession to get that idea to tape and to have my own equipment gives me my own time to try to find it. I won't ever compromise, it's about doing it until you get it to work. A lot of the songs are written at 3:00am right before I'm about to go to bed, like "you know what, let me just see if I have any more ideas?" You know going to someone's studio down the street, it was a great period I learned everything I know by doing that, but to really get to that deeper spot, that spot when you were hurt by someone and you want to put that though to music it's been a blessing that when I have that idea I can just click all the equipment on and I'm in the moment. That helps a whole lot. With technology now, you've got guys doing beats on the airplanes, or recording songs in hotel rooms, the equipment is endless so it's hard not to have an excuse to have that kind of access now.

thaFormula.com - I mentioned you're "Erro Live" DVD, now did you feel a need to make changes to your show after putting that out there for the world to see, because its easy to keep surprises a secret when it's only performed at shows but when its out there for the world to see it kind of takes away from the mystery for the next time someone who copped it goes to see your show?

Eric Roberson - Well, the beautiful thing about it is that the more music you make you have no choice but to change. It was just more of a challenge to put all the jokes and ideas from over the years that have worked and put them on that DVD and to a certain degree you want to keep some of that in your show because for the people that saw the DVD they want to see that themselves and be familiar. But like, in (Washington) D.C., New York and Atlanta we hit those markets so hard that we have to just change the show in general to just keep them interested. Like St Louis we've only performed there a few times so we may be able to go back there with the same show but it's always growth because when we rehearse so many things come up to add. All the segues, all the jokes, all the versions of the songs that worked on the DVD all came from rehearsals and now that I have an new album out I'm trying implement a lot of those songs. I'm excited about this L.A. (Los Angeles) show we have coming up and to see how people are going to like it because we've really been working hard and it's gonna be a great show.

thaFormula.com - How many hours of rehearsal does it take for you to put together a new song you want to perform on tour?

Eric Roberson - It ranges, there's been some songs…interesting enough, "Please Don't Leave Me" was a very easy song to learn and some songs just come together really easy like that but then some songs take a really, really long time. For this tour we rehearsed four full days, we would have loved to rehearse a solid seven days but we did get in a full four days of learning new material and implementing that with the older material. We tested it out in D.C. and by the time we did the show in New York last week we had it fine tuned the way we really, really wanted it.

thaFormula.com - How hard is it to together a good band, especially with your preferred players not always being able to make every gig?

Eric Roberson - That part is pretty tough, it's a lot of wear and tear on me just for the fact of trying to keep the cost down on traveling and also to break new markets a you have to pick up a band in new cities as we go. But I've been very, very fortunate to use my main band for the most part. Anything on the East Coast they pretty much stay with me. I'll bring a majority of my band when I go to L.A. next week, but it kind of goes with the territory. All of them are amazing session musicians and as an Independent artist I'd love to be able to pay some of them enough to say no to John Legend, and say no to Jill Scott but in the end they've got to make a living too so you know it flip-flops all the time. We have an "A" band, a "B" band, a "C" band and even a "D" band for whatever case comes up because like my Bass player we rehearsed with and did all my shows with also plays for John Legend and John just got some new dates so he's unavailable for March and my second Bass player is already on the road with Musiq Soulchild so I'll use another guy that I use all the time. They're all exceptional Bass players but it just depends in availability and you have to fill in the spaces. It's very fortunate to be around musicians who really love your work and work hard for you.

thaFormula.com - Last year you also got a huge co-sign from major radio with the feature on Michael Baisden's show, how big of an impact did recognition like that have for you?

Eric Roberson - Enormous, enormous. You've got to think that this guy is syndicated all over the United States. It really says a lot about the kind of person he is, because he didn't have to give all of us Independent music that opportunity. I mean, I know people in the radio in positions and they don't even play my record! (laughs) So for a guy to come out and say "I'm feelin' you music, I want to play it" is amazing. It was just an honor and to this day I meet at shows who say "I'm here because I heard you on Michael Baisden's show" and I'm just like "yo man, much props to that guy" for all the love that he's not only shown to me but to everyone in the Independent music business.

thaFormula.com - For an artist like yourself who handles a lot of your music's distribution personally, how important is getting your album on iTunes in the current marketplace?

