Eric Roberson Celebrates 10 Years Of Sol Village & "The Vault"

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Emotions in men are kind of like the Lockness Monster; everybody wants to see them, but no one knows quite how to handle them if and when they do. Show too much and you’re labeled an emo wreck like Drake, show them too little and you’ve got the glut of shirtless, unchecked bravado prevalent in much of today’s rap and R&B. Fortunately, there are singers like Eric Roberson who know how to toe the line of being honest without sounding like a prescription of anti-depressents needs to come with each disc. Emotionally raw compositions like “Find The Way” and “Couldn’t Hear Me Over The Music” have lived on to be welcome betrayals of men’s thoughts, absolving us of our silent agreement to be bereft of feeling.

“You know that I need you, but girl not this way

I want so much more than what you give today

To show you I want you, I push you away

If it’s meant to be girl, I trust that it will find the way”

However, it’s a challenge to get some people to give it a fair listen. This is why ten years ago Roberson took matters into his own hands and launched a monthly music series at S.O.B’s in New York entitled, Sol Village. Frustrated with not being invited to play at the venue, he rented it out and invited like-minded artists to share the stage with him. Weeks later he released a collection of his music called “The Vault” and both live on as living breathing examples of how the masculine heart can find an audience in today’s fickle music landscape.

RELATED: Eric Roberson Playfully Warns Against The “Male Ego” [VIDEO]

A decade and six albums later ( “The Vault 1.5,” “The Appetizer,” “…Left,” “The Collection,” “Music Fan First” and “Mr. Nice Guy”) Roberson is still passionately independent and has communed with artists across the musical map (Jazzy Jeff, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Phonte Coleman and DJ Spinna).

TheUrbanDaily.com spoke with Eric Roberson about the continued success of Sol Village and how a married man gets away with writing songs about all of his ex-girlfriends.

TUD: Congratulations on the success of Sol Village. How did you come to lock down one of the most coveted venues in NYC?

Eric Roberson: I remember wanting to be an artist and wanting a stage to showcase my talent and not really finding opportunities. I remember trying to get on SOB’s stage, and the way I got it was I booked a night there. They wouldn’t book me so I rented out the place for a night and did my own show. That kind of opened the dialogue of me performing there. Then they asked me if there were other artists like myself that are trying to get on this stage and can’t get on it. I said yeah, there is a whole movement of people out here looking for an opportunity. Then they asked me if I’d be interested in hosting it. That was pretty much ten years ago. The whole purpose is to bring attention to talent that may not have an opportunity to perform on a stage in front of a certain crowd and it’s been very rewarding. I started doing Sol Village a couple of months before I put out “The Vault” album. The Vault Vol. 1 came out and Sol Village started in august of 2003.  I remember because I did my 30th birthday party at SOBs that year and I was already doing Sol Village.

To do anything for 10 years is pretty amazing. To do a show where you need a lot of people to keep it going. The band is still the same, management is still the same. We had some struggles, but it’s as strong as when we started.

TUD: For those who are unfamiliar, tell us what you can expect at a Sol Village show.

It’s a community of music lovers. Soul music lovers. And soul doesn’t just have to be Fender Rhodes type music or spoken word. It can be rock, it can be hip-hop. If you’re giving your all I think it’s soul music. It’s a fun time as well. The greatest part about this show is that it has allowed me to be very loose on stage. A lot of times we’d get on stage and not know what we’re going to do. You’re going to see some of the best upcoming talent, three to five acts that will blow you away, as well as me and my band acting a complete fool from start to finish.

Speaking of acting the fool, you did a freestyle called “H1-N1” back in 2010 that was silly as hell.

Before Sol Village I’d have never sang a song like that. That song doesn’t even match how crazy it’s gotten. If you come to the show with a crazy haircut or outfit, there is a good chance there will be a song made about you. We’re making fun of ourselves, everything that’s going around, but sometimes it’s very serious. We just did a beautiful freestyle about Trayvon Martin. During Obama’s campaing in 2008 we aired his debate at Sol Village and just had Obama talking between the acts. If it feels right we go with it.

TUD: Are you doing any Improv? I saw Wayne Brady at BB Kings and you two would work well together.

Our management has talked about doing some type of improv song together. I’d be honored to work with him because he’s a genius at improv. At least my part of Sol Village, atleast 50 percent of it is improv. “H1N1” was completely made up from the gate. I love not knowing if something is going to work. I love not knowing how something is going to end because we’re literally creating it right then and there.

