Ted Ottaviano is a music icon. Book of Love is an iconic part of many of our lives. We have known and loved their music since they hit the scene almost thirty years ago. Their top hits like “I Touch Roses” and “Boy” still bring back fond memories for loving fans around the globe. Well, if you are anywhere near Seattle, you can experience them live tonight at Neighbours Nightclub on Capitol Hill. Get your tickets at the door. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Ted Ottaviano of Book of Love
Earle Dutton: Are you guys working on some new music?
Ottaviano: We started doing spot shows since New Year’s. We are just getting a feel for what is out there and how much interest there might be. We are looking at getting something together for maybe the fall. We might do a series of dates or a mini tour. We are in the process of working on new music. We have a couple of things ready but still working on new stuff. Right now, it is just Susan and I doing the actual shows. We are kind of going out with just our catalogue and playing the hits. We are also playing the ones we think should have been hits. In a perfect world, we are hoping to have new music out in the spring of 2016. We would reassess how we would like to do shows from that point. The entire original lineup is on board. They are just not all available for shows right now. We are all definitely working on the new music together.
ED: Can you tell us a bit about your new music?
TO: We have been through so many different shades of music since the Synth we started with originally. I feel like the new stuff we are working on now is a return to the real simple almost naïve song structures that we originally built. They are real Pop tracks interwoven with other levels of messages. We are kind of following the ethos that we have always had but with a more advanced filter on top.
ED: What have you been up to on this hiatus from the spotlight?
TO: It feels like I did constant music until we did our greatest hits in 2001. Then we took a break. I started working on some other projects. I have this one project called The Myrmidons, which is basically my other little baby. That has been an Alternative Indy thing. I started actually teaching music technology as well. I even developed a course. Book of Love seems to just always percolate. It never really goes away. Those early records seem to have a really solid place in a lot of people’s lives. There is always an opportunity to reopen that door. We are always open to it. It is basically something that defines us and our music careers. About three years ago we seriously started to become open to the idea of working with each other again; then also started to create new music again. This will be our first time in Seattle in maybe twenty or twenty-five years. In a weird way, we are going back out to check if our audience is still interested in checking out what we are doing. It is also the first opportunity for many people to see us perform again. It has been a bit of a work in progress. We have goals but they weren’t really that clear. More than anything we really want to get out there and honor the music and have a good time.
ED: Are you performing any of your new music while you are here in Seattle?
TO: No, we are not ready for that yet. We actually had one that we considered but we decided to just do it the right way and wait on the new stuff. We have reshaped everything in the catalogue that we love. So everything is kind of reshaped and reimagined. The hope is to have the new product for the 30th anniversary of our first album which will be in the spring. That feels like a goal we can meet.
ED: There are so many 30th anniversaries right now.
TO: I know. It is crazy. I think the eighties just meant so much to people. Everyone just keeps going back to the eighties.
ED: What is your favorite song to perform?
TO: As far as the hits go, it has always been ‘Roses’ and always will be. I think it was really a song that proved we had something to say musically. The guitar intro is just so standout. It usually sends out an electric charge through the crowd. It always amazes and energizes me.
ED: Could you tell me something about yourself that most people don’t know?
TO: Hmm, I am painfully shy. I don’t think people ever realize or even register it. I can usually put a smiley face on everything. Crazy right?
