The Curious Life of Rachel Bachman
Rachel Bachman
There’s a web that seems to be woven way before you were born. Everything appears to be either preplanned or a chaotic series of present moments. The equation for the former would have to be a complex code written by an all-knowing being or beings. Higher beings with an intricate knowledge of how to create celestial bodies & the landscape they reside within. The latter implies that the Now is the sum of every decision ever made by living entities. Are we living in the consequences of our past or is there a greater plan to bring certain people together & to keep others apart?
In October of 2019, Rachel Bachman waltzed into the open mic I used to run on the advice of our mutual friend Bentley Monet, the drummer of Snailmate. It was less than 2 weeks after she transplanted herself from Tulsa to Phoenix last year. Rachel would also meet a soon-to-be bandmate that night, Jared Michael from Chrome Rhino. It’s not really a small world, but it really is.
Last month I saw that she had started a Kickstarter for her new project Rachel Bachman & The Better News Bears. Being a part of this mutual musical web, I wanted to help get the word out. So I took a little deep dive into Rachel’s social media, music & google results. Sent her a few questions to answer about herself. This is the Curious Life of Rachel Bachman.
ABMR: The first time I met you was at the open mic I was running at Irene's. How soon after you moved to Phoenix from Oklahoma did you come in?
RB: I went to Irene’s less than two weeks after moving to Phoenix. I met you that night, as well as Jared. It was nuts how soon we hit it off. Within a week, we drove to Los Angeles to catch a Hiatus Koyote show together. We’ve been divorced ever since. ;)
ABMR: Why did you move to Phoenix?
RB: My sister lives here in Phoenix. We’ve always been close, and we were even roommates in Tulsa for a few years. I was missing family desperately last year in Tulsa, so I decided to make a change. I packed up my bags and headed west. Don’t worry, Tulsa, I’ll visit frequently.
ABMR: Bentley from Snailmate had told me you booked them before you met them. Tell me about the artistic scene where you're from?
RB: The first time I ever saw Snailmate perform was at the PH (Phoenix Community House - ironically located in Tulsa). It’s a small, one-story house that was converted into a beautiful little performance space; think hardwood floors wall to wall, with a band playing at the far end, and people scattered throughout - some sitting on the floor, some standing, others leaning up against the small bar where bands would set up their merch. It was a magical space, which hosted local and touring bands of all sorts of genres, from one-man bluegrass to full-band grindcore. My quirky, cello and Uke-driven acoustic band opened up for Snailmate’s synth-punk hip-hop, and it was nothing out of the ordinary. You see, a lot of these places exist in Tulsa, little houses (or bars) full of music. There are venues dedicated to putting on live, original music every night of the week, where people come to hear music they’ve never heard before, and where they actually listen. I love how Tulsa cherishes original music; some bars even have signs posted about limiting the number of cover tunes a band can play in a night. God, I love that town.
ABMR: Did you grow up in OK?
RB: Oh no. I did live there for ten years, but Michigan is my home sweet home. I can’t say that I see myself ever living there again, but she’ll always be my home.
ABMR: How long have you been playing music? What instruments do you play?
RB: I play the basic string package. You know, guitar, Uke, bass. I think I’ve got a banjo lying around here somewhere, too. I also played my fair share of piano back in my college days. I actually started out on piano, chunking along in D minor to a bunch of praise songs. Wrote my first full song when I was eight, and I penned a few dozen more throughout middle and high school. I thought I would be a worship leader forever. (Shhhh, don’t tell high school me that I haven’t been to church in years)
ABMR: Who are your vocal inspirations?
RB: Oh goodness, Joni Mitchell and Regina Spektor will always be top two. Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha, Paul Simon, my mom! She’s got a wonderful voice. We used to sing together all the time, harmonizing to Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills and Nash. She taught me a lot about music growing up.
ABMR: Your music has theatrical qualities to it. Have you ever been in Theater?
RB: Hahaha. If I had a nickel for every time I heard this question. Well, my first ever theatre gig was as a Christmas caroler. My entire family - mom, dad, sister, brother - sang five-part harmony during intermission for out local community theatre’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol.” Since then, I’ve been a casual actor, taking a couple roles a year at best, always in a musical show. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a straight play, come to think of it. But, yeah, I’ve been in some shows.
ABMR: Tell me about your other projects? I mentioned A Casual Divorce in my article about Chrome Rhino.
RB: I’ve got a few. In Tulsa, I’m in Petty Fox with Jason Bauer and Josh Westbrook, and Jason’s been mixing up some new tracks we’re releasing soon. I’m also recording vocals in whatever Chris Foster is calling his band these days. But my main focus is with A Casual Divorce, which is mine and Jared Michael’s brain-child. We’re kind of folk-jazz-theatre-pop. Jared and I are getting together all the time to flesh out new musical concepts and polish the ones we’ve already got in the roster. We’re a duo right now, but we’re actively looking for a drummer to join us. It’s a tricky bill to fit, because the music is pretty weird, and we can be kind of picky (read: demanding). Oh, and we’re in a pandemic. That also makes it tricky. *shrug*
ABMR: What could the Phoenix scene learn from Tulsa? What could Tulsa learn from Phoenix?
RB: Well, I honestly haven’t seen enough of the Phoenix music scene to provide a fair assessment. I’d been to only a few open mics and a few shows before we got caught in a pandemic. But in my very limited experience, it would appear that Phoenix does a better job monetizing their music scene. I had more conversations about monetizing my music in two months in Phoenix than I had in two years in Tulsa. Tulsa, however, does a better job supporting original music and promoting the playing of it. I think I can count on one hand the number of cover tunes I’ve ever heard at a Tulsa open mic - and I’ve been to hundreds.
ABMR: Tell me about the song VourVoulos Veranda from 2018’s I’m All I’ves. Where did you get the title from? What does that song mean to you? I am a fan of it, so would like to know a bit more.
RB: Vourvoulos! Oh my god, I love that song, too. We’re actually putting a live version of it on the new album, with cello. It’s stunning. Anyways, Vourvoulos is a small village on the east side of the island of Santorini. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it. We were there for a few days, and I would spend my mornings writing songs on the balcony of our AirBnB. It was situated on a hill - or, rather, in a hill, overlooking the Aegean Sea, with many white stucco houses in the village situated between. It was quite an inspirational balcony. I got the sounds of roosters cawing in the village below, the bells of the nearby church on the hour (the blue dome), the wind rustling the heavy, creaky palm fronds above. Not to mention our host, Kyriakos, who is hands down the most helpful and coolest host I’ve ever met, and who made fun of me for drinking water instead of wine at 8am. Ha! Oh, and the cats. Just google Santorini cats. They’re everywhere.
ABMR: Give me a random fact about yourself, non-music related.
RB: I have only nine toes.
ABMR: What happened to the 10th toe?
RB: I thought you might ask that. I sold it to the devil for a (bottomless) bottle of Jack.
There is less than a 3 days to contribute to her Kickstarter so please go & contribute if you can. If you have nothing to give in these strange times, please share to spread the word. Below are some social media links to follow. You can also order T-Shirts through the Kickstarter. Pictures below.
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Here is a clip I found of Rachel on KTUL in Tulsa from 2018