Click to read what his wife thinks of all these songs about other women…and her!

“Bill Withers said there is no difference between a male song and female song outside of the male ego. That is the only difference. If you remove the male ego they deal with the same thing. “- Eric Roberson

So who is SHE?…

(Laughs)

Some woman JACKED YOU UP, bro. All these songs are too real. Too honest. We even came up with a name for her, Songsaria.

[Laughs again). I like that. I’ve had a lot of muses over the years. I still pull from my elementary heartbreaks at times. A lot of songs–good and bad–were written about my wife and having to be truthful about the moment. We’d have an argument and I’d write a song about it, now everyone loves the song. Now I gotta sing this song that reminds us of this argument. But if God gives you the message I’m gonna honor it and follow it through.

My solo career started from a break up. My first album “The Esoteric” was about one girl, my ex-girlfriend. That started the whole thing. Though it was a tough time I appreciate it because she helped me make a great song and a career change as well. I had to learn to turn pain to profit.

So what does your wife think of this? 

I can’t’ tell you how many times I’ve written a song and my wife is like “Who is THIS one about?” It’s the blessing and the curse of being with a songwriter. They’re going to document every beautiful and ugly moment you share. “Couldn’t Hear Me Over The Music”  was written about every woman I’ve dated, including my wife who was then my girlfriend. I wrote that song on they way to church and when I got into the vocal booth is when I realized how much trouble I was in. That was probably the biggest temptation I’ve ever had to change a lyric. But I didn’t. The second verse, “My song’s about joy/ my song’s about pain/ she love them the same/ but to me she changed…” I wrote that in the car while driving. Like I said, I wrote my first album “Esoteric” about a break-up. The break-up was from a girl name Joy and “Esoteric” was an album about pain. Complete pain. And I met my wife after I did “Esoteric.” I met her because she loves this record that I did, but I’m still healing from my break-up. So the album she heard is about another woman and the pain I felt. That was a weird moment for us and I’m thankful we survived that rough start. But I wrote this song years later. My wife could have looked at it as a swipe to her but I was just being really honest. The whole song has little truths like that. From H.S. sweethearts to college girlfriends, there is a song about every last one of them.

Speaking of inspirations, I got to speak to Omari Hardwick about “Love’s Withdrawal” last year. How did you two come to work together?

Me and Omari became fast friends almost immediately. I met him at the NAACP image awards and he said “I love your work” and I said “I love your work” and I said “I’m working on an album” and he said “When?” and I said “Now!” Before I knew it I was picking him up from the airport. There are no accidents and we bonded on life in general. The creative part was easy. I had all of these different ideas and we were playing with what song we wanted to collaborate on and it became “Love’s Withdrawal.” More importantly, he was the person who was standing next to me when I found out my grandfather passed. He really helped me for that first couple of hours when I was dealing with it. I’d only knew him for a couple of months, but we’d bonded and I didn’t want anybody else to be there when I got that news. He’s a good dude and I look forward to more collaboration with him. He’s a wordsmith and I’m excited to hear not just spoken word but how he would write a song. I want to kidnap him and put him in a studio and tell him to write a poem to this melody.

You guys were telling on brothers with that record. That’s not normal for someone to be able to capture the vulnerability of men in a song that way. What’s the secret?

Bill Withers said there is no difference between a male song and female song outside of the male ego. That is the only difference. If you remove the male ego they deal with the same thing. We are missing her as much as she is missing us. In that late night hour we’re holding that pillow tight just like she is. We wanted to let women know that we want it to work just like they do. We get nervous just like they do.

How is Andre 3000 like Kendrick Lamar? See what Eric says on the next page!

On “Find The Way,” your vocals come in two different keys on two separate channels and it creates an interesting effect when you listen to it in stereo. What inspired you to do that and how does that work out when you perform it live?

Well, I won’t say I was the first person to do it. If you listen to certain rock bands and some Beatles records, if you pan all the way to left or right you’ll only hear the guitar if you pan all the way to the left you’ll just hear drums. I’ve never heard it with harmonies but…to be honest with you I stumble across my ledger so much. I can’t take much credit for “Find The Way.” I know God is real through song writing. I often write songs that I’m not wise enough to know what they mean, but for them to later teach me. I did a vocal where I sang the same song high and then I sang it (low). I panned one to the right and then to the left. “Find The Way” is me battling with routine and purpose. I was so stuck in my routine that I may ruin our purpose. The high note is really his emotion and the low note is his reality. I really wanna go upstairs with her right now, I really do. If I hug her and go to my car she could be my soul mate. But if I go upstairs she could be a jump-off. So when they sing “how can I have you and not really have you…” they are saying the same thing but it’s two parts; your heart is saying one thing and your mind is saying another. To put your headphones on and listen to that song I love people’s reactions. There are people who have had that song for years and didn’t now that record did that. It’s just trying to tell a deeper story and expose more of ourselves through a song…”

Another favorite of mine is “Def Ears.” 

