Interview with Justin Stover, SOUNDS GOOD INK
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Rachel Zylstra is a singer-songwriter currently living in New York City. Her rainy-day piano ballads and peculiar song topics mirror such artists as Regina Spektor and Tori Amos. Sounds Good Ink recently chatted with her over the phone, learning about her recent entrance into the blogosphere, her decision to do music full time, and more.
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JS: What are you up to this morning?
RZ: Oh, I’m writing back some people. Doing some music-related e-mails. I’m gonna start prepping for my show…I have a show tomorrow night. And talking to you, then meeting up with a friend for lunch.
JS: So it’s a full day in New York City.
RZ: It’s a full day in New York City. I mean, with a bit of a leisurely pace, I suppose. But that’s good. That’s nice. And it’s gonna be 88 degrees today. What’s it like there?
JS: It’s raining.
RZ: [Laughs]
JS: So is this new blog of yours taking off pretty well?
RZ: I think it’s kind of plateaued a bit for the time being. But I’ve got a regular readership and people who are commenting. I noticed that my Facebook fan page has grown a lot since I’ve posted the blog. I saw a boost when I got mentioned on the Jimmy Fallon blog a couple weeks ago. That was great. And hopefully, maybe, I’ll get some more little plugs like that along the way. That would be nice.
JS: Have you gotten any somewhat disturbing questions where you’re, like, “I don’t know how to answer that. Just go see a psychologist.”
RZ: [laughs] I have not yet received a question that I did not feel comfortable answering. I’ve definitely had ones that I kind of had to think on; that I was challenged on. But, as it stands, I’ve been able to answer every question that’s been asked so far.
JS: Do you always do it in song form? Better put, do you write a song for every question?
RZ: I don’t. Occasionally I’ll just do a regular written post, and then I’ll refer them to some other song. Originally, I was gonna do two posts a week: one a video, one that was written. Which is fine, I think. I realize that the videos probably have more of a draw.
JS: How did you decide to do this? Did you have some previous experience doing “Dear Abby” type stuff?
RZ: Well, I’m an avid advice-column reader [chuckles]. In recent years I’ve come to at least four advice columns that I read every day. I just think it’s fun. And a lot of people end up asking similar questions. But the whole idea of writing in to a stranger for advice about your personal life…there’s this great novelty to it. And now, with the internet, a lot of these columns are attached to papers. So, Dear Prudence writes for Slate, Carolyn Hax writes for Washington Post. And now that it’s all on the web you have tons of people who are commenting on the writers. It’s interesting because it becomes much more of a dialogue about some person’s issues. It’s not any longer just a conversation between the letter writer and the public responder.
JS: Do you think the letter writers are typically being honest? That they are really having whatever problems they are asking advice about?
RZ: With my column?
JS: Yeah, do you think they are being sincere? I know it’s hard telling unless you know the person, but as far as you can tell…
RZ: Oh, yeah. I do sometimes know the people who write in. Sometimes people write because they know I do it, which is fine with me. For me, it’s not like I’m taking this completely seriously. Like, “Oh, I’m gonna help these people.” I want to help, but it’s also entertainment and a way to connect. I don’t ask people to write me specific questions. But, there have been some instances where a friend or acquaintance has said, “Oh, I think I need to write you about such and such. But it’s not life or death.”
JS: You don’t get any people saying, “I’m gonna jump out this window unless you sing me a song!”
RZ: Right, exactly…thankfully.
JS: Did you ever listen to Delilah?
RZ: Oh, I’ve heard her stuff [chuckles]. She’s fun to listen to. It’s always a little cheesy, but you can tell she has a sense of humor about herself, too.
JS: Now, outside of your new blog, how long have you been doing your own music, releasing your own albums, and performing as Rachel Zylstra?
RZ: I would say that I started considering myself a singer-songwriter and pursuing that path in college. So, I think we could say it’s been about 10 years at this point. Just about 10 years. Early college is when I started getting into it and performing. And I did release a couple albums in college that never really survived into being digitized in an official way.
JS: Did you ever have them pressed?
RZ: Well..pressed as in one time somebody burned a bunch of copies in their dorm room. The first time that I had an actual album released, that I pressed, that had a barcode, was Most Of It Is True in 2005.
JS: Now, when you moved to New York City from your Midwest home, was that primarily to do your own music?
RZ: Yes. To do music, but also because I wanted to live in New York City, you know? You can certainly do music in a lot of places, but it was a combination of “this would be a good place to get connected with music,” and also “this is a city in which I’d like to live.”
JS: Did you quickly get involved with any community or scene of musicians who proved helpful to your music career?
RZ: I would say I quickly got connected to a lot of other singer-songwriters who were a lot like me, as far as experience. And we were playing at open mic nights and little cafes in the West and East Village. To some degree, I guess my music has grown in lots of ways and made some strides. But…I’m not playing vastly different venues yet at this point. It’s just that, instead of the open mic and hoping you can get people to come, you can book yourself a set and know that people will come.
JS: What have been some of your favorite venues to play in New York City?
RZ: I haven’t been terribly assertive as far as playing at very particular venues in New York City. To me, the important thing has been building my audience in places that I know they like to come. I’ve played at The Sidewalk Cafe a ton of times, and people know that spot. I’ve played The Living Room a few times. I’ve played at some amazing little listening rooms. But, I haven’t made a special effort to play a lot of places that don’t have an in-house piano. Of course, I’m always dependent on the piano. And, occasionally, I’ll experiment and play a show or two at a venue and think, “Oh that was nice,” but for all the effort put out to try and play at that place, it wasn’t really growing me in the direction that I wanted myself to be going.
