THE SOUND OF IDEALISM Rachael Yamagata
Dec 01, 2011
In which the gifted singer-songwriter tweaks her muse. And teases a few "horrendous, ugly fish" in the process...
BY NICOLE ROBERGE
Rachael Yamagata delights listeners once again with her new album Chesapeake, produced by John Alagia, with whom she previously partnered for her first album, Happenstance. Yamagata has found a new sense of optimism here, heard on the record, and she has a lot to be happy about. This album marks the first on her own label, Frankenfish Records. To produce the album, she teamed up with PledgeMusic and with a strong fan following, she exceeded her goal and the album came to fruition successfully. By the time you read this, she will also be in the middle of what's guaranteed to be a wildly successful North American tour. [View tour dates, which run through December, at her official website.]
Yamagata is more than happy - she's elated. "I'm so glad it's out," she says. "I feel like it's been coming out for months. I'm glad it finally is. It's so exciting and it's the fastest record I've ever done. We tracked it in seven days." And listeners will notice that this album is a little brighter than past albums, which wasn't intentional in the writing and recording, it just came out that way. She also went through many changes.
"The previous record was so much darker and heavily influenced by my first onset that happens when a first record comes out. Experiences like the loneliness of the road and the music business and there was also someone close to me who passed away. There were some heavy things that happened when I wrote ‘Elephants.' This time it was more about relationships. This time I wrote more lighthearted songs. It was more of a rollercoaster. I learned to ride it and have fun. Entering into this record, I had no place to go but up. I split from my last record label, so it was sort of like, ‘what do I have to lose?' I decided to go on instinct and with songs that I believed in. There was no watchful eye over my shoulder with things that I do anymore which was liberating, so I grabbed some of my favorite people and holed up in a house for a week. Lyrically it has some of the similar things I write but there's a new energy from everything that's happened."
One might wonder if Yamagata was trying to make this more of an upbeat record, or if she is trying to send a message with this album, but she says, "No, honestly some of it I guess is in hindsight I didn't try to say anything but I guess I am trying to say something in a new way. Challenges of what we were going through. There are sections of this record that are more focused on the positivity and the hopefulness that I haven't been able to do before. New territory that wasn't forced before I tried and couldn't do it. When I didn't try, it came out. Like ‘Sunday Morning'--stick around joy of life and joy of love. Maybe there's a complication here but isn't life so short and shouldn't we enjoy it?"
She laughs, then adds, "I'm a Pollyanna at heart which I don't think people would get from me. The idealism is that next time's gonna be better. I think that comes out on this record and I'm happy about it."
Yamagata says that she got to work with her "dream team" on this album, including John Alagia, and Victor Indrizzo on drums, guitarists Mike Viola, Michael Chaves (John Mayer) and Kevin Salem, cellist Oli Kraus and Tom Freund on the upright bass. Working with them, she explains, truly was a dream, in and out of the studio - they became great friends besides great musicians working together. "It started with calling up John Alagaia. We've been friends through the years because we did Happenstance together.' We talked about doing more stuff together, played gigs together and it really felt like the way that I've grown and where he's come from and the records he's made that we've just come to this point together again to do something. So he was up for it and we decided to go straight into it before going over songs.
"When we did listen to the songs and talking about musicians, there were people we both knew that seemed like a perfect combo of people for the record. Viola and Salem have been producers, and Chavez has been guitarist on road. It was a leap of faith that these people with different backgrounds would work together. What they each do is so unique and I was excited about mixing people's talents. It worked out better than I could have imagined. Out drummer, Victor, was amazing. Out bass player Freund is an artist himself and plays killer upright which added a new flavor to whole project. They are strategic in what they brought to the table. We had no idea it would be a love fest."
Yamagata pauses then laughs again, this time with a half-amazed note in her voice. "The best thing is that they all sincerely love what they do. These guys cut their rates and rearranged their schedules for me. All the guys said, ‘we want to pay for the record.' First, I said absolutely not, but second. I couldn't believe they wanted to give me back the money I'd already given them! They're all hilarious too. It was nonstop laughter and pranks and silliness like camp. I wouldn't trade it. Everyone was great. Olli Craft is a cellist I've worked with for years. He works with his violin between his legs and makes insane arrangements then piles tracks over on over himself. Eric Robinson I hadn't worked with before and was the engineer friend for a while and he's really great. The whole experience and the freedom to work that way with such wonderful musicians was just incredible."
The guys did not end up paying for her album, though sincerely wanted to; instead she used the grassroots fan-funding program called PledgeMusic. Yamagata had just broken up with her record label and started her own, Frankenfish (which she says is named after "a really ugly fish" in Chesapeake) and wanted a new way to help bring the album Chesapeake to life. She had heard of PledgeMusic, which taps fans' patronage to pay for an album upfront via incentives such as T-shirts, handwritten lyrics, backstage videos, etc., and with such a strong fan base, exceeded her goal by a considerable amount. A portion of the money raised also goes to charity.
Her job was then to deliver them the album, which she did. "After the business side I've been through, I wanted to make it about the fans and the music and do it together. I want to make the music and you want to hear it," she says, noting that her music and lyrics becomes her bond with those fans. "It's reaffirming to me as a music person on my own what I have to offer in this world. A reminder to me that people are being touched and a reminder to what I have to say. In general, we're so much more connected than we think we are. The things I write about are universal experiences. I get analytical with my own life and experiences and it resonates with other people because it makes me less lonely... it shows we're going through same experiences. Hearing that I helped someone get over a relationship or sickness means a lot. I wrote these things in the middles of the night while I was alone, so knowing they are reaching and helping others is very touching.
"Songwriting is my own treatment. I just had so much fun making [the record]. If people could feel connected to it and invigorated by it in some way, that's always what I hope for."
As for people who have not heard her music, she describes it best this way: "I used to do a visual of my music with me slitting my wrists and shooting with a gun but it's starting to change. All of this stuff is a complete story. I think I'm a storyteller at heart. I can get by musically and play along with myself and get by. I do feel like I dig pretty deep into the psyche of relationships. It's the intellectual thing I describe at first. Some songs I think are gritty and liberating for people who want to be empowered. Some are the late night, let it all out soundtracks for people vulnerable with themselves. It's all a little different but I think everyone can relate in some way."
For now, Yamagata is working on promoting the release of Chesapeake, touring, building her own label, and working as an independent artist. She has a long-term goal in mind: to give back to the music community. "Maybe in the future I'd like to help others release their music," she muses. "I hear them and they're magical and they should be heard. I hit the lottery years ago when my stuff was picked up and put out there and feel grateful for that. If I could do that for them, I would."
As for herself, she's living like a Frankenfish. Yes, they are horrendous and ugly with horrible teeth according to her. But they can swim and walk on land and are very resilient, just as she feels. Which is why she uses the name. "I feel resilient, driven and enthusiastic," she states, firmly.
One suspects that is all she needs to move her in the right direction.
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