When I went on a date with a girl I would pray that night and ask God what her purpose was in my life. A lot of it was me praying for her, but I was also asking ‘Who is she?” Should I be investing in her? “Def Ears” is a gospel song. I’m going to God for answers. If you really listen to it, the first word in the first verse and second verse is ‘God.” We’ve all been there, shook to the core but someone’s presence. We don’t know why we came at this time. I did that record with two producers and Thaddeus Tribbett and Daniel Soray who are pretty much gospel producers, so the overall feel of it had spirituality in general. We were praying before we wrote songs. I can’t’ say that I really thought out what I was writing. I just started playing the music over and over and the words just showed up. I remember the time and day we wrote that song. I remember thadeus brought the idea over to my house and it was 1 am i nthe morning. I wrote it in like an hour and I started recording it right there.

How do you decide which MCs to work with?

I don’t think it’s a heavy thought out process. Phonte is one of my closest friends in the music business. I would love to have him on every single record. It just comes down to what fits. I’m surrounded by so many talented people that a lot of time it’s because they’re in the room with me.  Jean Norris-Baylor of Zhané was on the last record because she lived down the street from me. It wasn’t really rocket science.

You had a brief relationship with a major label in the 1990s. Why stay independent as opposed to having someone back your movement?

I’ve never seen someone happy enough in those situations to give up the control that I have. I’m still the guinea pig for my company. Things always change. When we started there was no iTunes or Facebook. As we fine tune it we may to the point of putting out other artists. but my purpose is the same, to grow old doing music to really feed my hunger for music. I’m only doing music that I would be searching for as a music fan. We had to fight to get where we’re at and the truth of it all is those labels now are trying to get so much younger and i’m about to be 40. they trying to get rid of the 40 year old artists they got. [laughs]. We’re having a good time and we’re growing. If we weren’t’ growing I might maybe question it a little. But as long as we’re growing I’ve got no worries.

The video for “Still” is dedicated to breast Cancer awareness. What made that subject important for you?

My family has dealt with a lot of Cancer and I wanted to bring some awareness to it. What helps the success rate of any (illness) is awareness. We wrote the song about losing someone. I didn’t necessarily write the song about losing someone to Cancer, but when it came time to do the video we said lets amplify this vision and maybe educate people. While touring a guy came up to me and said he wanted to thank me because he was watching the video and his daughter asked him what’s Cancer and he had a conversation with her about it. He told me he probably wouldn’t have had that conversation if we hadn’t seen the video. I hope it shines a light to people that we need to get checked out and amplify the awareness.

Kendrick Lamar turned the rap world on its ear with his verse on “Control.” Does R&B need a similar kick in the pants?

Yes and no. I do like that what he brought to the forefront was lyricism. Some of the people he was bold enough to name I think are stepping it up. But I think competition is good. If I’m in a show, whether I’m opening or not, I’m trying to steal that show. The crowd deserves that. I want my band to see them and say “They just killed it and we gotta step it up.” The people who were offended by it might not believe in their talent. Artists in general can always use a shot of adrenaline. I don’t know if it’s me calling out Jesse Boykins, III or something [laughs] but I do think we challenge each other. When Andre 3000, a hip-hop artist, came out with “The Love Below” and did a soul album better than soul artists, that was a Kendrick Lamar moment. That was a kick in the butt. Go get your game up. These rappers are singing and doing better than you. We need another one. I hope that one of my albums that has done that for somebody. That’s what we should all be doing. Doing music to make somebody say, “Wow I wish I wrote that.”

How soon can we get some new music from you?

We’re recording already. We’re doing a small celebration of The Vault 10th anniversary and I’m finding some other unreleased songs from that era. Then I have a record called “B-Sides, Features and Heartbreaks” where I’m featured with other artists. Early next year around March or May you should expect a new studio album from me.

If you’re in NY make sure to catch Eric Roberson at Sol Village tonight and every month at SOB’s. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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