Eric Bachmann is happy that fans of his former band Archers of Loaf want to hear those songs. But he said the current tour with his new band, Crooked Fingers, will not feature any Loaf songs.
"I loved the old songs, but I'm into the new songs we are doing," said Bachmann during a phone call from Philadelphia. "We learned more than 30 songs for the new album and we have all those to choose from.
"Also, when I play the new songs, I feel more honest because this is where I am at this point of my life."
Bachmann decided to form Crooked Fingers in 2000 Archers of Loaf had disbanded two years earlier. After releasing a self-titled album in 2000 and following it up with "Bring on the Snakes" in 2001, Bachmann signed to Merge Records and released an extended play. That release, titled "Reservoir Songs," featured covers of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man," Ray Stevens' "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and David Bowie/Queen collaboration "Under Pressure.
Two years ago, Bachmann released "Red Devil Dawn," which brought Crooked Fingers to a new level musically. Arrangements using strings and horns were laced throughout the album.
Crooked Fingers' new album is "Dignity and Shame," a concept album about a bullfighter and his lover. Bachmann considers it his magnum opus.
"Some of the songs are very new," he said. "And one, 'Sleep All Summer,' I had been working on for three years."
Bachmann said he has difficulty forcing himself to write songs.
"I have to let them come out of me," he said. "There will be times when I won't have anything for months and then one night, I'll have six or seven songs done and arranged. I don't like forcing things because that doesn't make them real. But when I sit back and let them come to me, I get so much more out of them."
Still, waiting for songs to come isn't a bad way to make a living.
"I love what I do so much that I don't see any of it as a challenge," he said. "This is what I do and I love it. I want to continue making music and writing songs."
If you go . . .What: Crooked Fingers, Delorean
Where: The Velvet Room
When: Monday, 9 p.m.
How much: $8 and $10
Phone: 467-8499 or 1-800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com