Speaking with a Sage
Courtesy
Folk rock artist Rachael Sage will make her Eugene debut at Luna.
Sage visits Luna
as part of a
nationwide tour
to support
'Public Record,’
her latest
release. She
started her own
record label,
MPress, so
she could have
the freedom to
create her own
style of music.
Courtesy
Performer Rachael Sage
will take the stage at Luna
tonight to promote her new
album, ‘Public Record’
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
Rachael Sage has made a name for
herself the past few years as a self
styled folk rock artist. Now, with five
albums under her belt and her own
record label, MPress, Sage has been
playing shows across the country
with a variety of performers to pro
mote her latest release, "Public
Record." Recently, she spoke to the
Emerald about songwriting, per
forming live and staying independ
ent in a business-oriented world.
Emerald: Have you ever played Eu
gene before?
Sage: No, I haven't. We were going
to play at a coffeehouse, but there
was a double-booking problem and
it didn't go through. Now that coffee
house is no more.
Emerald: How much time do you
spend touring?
Sage: We try to do about 150 dates
a year and we're shooting for 200.
Mostly, it just boils down to wanting
to bring my music to people live. 1
think it has been incredibly fortunate
that my release schedule has been an
nual — I've had a release a year for
about five years now. It's been really
fun to go out on the road to support
new albums. It's just what I do, it's in
my blood now.
Emerald: Do you find it difficult to
tour and run your own label?
Sage: Oh yeah. I think that the
main challenge is pretty cut and
dried. It's time management. Trying
to find a balance in your personal life
and realizing that it isn't possible. It
has been a process. I didn't realize
when 1 got into the label stuff a few
years back how it would permeate
every facet of my life. But this is what
I like doing.
Emerald: Why did you choose to
start your own label?
Sage: Just faith that 1 had figured it
all out and that it would be fascinat
ing. I think that at the time when I
was getting ready to put out my first
CD it was a pivotal moment in the
music industry when people were
just starting to embrace the idea of
not waiting around, not trying to
pander to the major label dream.
People wanted to be able to be a
touring musician and make a living
at it. 1 hadn't really glimpsed that
back in New York City, where I had
come from. It was all about "Who's
your lawyer?," "Do you have a man
ager?," "When's your showcase?"
This was when 1 was a teenager. 1 real
ize that if I signed with a major label,
people would be defining what 1
should or shouldn't be.
Emerald: Do you see what you are
doing as part of a larger movement?
Sage: Yes. It's one of those things
where at a certain point you have to
let go of something that other people
may have departed to you as the end
all be all of what it's about, being an
artist. There was a time when there
were patrons for artist and geniuses
like Shakespeare were only able to
exist because someone was able to
support what they did. Dan Bern has
a funny song that I just heard him do
over in Los Angeles, called "Art on the
Run." It's a long, funny list of all
these quintessential artists and de
scribing what their lives would be
like in this century. Picasso painting
with one hand on the cell phone,
one on the canvas. 1 think that if you
want to do work for yourself that is
also relevant to other people, then
you have to embrace the business
part in a way creative way that in
forms what you do.
Emerald: What do you think influ
ences your songwriting the most?
Sage: The fact that 1 am really open
to getting involved with people. I pro
tect that with everything that I have,
because I know that's what creates
music for me. It's about relation
ships, whether they're friendships, or
one person I talk to on a bus, or
someone I meet at a gig, or someone
I write to, someone online who has a
problem. It's listening is what gives
me songwriting, listening to other
people tell me their stories and then
processing how that reflects my own
story. I try not to ignore that human
interaction that you have the option
to let in instead of push away.
Emerald: There have been a num
ber of descriptions of your music —
"folk noir" in particular - but how
would you describe your music?
Sage: I think it's "art-pop-folk-rock
multimedia-comedy-vaudeville."
No, I don't know. I think that I've
been embracing the Bette Midler part
of my personality recently. A lot of
my Yiddish-Jewish humor has been
filtering in between my undoubtedly
serious and introspective songwriting
and it has been really working for
me. I started to figure out what has
kept me from doing that in the past
was being in New York City and be
ing in a place where I was so of that
city and so dime-a-dozen.
Emerald: Who are you listening to
right now?
Sage: I mentioned him before, but
I've been listening to a lot of Dan
Bern recently. I think he's an amazing
writer. Also, a guy named Lach out of
New York, part of the anti-folk move
ment, sort of founded that scene.
Emerald: You have any plans for
the future?
Sage: We're going to visit the Jelly
Belly factory in about half an hour.
Emerald: Any advice for the youth
of America?
Sage: More finger painting. Yeah,
more finger painting and more re
fined sugar.
Sage will perform at Luna today at
8 p.m. Tickets are available through a
$7 cover charge.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
PULSE BRIEF
Dan Bern to perform
at Cafe Paradiso tonight
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Dan Bern will come to Eugene
tonight, toting his guitar and fantastic collection of bitingly
sharp songs. Bern's unique style has been compared to Bob
Dylan, Lenny Bruce, Arlo Guthrie and Elvis Costello.
With songs covering all manner of pop culture happen
ings — from the potential of time travel to chance moments
in history to ironic messianic proclamations — Bern has
gained national attention and critical praise for his work.
His most recent full-length album, "Fleeting Days," was re
leased in March and is his eighth record since his debut in 1996.
Although originally from Iowa, Bern tours heavily
throughout the country. He last visited Eugene for a show
at Sam Bond's Garage in April 2002
Bern will appear at Cafe Paradiso, located at 115 W.
Broadway. The show begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $ 11.50
in advance and $ 13 at the door.
— Steven Neuman
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Courtesy
Dan Bern will promote his album ‘Fleeting Days’ tonight.
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