FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Some typical questions and their typical answers. Hopefully this will be informative. Feel free to contact us if you think of something else, though. We like questions, really.

Frequent Question (FQ): So where'd the name come from? Is it, like, a military thing? Is there somebody in the band named Eleanor?
Frequent Answer (FA): Uh, no. Neither. It's a name Austin had been kicking around for years, long before the band formed, as something that he thought would make a cool band name. When it came time to choose a name to stick on his first little home-recorded solo CD-R, he decided to use it. Don't bother asking what it means. He doesn't remember.

FQ: Wait, so Private Eleanor is just one guy? Or is it a band?
FA: We're a band. It started as one-man home-recording project back in 2001, but we've been a real band since spring 2004. Of course, the lineup can be different from show to show -- occasionally it's a solo or duo show, and it's still billed as Private Eleanor. But most of the time (including on our new record, Sweethearting) we're a big loud rock band.

FQ: Do you put out your own records? What's this Beechfields thing?
AFA: We put out our earliest releases (a couple CDs and a seven-inch) on Austin's little label, OTPRecords, a tiny part-time operation that has essentially stopped activity. (OTP also released some records by our friends, which are well worth checking out.) Then we joined the roster of The Beechfields, a Maryland-based cooperative label run by a friend of ours. They put out our more recent records, as well as those of a dozen or so other artists. You should check out their site to find out more.

FQ: Who does your artwork and design? It's totally awesome.
AFA: Gosh, thanks. Marian has done a lot of our photography -- she made the collages you see on the No Straight Lines packaging and took the photo on the Sweethearting cover. Austin does all the graphic design for this website, all of our album packaging, and most of our posters & flyers. If you'd like him to design something for you, get in touch.

FQ: Elenor? Elanor? Elanore?
AFA: E-L-E-A-N-O-R. Two e's, one a. In that order.