COTTAGE GROVE – Eli Lev doesn’t do any magic, even though the name of his worldwide music online community – the Levitators – might suggest otherwise.
Eli Lev jams out at the Axe & Fiddle in Cottage Grove on July 24.
He does, however, perform a pretty cool act onstage.
He takes requests. Then he plays whatever it is … rock, country, folk, bluegrass, top 40, old-time music, alternative, punk … you name it, Lev will take a crack at it.
“Genres are just classifications, and music is vibrations and creativity, so I try to follow that and if it leads me outside of those genres and flirting with different sounds, then so be it,” Lev said on July 24 after playing a show at the Axe & Fiddle. “But I just want to express what’s inside of me and I think my music speaks to that.”
As a full-time one-man band, Lev is almost constantly on the road – yet he still finds time to write new music. During his travels around the country, he says he’s always intrigued by the music that sprouts up as a result of the ever-changing cultures he encounters.
“Being an independent musician has its ups and downs, but one of the ups is I can create music whenever I want and I can release it whenever I want,” Lev said.
And when he runs into those new rhythms, those new pulses … well, that’s what keeps things interesting.
“Maybe it’s a beat, maybe it’s a sound, maybe it’s a chord, maybe it’s a theme, maybe it’s a lyric, but piecing all of those together is kind of like an influence,” he said.
Lev’s father, Larry Goldberg, was in the audience, having already seen California shows in San Luis Obispo, San Francisco and Big Sur. After one more stop, he was heading back home to Maryland.
“It’s been a dream come true being on the road with him,” Lev said.
As part of his upcoming album, “Past Lives,” Lev writes about his heritage in the song “Where We Come From.” He recalls his family trip from 2018, when they visited Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine
“We actually found out where my grandparents lived in Belarus,” Goldberg said. “It was incredible.”
Goldberg said he’s not surprised to see what his 42-year-old son has done with his masters degree in English.
“He’s been writing songs his whole life, so we always knew he loved music,” Goldberg said.
“It’s been a pleasure watching and supporting him. It’s been great. I’m so impressed with what he has accomplished.
“He doesn’t have a bunch of throw-away songs. His lyrics tell personal stories and his ballads have meaning behind them.”
