Welcome to the official website of singer-songwriter-pianist Rachel Zylstra! Find the latest album, Before You Could Decide, on Amazon, iTunes, eMusic and Rhapsody. Watch the best of Advice Music (as seen on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon blog)! Hear more songs on RZ's Myspace.
So it's been a little while since I communicated on this page - two years, in fact. Where does the time go? How are you?
My longtime blog/song labor of love, Advice Music, took a hiatus in June, and in the time since I've been focusing on some other writings and the development of some new song arrangements. Over the last months I've gotten to play a lovely string of shows at Rockwood Music Hall, including the most recent one this past Friday, featuring my good and talented ("multi-versatile") friend Justin Depuydt on various accompaniments, most notably his borrowed red accordion, made perfect with a ducktaped microphone (thanks Matt of The Polka Brothers for the excellent loan). People have been very supportively attending this shows, and thank you - it makes me more wired and excited about delivering you a great live performance that's always a little different.
But for even longer than recent months, there has been a small but steady torch aflame for the planning, plotting, and finally, recording (with much gracious help from incredible collaborators) of a little album of seven of my songs accompanied by string trio. When the time is right I will launch into those acknowledgements; for now I just want you to know that the RZ with Strings CD is still on its way, and a weekend to mix and tweak the tracks is on the calendar for late October 2011.
Finally, later this month on the 29th, I am so pumped (as a fan) and honored (as a musician) to get to open for Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb at the All Angels' Cafe Season Kick-Off at All Angels' Church. The concert starts at 7:30 but is preceded at 6pm by an art exhibit opening and wine and refreshments reception in the Rob Buckley Memorial Gallery on the 3rd floor. $15 covers everything - advance tickets (purchase them here!) are encouraged as this concert will likely sell out.
Special guests Matt Gelfer, Greg Williams and Paul Wolfram will accompany me on strings - consider it a CD-release-show preview.
More soon! I promise I'll write again before two years goes by.
best, RZ
Midwest Tour Highlights & Lowlights, and the Strangely Colored Car - July 23, 2009
But the topic of haircoloring is neither here nor there. If I’d had internet access consistently while on the road, I might have tried to update people after every show. But in a way, I’m glad I didn’t, because it saved you who might be kind enough to read them from a fair bit of pleasant inanity (and the lack of a decent edit job only 20/20 hindsight vision can produce). The good news is that, every show had its shining moment, and even the worst of foibles was reasonably correctable or graciously remedied.
As some of you who have read my blogging in the past know, I have a penchant for charts (and apparently, awkward web-unfriendly kinds). So let’s bring that back and keep this nice and tidy.
One really terrific bonus of this experience is that at the last minute, a great long-time friend was able to join me on the road for the last four shows. Shannon and I got to that point on the road where speaking aloud the other person’s thoughts was a semi-regular occurrence. This phenomenon reached a freaky zenith as we navigated freeway traffic the Friday we entered Columbus. An odd-looking iridescent-y older-model compact car merged a little ways ahead of us in our lane, and, confusing us both by its color, forced our thoughts into speech. “That car is the color –” Shannon began; “That looks like a sort of –” I said;
“Salmony bronze,” we both blurted out in unison.
I can safely say that neither of us has ever used aloud or even consciously conceived the term or color “salmony bronze” in our whole lives, which made our revelation all the more absurd (and awesome!). A Google search yields a mere eight results, including an ad for strappy sandals. My hope is to someday pick up a pair of these to wear at shows, and then quiz people on how THEY would describe this elusive hue, the identity of which is obviously hardwired into the human brain.
All in all, a great trip! Many thanks to the hosts and friends who helped make it possible, even effortless at times. Thanks and wishes of continued success to those I got to share the stage with: The Spares, Jay Brannan, Beth Bombara, the line-up at Derby City, the Alwood Sisters and Jenny Jones. And thank you, everyone who came to the shows and who the support the music-making/touring! There will be more to come.