JS: Do you ever play any other instruments at your live shows?
RZ: I’ll occasionally pull out the guitar…very rarely. I am doing a concert series at The Sidewalk Cafe soon, and I’m going to do each of the shows in a different way. One show will be just me, one show will be with the string trio I sometimes play with, one show will be all advice music, where I’ll perform songs from the blog, and one where I’ll have a pianist friend of mine play my songs for me. And I’ll probably get one or two other musicians along with that, so it will be more of a band feel and I’ll just be singing.
JS: Do you have access to a handful of area musicians who will play with you?
RZ: I do. I know a lot of very good musicians. I have tended to be more self-contained in my performance, though. Me and a piano. That’s usually what I do. But, again, I’m trying to branch out a little bit because there is a lot of creative value and promotional value in having other people play with you.
JS: Right. I don’t hear of many musicians who succeed without some collaboration with other artists. Plus, most solo artists are basically a band that plays under the name of the respective artist.
RZ: This is true. I think you’re right. And maybe I’m a slow learner in that way. But, I’ve realized for quite some time that there is more excitement that you can build around a band, as opposed to just one person. I think it can excite people more.
JS: In your ideal world, would you just do solo? Just you and a piano for every performance?
RZ: No. In my ideal world I’d be working with other musicians a lot. Finances is always a consideration. Especially if you are not a band. If you are a solo artist then you are hiring people. Even if it’s friends.
JS: And, from what I gather, you’ve recently left your day job with MTV to pursue the music?
RZ: Yes, I have.
JS: How do you feel about this decision?
RZ: I feel good right now. I’m almost perpetually in a good mood lately. It’s a weird transitional time because it’s very uncertain how everything will all pan out. But, it’s invigorating to finally be giving it a really concerted try.
JS: 10 years ago, when being an “independent” musician wasn’t as close of an option as it is now, do you think you would have taken such a risk and tried to focus on your music on a full-time basis?
RZ: Well, I can answer that question non-theoretically because 10 years ago I had just started doing it. I mean, I was still in college, but it was already in my plan to make it my career. And, no, I didn’t take the risk then, but I was still in school. And I was raised in a practical manner. You know, “get yourself financially secure.” Not that wealth has been “the end,” but stability being the end. Have health insurance. You know, I was taught that it’s important to be creative, too, but be practical and then work on the creative stuff. Had I tried this 10 years ago then who knows if I’d have any stability now [chuckles].
JS: There’s this great column on Stereogum titled “Quit Your Day Job.” And, basically, they interview independent artists, some of whom are famous, about the jobs they have to work when they are not touring, or when times are tough. This column has very helpful advice and encouragement for other musicians. But, it also carries with it a level of surprise. You read these interviews and think, “Gosh, they have to do this? I figured that their labels took care of all their financial needs!”
RZ: Oh yeah, I totally know what you mean. I’ll have to check that column out. It makes me think of a get-together I was at a couple of years ago. It was with some work friends at a bar. And one of the girls from my work at the time had a friend who was in town visiting from California. This guy was part of a band that was on a major label. It was, like, Virgin Records or something. One of the big ones. Anyways, he had to teach guitar lessons on the side. And he was struggling financially. That conversation with this guy, who was in a major label band, was a big wake-up call to me. He said, “Our label isn’t promoting us. We haven’t gotten any of the stuff that we’d hope being on a major label would get us.” He said, “I’m just teaching guitar lessons and hoping for the best and trying to save money on rent.” Prior to that conversation, I’d assumed that anyone who’d been signed to a major label was full time; that they were set. That may have been hugely naive.
JS: Right. But that was the image that major labels tried to project onto their artists. This look of success and such.
RZ: Yeah, I know. They can do it less now because the whole label system is all askew. Now people can just put out their own music. But how the major artists were able to perpetuate that image is confusing. I really thought it was accurate at one time. I mean, maybe 20 years ago that was where it was.
JS: Yeah, but that business model has imploded.
RZ: Right. Totally imploded.
JS: And most of the independent musicians I’ve spoken with seem glad about this. Probably because so many of them got screwed over by that system, and now they are doing exactly the kind of music they want as independents. I haven’t heard many complaints. I mean, I have heard people say, “Man, I wish I had some more money.” But, I haven’t heard many musicians say, “But I’m miserable because I don’t have more money.” Many seem happy that at least they are doing their own thing.
RZ: Right.
JS: Well, anything you’d like to add before closing? Or any books or movies you’d like to recommend?
RZ: My favorite book that I’ve read in the last few months is “The Forger’s Spell” by Edward Dolnick. Basically, it’s about the greatest art forger of the 20th Century. He started churning out fake Vermeer paintings, and managed to get one sold to Adolph Hitler’s deputy. It’s really a very entertaining and educational book. So…two thumbs up [laughs].
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To learn more about Rachel, check out concert dates, and buy her albums, visit her website: www.rachelzylstra.com
And be sure to check out her new advice blog: advicemusic.blogspot.com
Justin Stover - Sounds Good Ink (Apr 26, 2010)