An independent songwriter from Decatur, Georgia, Sara Rachele cut her teeth in the Atlanta scene cleaning out the cupboards at Eddie’s Attic in the early 2000s. Her recent releases, “Strong as My Hands” and “Times Rise Tough,” were recorded live in Atlanta, and feature a few old friends and local players who came back home to where they all got their start.
Sara Rachele will be playing at Smith’s Olde Bar Monday, December 9th, and Alex May talked with her for a bit about her thoughts on music.
As a songwriter, where do you find inspiration for your songs?
I write mainly from my observations of people in my life — things they do and say… don’t do and don’t say. One or two folks get the brunt of it. Been told I’m a bit of an over-sharer, writing songs is my workaround.
If you could name three artists who have influenced you the most, who would they be?
Some of my earliest memories are of begging my family to turn down Bob Dylan records, I couldn’t stand his rendition of ‘Blue Moon…’ but he really got into my bones. Ani Difranco for prosody, and Melissa Ferrick, her chops as an instrumentalist, they both are just so downtown New York to me… Opened for Melissa in this town recently, she really commands a room.
You recently reached your goal for your Live-to-Tape LP on Pledge Music. How do you feel services like Pledge Music help artists connect more intimately with fans?
Growing up in listening rooms as a kid, I’ve seen that music really has power in a live setting, because fans have a moment with the artist. Those fans want to support the music in a meaningful way- Pledge gives a way for that to happen, anywhere.
What challenges and rewards does recording live to tape offer in comparison to recording individual tracks in a controlled environment?
There’s a lot at stake recording entirely live, so there’s a lot of pressure on us as players. Naturally there’s that tendency to want to go in and fix things til it’s perfect, but with tape it’ll be like life… No redos. A permanent record. The band and I will go into a room and play the songs together, to a tape machine. That’s it. That’s the record.
As social media becomes more prevalent, how important do you think it is to include fans in the recording and performance aspects of your music?
It’s a lifeline. By involving fans in the making of this particular record, we’re folk music in the digital age.
Growing up in Decatur, GA and later moving to New York City, can you compare and contrast some of the things you experienced as a musician in each city?
New York has this thing about it, that makes everything a little more intense, iron ore, double-espresso kind of vibe… You bump into a lot of musicians just because of proximity. Decatur is such a cesspool of philosophy though, JT Hall, Amy Ray & Emily Saliers, Shawn Mullins… Their music keeps me living in the city, but making music and records in my hometown.
What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your music?
When I hear a good true song, I’m a little less lonely. I just hope listeners find themselves in my songs like that.
Thanks again to Sara for taking the time to chat with us!
Grab your tickets to her show on 12/9 at the following link:
