ask the artist: ted leo

I wanted to post a quick announcement about something we’re working on this month for eMusic. We’ve decided to start a new feature called “Ask the Artist.” The concept is as it sounds: you send us the questions, we send ‘em to the artist, and then we publish the answers on-site. Our inaugural interview subject is the passionate, peerless Ted Leo.

There’s hundreds of reasons to pick Ted — he’s got a body of work that’s unmatched by most of his contemporaries, he’s endured in a fickle scene for almost twenty years, and his work is always thoughtful, tuneful, deeply considered and deeply felt. In his review of Leo’s latest album, eMusic’s Ira Robbins writes “Ted Leo is in a class by himself when it comes to relocating and reinvigorating the fiery spirit that produced the great sounds of the ’70s and early ’80s. Leo doesn’t so much channel the Clash, Jam, Soul Asylum, Squeeze, Plimsouls, 20/20 et al. as begin from the same indignant righteousness and uncontrollable energy and build from there.”

If you’ve got a question you want to ask Ted — whether about his latest work, his history in the scene, or what it’s like living in that crossroads where pop meets politics — you can just post it as a comment here. We’ll pick twelve and run the answers as a Q&A on the homepage the week of April 30th. Thanks for your time and participation!