Eric Roberson - Very important, I didn't realize how important it was until we got the albums on there and saw how many people were downloading it, it's amazing. It's changing music. Apple in general with their programs and computers are changing the game as fast as we can possibly change and iTunes is just an amazing tool. I mean, we're shipping out CD's all around the world constantly, but with that, they press a button and they have our record wherever they are in the world. That's the most powerful tool ion the world.

thaFormula.com - So you've seen a lot of downloads form there?

Eric Roberson - I think the first month was kind of slow because it started for only half a month but after about a month and a half it was full blown! I have four records on there and the new one is about to be on there next week.

thaFormula.com - Is it difficult to get your music on there?

Eric Roberson - It's very difficult. I remember trying to get it on there myself and they had me on this huge waiting list and then we went to CDBaby.com and they were able to get it up there in two weeks. CDBaby is also very helpful for Independent artists as well, not just because they sell your actual CD at their site, but with digital distribution and all that.

thaFormula.com - Something you've always done throughout all your releases is include expanded liner notes that break down each songs origin and the creative process behind the recording of them, do you plan to always do that, and why do you think it is that more artists don't so the same?

Eric Roberson - I don't know why a lot of artists don't do it, I definitely remember some like of course J Dilla did that on his records, maybe not real extensive but I remember him doing it and a few other artists as well. It's just that I'm a music fan first and in the day now with iTunes where more people realty aren't as interested in credits there still is people that are, I read credits. When I listen to certain records I spend so much time wondering "what they were thinking when they recorded this?" or "what was the process?" I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Lauryn Hill was recording, or when D'Angelo was recording or when Maxwell or Erykah Badu were recording. It's just really about trying to share that glimpse and sharing. I feel honored to have this gift and to share this gift so why not share a funny story or meaning behind a certain song? Just trying to be a throw back because it's missing and I just want to give people as much as I can.

thaFormula.com - You just released your new album "Left," talk about the title and it's meaning…

Eric Roberson - It means a lot of things not only just from a business or a music standpoint of taking things in a different direction it really more speaks for my career in general. Though I worked very hard to be a recording artist and you know had various deals and whatever I feel like from my circle I was the one that was left behind from a major standpoint. What seemed to be bad luck at one point actually became a blessing and is what led me up to this point and is what led me to do my music this way, to have a label, to release music and tour the world. I truly believe that the way I am doing music right now is what I was left here to do and to do it this way and I'm very fortunate. We've had so many greats that have done music and its changing and they left us a legacy and a responsibility to carry on. I definitely consider myself a soldier of the music balance and I fight it everyday, I fight it every day. And I feel like I've been left back for those reasons mainly.

thaFormula.com - You always keep your guest features to a minimum on your albums as you did on "Left," which is kind of rare these days is that a conscious effort to do that on your part or is just difficult to find other artists you connect with musically?

Eric Roberson - That's a good question. I would first say that I personally don't like to have too many songs on a record. I'm always more of a quality over quantity type person. I think for me personally I top off at around 14 songs for the record to be unique and for the record to flow. So with 14 songs having more than two guest appearances might take away from how special the guest appearance is. Each time I have one its special relationship with the person and there's a story behind what they did with the record. On this album there's Algebra Blesset and Phonte Coleman of Little Brother and there's a story behind each situation. They're both very, very good friends of mine and on the last record we had Marsha from Floetry, Raheem Devaughn and V from Philadelphia and it was the same thing with them. I don't know, I would love to have more because I have so many friends and I would love to collaborate with them but at the end of the day it's really just what I feel. There was actually one more duet we were trying to get on this record but it didn't work out but there was almost three cameos on this record. I would love to do records with other artists, I'm not opposed to it but I mean one day me and P.J. Morgan might do an album together or one day me and Frank McComb might do a record and me and Lizz Fields might do an entire records together.

thaFormula.com - On "Left" you have a song produced by JayDee and James Poyser, how did that collaboration come about and were you able to connect with Jay Dee before his passing?

