T
Much Time , No Pressure
By Tom Lanham
he truth is out there , believes Rachael Yamagata . For any young artist curious enough to ask the right questions , rethink the major-music-label power structure , and ultimately willing to do the legwork involved in reimagining yourself as an independent DIY musician , the life-changing answers will become selfevident . For her inventive new fourth fulllengther , Tightrope Walker , she broke so many rules of conventional recording wisdom , she can barely remember them all . After playing the major-label game via her Private Music / Arista-issued 2004 debut Happenstance , she partnered with PledgeMusic to fund her third , 2011 ’ s Chesapeake , then teamed with the crowdsourcing company again two years ago for her latest . And she auctioned off virtually everything but the kitchen sink .
Why beg some big shot A & R executive for the money to underwrite your latest collection of songs ? she reasoned . A Sword-of-Damocles advance that you ’ ll eventually have to pay back , no matter how well said record should sell ? Through sites like PledgeMusic and KickStarter , performers can tap directly into their fan base and offer one-on-one premiums in exchange for album-financing donations . What can you put up for sale ? “ I think it ’ s just up to how creative you want to be with your ideas ,” says Yamagata , 39 , who was a local star in Chicago band Bumpus . “ The world is your oyster .
“ And in terms of what fans want to be part of , the more you can put into that initial stage of setting things up , the better ,” she adds . “ I see some people offering a dinner , and the artist will cook for you , and if I could cook , I would do that . But there are so many interesting ways to connect with people , and it ’ s a great system to
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invite someone into your world , and also , they ’ re there to become part of your ability to pull something off . And you learn as you go .” The premiums for Tightrope Walker were like platinum-card premiums for serious Yamagata fans , and certainly must-owns for any completist . Depending on your donation amount , you could get your greedy mitts on : A coveted collection of covers , including Janis Ian ’ s “ At Seventeen ,” and 10CC ’ s “ I ’ m Not In Love ”; A 17-track anthology of demos , outtakes , B-sides , and alternate song versions ; Or a quiescent re-recording of Happenstance , with all cuts done acoustically . And that was just for starters .
“ By the end of this Pledge process – if you count the new record itself – I delivered almost five albums ’ worth of material ,” the singer says . “ It ’ s been intense , and it ’ s been the most extensive campaign I ’ ve ever done , for sure .” But there was one high-priced item that sold out within hours of being posted – ten ‘ Songs for You ,’ wherein she would compose a number specifically about the purchaser themselves , who were asked to submit a onepage biography for Yamagata ’ s inspiration . “ I ’ ve written them all , and I ’ ve recorded seven out of ten ,” she says , proudly . “ And sometimes , the songs include very specific items from their particular story , sometimes I went a bit more broad . But there were always these really interesting kernels of phrases or ideas for just beautiful moments .”
People would apologize to their idol for not being that imaginative , she sighs . “ But I never believed them – it ’ s just a matter of finding the channel that you ’ re best at , because the beautiful things that people would just say when they were telling their story were really inspiring . And I spent a ton of time – maybe four to five hours – on each writing , and then a full day in the studio , trying to figure out the best presentation of it .”
How would the tunesmith cope with , say , someone named Aloysius ? “ Oh , my God !” she guffaws . “ Easy – ‘ Aloysius / Liked the fishes !’ But there was a lot of passion behind people ’ s stories , and they were very honest and vulnerable . And particularly with my fans , things aren ’ t always easy in what they ’ re trying to express .” That ’ s why they are drawn to her music in the first place , she thinks – she ’ s always been equally intrigued by both the dark and light sides of topics , issues . “ So my hope is that I took the best wishes that everybody would have in a difficult situation , and presented them truthfully without adding fuel to the fire . I think I found a way that that worked , for all of our best selves to come out in these ten songs . Because there were some situations that were heated or emotional . But for me , as a songwriter , it made it all the more interesting .”
Yamagata says that she hasn ’ t sent these coveted prizes out just yet – she ’ s working on the legal copywriting / publishing ramifications , should said folks proudly start uploading their ostensibly private material . And it ’ s tricky , she confesses . She stands firmly behind these unusual works , and has thought several steps ahead , as in , would it be possible to one day assemble them all as a fullfledged , fan-blessed Rachael Yamagata album ? And will her subjects insist that she play them their songs live , when her tour hits their town ? All good food for thought , she muses . “ In general , the response to this idea has just been pure excitement , though ,” she says . “ Just knowing that an artist they admire is paying them that kind of concentrated attention to do their story . It ’ s one of the coolest things . So if there ’ s a way to do more of this , I will . I mean , can you imagine I could call up Barbara Streisand and go , ‘ Hey – can you write about me ?’ I , for one , would be really , really excited .”
But wait . There ’ s more ! The shrewd songstress also auctioned off handwritten lyrics to her various anthems . And not dusty old scrapbook tatters of original , hastily scrawled snippets from the original sessions , she clarifies . But all-new , carefully-drawn exercises in calligraphy that took her nearly an hour to ink , per songs . One of her cuts was so wordy that she was crossing her cramped fingers that no one would request it ( they didn ’ t ; bullet dodged ). “ The handwritten lyrics , I think , have become a really nice keepsake for the fan to have , especially if the lyrics are really speaking to them – plus , they look nice ,” she explains . “ But they really hurt your hand , so you ’ ve got to stagger them a little bit . But I did each one individually , and there were hundreds .”
The multi-instrumentalist won ’ t pinpoint exactly how lucrative this venture was for her . It was quite a healthy amount , is all she ’ ll confess . But it came with some harsh realities that newcomers should be aware of . “ It was very fruitful , but it ’ s also very expensive to handle the shipping and the manufacturing ,” she elaborates . “ I ’ d like to contribute something more in-depth that lays it out a little bit , because I ’ m not sure everyone understands the realities of just how expensive it can be to market and promote and tour . I ’ ve talked to a lot of artists ( post crowd-funding ) who are like , ‘ God – I made all this money , but then where did it go ?’ So I ’ ve learned a lot over the past couple of years about budgets .”
Somehow , though , after spending time in Chicago , Yamagata managed to purchase a house on 12 woodsy acres in Woodstock , NY , which she and her sound engineer / boyfriend converted to a home studio . This allowed for even more creative freedom , leading to Tightrope , her most experimental effort to date . It opens on the bluesy , skeletal title track , which relates the story of an aerialist drawn to the inherent danger of his craft . “ Some people think he ’ s crazy / Some people want him to fall ,” she sings in her signature smoky , sultry murmur , in a metaphor for her own acrobatic career as a self-reliant singer-songwriter . The stomp-clanking “ Nobody ” follows , with her voice descending into darker , more sinister love-as-addiction territory , leading into a jittery “ EZ Target ,” a Leonard Cohen-forlorn “ Break Apart ,” the symphonic dirge “ I ’ m Going Back ,” and a straightforward folk ballad written for her Japanese-American father , who just retired , “ Black Sheep .” “ Money Fame Thunder ” closes the set out in classy processional style , and – as it reprises certain key lyrics from “ Tightrope Walker ” itself -- plays like a case study of those three subjects on an average aspiring Joe , who may or may not be prepared for any of them . And it brings the record full circle , back to its cynical beginnings .
Yes , Yamagata agrees , it is her most inventive work , to date . “ And it comes from , well , not having a plan ,” she snickers . “ We ’ ve created this home studio where there are no time limits , and we have an amazing group of musicians up here in Woodstock , and we just called them in . So in a very organic setting , we could be very experimental .” Talents like Kevin Salem ,
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