RACHAEL SAGE BIOGRAPHY
"What if I woke up tomorrow and I couldn't love / the truth is that is something I am petrified of / but maybe I'd be relieved to find out / that grieving is what love's about" - Rachael Sage, from the song "Chandelier"
Multi award-winning New York songwriter Rachael Sage has penned quirky, melodic pop songs since she was old enough to reach the piano keys. Over the course of her career, she has steadily built a loyal grassroots fanbase with a rigorous international tour schedule, performing in inventive configurations featuring Wurlitzer, drums, trumpet and string quartet. Like her musical idol Elvis Costello, she's endlessly fascinated with the crafts of songwriting and arrangement, and counts Buddy Holly, The Beatles, David Bowie and perhaps most surprisingly, John Lee Hooker among her biggest inspirations.
"I met Johnny Lee while I was a radio DJ at Stanford University. I used to play piano at the happy hour in my dorm, and his organ player delivered the kegs. One day he heard me playing and invited me to a BBQ at Johnny Lee's house. I ended up interviewing him for the station, and after that we just hit it off. He'd invite me over on weekends to play his wurly, and say 'now Rachael, play me some of that Joni Mitchell-classical music!' It was pretty humbling." The song "Blue Light" is about her unlikely friendship with the bluesman, who Sage says, "loved to talk about politics in a very simple, essential way. He seemed to genuinely want to know young people's opinions, and to keep affirming that music was the one great equalizer."
Her latest self-produced disc, Chandelier, was recorded by longtime collaborator John Shyloski, mixed by Grammy® Winner Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello, U2), and contains 13 tracks of what Performing Songwriter calls "engaging pop arrangements and gripping melodies." A musically eclectic affair, the album covers a myriad of emotions, but always comes back to one central theme: fragility.
The title track, "Chandelier,” reflects on the reality that "life as you know it could come to a crashing halt at any time - and if it does, will you have done everything possible to relish it along the way?" Sage says she was prompted to write the song after learning that a fellow musician had been diagnosed with severe tendonitis and was advised to take a solid year off the road to heal. "I had pretty bad carpal-tunnel myself at the time, and it really made me think: 'am I just going through the motions here, or am I as conscious and grateful as I can be, every chance I get to do what I enjoy? Performing is a privilege - sometimes it's way too easy to forget that." Layering several tracks to achieve an orchestral effect, cellist Dave Eggar (Coldplay) perfectly captures what Sage describes as "what a glacier melting might sound like, if it could sing."
The song "Vertigo" is a frenetic, 6/8 plea for distance from a manipulative adulterer, a scenario she admits "was based on a very unfortunate real-life experience." "My Word", which Sage composed in her early 20's, is a vibrant folk-pop arrangement featuring violinist Allison Cornell (Cyndi Lauper) and guitarist Ben Butler (Dar Williams). The song was written while she was studying at The Shakespeare Lab at the New York Public Theater, shortly before she decided to focus on music full-time. Sage, who received a degree in Drama from Stanford University and also studied at The Actors Studio M.F.A. Program, reveals: "I had no idea how much I'd use that [drama] training as a singer-songwriter...but I'd definitely say my biggest influence in terms of dynamics - aside from The Beatles - continues to be The Bard."
Another notable cut on the record includes Sage's cover of "Mexico" by Jump Little Children, which she heard while performing at a radio station in Atlanta. "That song is about so many of the things I was experiencing during the making of this album, especially the process of trying to let someone go you know is not good for you - someone who's hurting you but you still can't help but be attracted to their passion. Intensity can be intoxicating, even when it's destructive." Heavy guitars and Rachael's first harmonium performance punctuate a Tom Petty-esque arrangement featuring organ playing by fellow New Yorker Rob Curto, who also appeared on Sage's two prior recordings, 2004's Independent Music Award-Winning album Ballads & Burlesque, and 2006's The Blistering Sun.
For all of Rachael's international travels (she toured in the UK this past fall and made her debut in Japan this winter), she insists her favorite musical moments are when "people come up to me at shows and give me their own CDs...I really get a kick out of that, because we're all doing the same thing, just trying to connect and be heard." One such fan approached her at a concert in San Francisco, explained she was a singer-songwriter herself, and then proceeded to ask Rachael if she'd write a song for her commitment ceremony - which became "Wishbone". "I was honored, but I've never written a song like that for such a personal event - so it was definitely a vulnerable situation for me. Thankfully, she and her partner loved it, and now that it's on my record I'm really glad I said yes!"
Sage, a former dancer who performed with The New York City Ballet in her teens, also designed the album artwork for Chandelier, which features a drawing by an intern at her label MPress Records. She was photographed in a dress designed by an East Village neighbor, where she's lived for over a decade. “I really enjoy finding fellow artists in the City who are still in that place where the idea of reaching a new audience for their work – however large or small – is what gets them out of bed in the morning….basically, it's the reason I still live here and probably always will.”
Eager to nurture aspiring musicians and make a positive impact through music, Sage launched her first philanthropic endeavor in 2006 with the New Arrivals compilation series. Each volume in the series gives a voice to up-and-coming independent songwriters as well as more established guest artists such as Melissa Ferrick and Jill Sobule, while supporting a humanitarian cause; proceeds from Volume 1 (2006) benefited Gulf Coast Relief, Volume 2 (2007) supports World Hunger Year and Volume 3 (due in June 2008 on MPress Records) will raise funds and create awareness for NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association).