Eric Roberson - Nah, actually it's so interesting because I got the music from James Poyser and he had sent me a whole bunch of music that were tracks he had did with J Dilla you know I'm by far a huge, huge J Dilla fan as a producer, as a writer and even his singing inspired me a great a deal. Unfortunately by the time I had a chance to meet him he was very ill. It was one time when we were in New York with a whole bunch of people, I was with my man D Prosper who was good friends with him and we were all about to go out and we were in the lobby waiting for him to come out. Everybody was like "tell him to come down, why's he takin' so long tell him to get down here!" But you know me knowing that he was going through his illness and whatever, I really wanted to meet him but I completely understand why he didn't come down. We just ended up going out not knowing that would have been my only chance to meet him, but musically me and that brother have had a lot of conversations and we knew so many mutual friends they were able to pass along good words to him. I did meet his mom and I spoke to her a couple of times and she is just a sweetheart. Hopefully she's in L.A. later this week and I'm able to invite her out to my show.

thaFormula.com - For the first time on one of your albums you featured an MC on one of your songs, Phonte from Little Brother on "Been in Love" and I know from talking to you in the past you're big on Hip-Hop, do you see yourself collaborating more with MC's?

Eric Roberson - Yeah, I'm definitely not opposed to it, it just comes down to what fits. I'm good friends with Phonte, with W. Ellington Felton so I'm definitely open to it but it just needs to be the right song. But you know you probably won't find me rhymin'! (laughs) But when the mic's not on I'm probably rhymin' to myself more than I am singin' but when we get serious and start recording the song I get serious and leave the rapping to the rappers, but I'm a Hip-Hop fan, I'm a Hip-Hop kid born in Hip-Hop so I show my respect to Hip-Hop by the way I do music. I'm a big Mos Def fan, and a big Common fan and I would love to work with those guys.

thaFormula.com - There's a bonus track on the album by "The Smoke Signals," a new group you are a part of, talk about that group and what's on the horizon for that collaboration…

Eric Roberson - "The Smoke Signals" is really like my alter ego, it's just a crew of guys. I really plan on doing a "Smoke Signals" album. When I call my music "honest" music I mean that I'll never know what will come out, and as much as I want to write a love song or a soul balled a song like that will come out and I have a ton of those. Some of these real left field songs but at the end of the day from a songwriting standpoint I feel "Man Who Had it All" is one of the best songs I've written. We named it something different so people will understand that's its different and be open to it. If I were to say it's an Eric Roberson record I think people may not expect exactly the same thing but may not be ready to go that far. So I just call it something different to allow me to be different and have a little escape. But it's a lot of the same family, of course my boy Curt (Chambers), we have Spanky on drums who played on "She Ought to Know," and Dana who I did "Def Ears" and "Find a Way" with. So whenever we just want to lose ourselves and go in whole other direction, then that's a "Smoke Signals" record.

thaFormula.com - You recently redesigned your whole website…

Eric Roberson - Yeah, it came out really well, Remy who goes by "Merqury" at the message board did it and we're about to do a new forum as well. It's just so many hits now so we're gonna put up a new one that allows more traffic and we'll probably launch that in a week or two or even sooner.

thaFormula.com - Your album release party for "Left" is out here in L.A. this weekend, in the past when you've performed out here you've had some great surprise guests come through, any chance there might be one or two this time out and what can L.A. expect from your new show?

Eric Roberson - L.A. can expect a lot of fun. I would really hope that I have some surprise guests. Most times unbeknownst to me people have came out. Like when Rachelle Ferrell came out last time I was in L.A. and got on stage I was just as surprised as everyone else, but hopefully some of my friends come through. That same show we also had Laylah Hathaway and Rahsaan Patterson were there, they didn't perform but they just showed up and that was even a surprise. But if anyone comes through we're gonna pull 'em on stage, we're gonna have a good ol' time, it's always a celebration when we come to the West Coast and we just have a good time with the fans and try and make it special for them. It's an all new show, I'm gonna have all my guys from the band out there so we're gonna be well prepared to give them all the new stuff and all the old stuff. You never know who's gonna show up but we're gonna put the call in to all our West Coast friends and see who can roll through so you never know who's gonna show up, but we're gonna have a blast!

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