Fresh from her run in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, New York songstress Rachael Sage will bring her glitzy new show “Sequins & Shpiel” to the Hotel Utah Saloon (San Francisco) Tuesday, September 8 at 8 pm; The Pour House (Paso Robles), Sept. 9; Saint Rocke (Hermosa Beach) Sept. 10; Lestat’s (San Diego) September 11; and Hotel Café (Los Angeles) Sept. 12.
In the show Sage mixes music from her own vast discography with stories about her life as a former ballerina and her self-proclaimed “wacky Jewish family.” Tickets to the Hotel Utah/SF show are $8 to $10 and can be purchased at http://www.thehotelutahsaloon.com. For more info on Rachael, visit www.rachaelsage.com or www.myspace.com/rachaelsage
- How did the show come about? Where did the title came from?
Well, I've always wanted to play Edinburgh Fringe, since I was a teenager. Fortunately, over the last few years my following in the U.K. has begun to really gather some momentum and I've been able to get distribution and radio airplay for my albums there. So when the opportunity came up last year to submit to perform at Fringe, I leapt at it!
Fringe is all about standing out from the crowd…so it occurred to me I should really do a show that allows me to bring my theatricality as an actor, and all of the wacky accents and impressions I do on a regular basis, into a musical framework.
I've always loved people like Sandra Bernhardt and Tracy Ullman - shameless, fearless, multi-faceted performers who recognize that the line between humor and tragedy is very thin, and that there's a lot of power in "owning your neurosis", so-to-speak.
It can be beautiful, and stirring, to really open up your life onstage and celebrate the most flawed and confounding parts of one's own background — to show that you can be glamorous, provocative and completely out of control. I am a control-freak as a musician and a record label owner to some degree, but on stage, not so much! I relish improvisation, building moments into the show around how each audience reacts to certain bits, and taking advantage of the intimacy of the kinds of theaters and clubs where we play. There is no "fourth wall" at my shows.
As far as the title, everyone who knows me knows I'm very into glitter, sequins, and rhinestones. I design costumes, decorate my keyboards and my office walls with these materials and find that they cheer people up. I like to infuse beauty into the mundane, and to surprise people with the way I dress - because my songwriting itself can actually be very dark and reflective. "Shpiel" is a word I use all the time in so many ways..."so, what's her shpiel?" and I'm asking basically, "what's this person all about?" what do they have to SAY. It's about talking, sharing, kibitzing and, I'll admit it, it was good alliteration and I'm a sucker for that.
- What will the show entail?
General irreverence, Yiddish, Southern and New York accents (at minimum), disturbing as well as uplifting anecdotes about my family, lots of songs, at least one cartwheel, crackerjack musicianship and of course, sequined attire.
- Can you tell me a little about your Jewish upbringing? Why is your family described as 'wacky'?
I thought it was more cultural/secular though I was raised Conservative, but the more I've traveled and met people from all over the country and the world who consider themselves to be more "secular", the more I've realized how traditional my upbringing was, in certain ways.
We were pretty relaxed though as far as day-to-day ritual, and I feel like we mostly observed the "big" holidays, after we were Bat Mitzvah'd. Before then we went to Shabbat services pretty often, and I went to Hebrew School three days a week. Yesterday I actually heard a radio PSA for a Jewish education program for kids that was one day a week, which seemed pretty amazing to me!
In terms of the culture, I definitely think the importance of tzedakah was hammered into my and my sister's consciousness from a very early age — I'm really grateful for that now, though when I was younger I didn't get why it was always so important to balance the "good things you do for yourself" with the "good things you contribute to those less fortunate.”
My parents were really community-oriented, and definitely tried to connect the dots for us, as far as how Jewish culture addresses the idea of blessings, and how giving back to others - and ideally, empowering someone to ultimately be self-sufficient - is one of the biggest blessings you can give as well as receive. My mom in particular never let us forget what our ancestors went through to help create the lives we enjoy today, so that guilt...I mean "awareness"...has definitely filtered into my work.
I described my family as "wacky" because most people don't understand the word "meshugge" in Scotland! I love them, but they're crazy. What I've discovered chatting with people after the show, however, is that there really is, as Sinead O'Connor sang, one Universal Mother. Whether you're Italian or Indian or African or Irish or Jewish, there are threads that run through most cultures in terms of how mothers want to influence their children's decision-making processes, even into adulthood. When you magnify some of these onstage, they really can seem pretty crazy; but we all laugh, because we know it comes from love. My family has always said things to me my whole life that have made me feel like I'm on another planet. I eventually realized that planet is "performing artist"...
- Is your music influenced by your background in ballet and/or by your Jewish life? If so, how?
Absolutely. In ballet, there is pain, struggle and if you're lucky, eventually there is beauty and even a little "nachus". Obviously, that's pretty much the same as the life of most Jews, according to their parents! My music reflects this by conveying the duality of everything: darkness/light, fear/courage, ignorance/bliss. I might have one of those wrong…
- Who are some other musicians or bands that have influenced you? What do you listen to most often on your ipod/record player?
I love Carole King, Cat Stevens, Buddy Holly, Elvis Costello, Marc Cohn, Rufus Wainwright, The Beatles, Sarah McLachlan, Dan Bern, Maria McKee and so many others. I love anything written from the heart that also bothers to be clever and melodic. I listen to everything from the aforementioned artists to Imogen Heap and David Broza and The Weepies and Bob Dylan. I lean toward artists from the 60's and 70's because that's when I was at my most idealistic and wide-eared, soaking up music. -What instruments do you play, and which one are you closest to?
I play piano and keyboards (i.e. wurlitzer, rhodes) primarily, but I also play a bit of guitar, and of course, recorder. Recently I started playing kazoo in my show, and I have to admit I am currently closest to kazoo. -What are some of your future plans? What are your hopes for "Sequins and Shpiel"?
I'm going to be completing a new record called Delancey Street by the end of this year, and we'll be releasing it in conjunction with a national tour in 2010. I also am going to be returning to the U.K. this fall to support my single "Too Many Women", which is going to be on the soundtrack for the film "Fame". As far as "Sequins & Shpiel", I hope that this show is just the beginning of a long string of (however loosely) themed shows that eventually lead me to the Great White Way (Broadway), and who knows, maybe it'll even culminate in a line of sequined clothing, fancied by such great Jewish divas as Bette Midler, Barry Manilow and (sort of) Madonna! Too ambitious? I don't think so!
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Fresh from her run in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, New York songstress