{"id":17779,"date":"2017-11-20T10:52:22","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T17:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=17779"},"modified":"2017-11-22T01:26:58","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T08:26:58","slug":"videoexclusive-interview-rachael-sage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2017\/11\/videoexclusive-interview-rachael-sage\/","title":{"rendered":"Video+Exclusive Interview RACHAEL SAGE"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_17793\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17793\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-17793 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-4-081717RachaelSage1191_edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-4-081717RachaelSage1191_edit.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-4-081717RachaelSage1191_edit-300x209.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17793\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein<\/p><\/div>\n<h1>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview<br \/>\nMusician:\u00a0 <strong>RACHAEL SAGE<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3>Video:\u00a0 <strong><em>Joy! <\/em>EP\u2014Exclusive Stream<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/241218207\" width=\"660\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Hear The <em>JOY!<\/em>\u00a0 Rachael Sage Debuts First Holiday EP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Award-Winning NYC Songstress Rachael Sage Shares New Holiday Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Award-winning New York City songstress Rachael Sage never ceases to surprise. Whether it\u2019s her innovative, often handmade stage-costumes or unlikely collaborations with artists like Howard Jones and Judy Collins, the colorful multi-instrumentalist is never afraid to give things her own spin. <em>Joy!<\/em>, her first EP of holiday-centric material, is no exception. The collection includes two original Hanukkah songs, a Yiddish ballad, and a cover of the timeless holiday classic \u201cJoy To the World\u201d with percolating acoustic guitar, chamber strings and an exuberant but intimate vocal delivery.<\/p>\n<p>Rachael Sage is a soulful vocalist and innovative multi-instrumentalist who performs over 150 dates a year\u2014throughout the US, UK, Europe and Asia. Her songs have appeared on MTV, HBO, Lifetime, Discovery and TLC\u2014and in the remake of the movie <em>Fame<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Joy!<\/em> features members of her touring band, The Sequins, along with a variety of special guests including cellist Dave Eggar (Phillip Phillips) and violinist Rachel Golub (Adele, Bruce Springsteen). The new Holiday EP was produced by Sage and mixed by Grammy winner Andy Zulla and Grammy nominee John Shyloski.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with Rachael about her songwriting, her creative drive, her fondness for the holiday spirit and the inspiration behind her new Holiday EP.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>RACHAEL SAGE <\/strong>Web-Exclusive Interview<br \/>\nwith\u00a0<strong><em>M Music &amp; Musicians<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>magazine publisher,<strong> Merlin David<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>What inspired you to record this Holiday EP\u00a0<\/strong><strong><em>Joy!<\/em><\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019ve always loved Christmas music, and actually wrote a song when I was a little kid called \u201cI Love You More Every Christmas,\u201d which I intended to be a duet about a couple fighting on the holiday\u00a0who realize they should resolve their conflict and just love each other better. Not surprisingly, as an assimilated Jew who listened to Top 40 from a tender age, I always had a fondness for the \u201choliday spirit\u201d and the more secular aspect of Christmas\u2014the pretty holiday lights, the gift-giving, and\u2014the music.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you assimilate?<\/strong><br \/>\nI went to a Christian school growing up and was one of only two Jewish students. So every year, my mom would field the inevitable question, \u201cIs it OK if I sing a solo in the Christmas show?\u201d just in case I was picked. She\u2019d tell me yes, it was fine, and remind me that Irving Berlin composed the classic \u201cWhite Christmas\u201d\u2014so it would be great if someday I could write a great holiday song too. I was also encouraged to write Hanukkah music, since all we really had was \u201cDreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel,\u201d but it just didn\u2019t happen\u2014until now.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17787\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17787\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-17787 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-1-covershot_edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-1-covershot_edit.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-1-covershot_edit-300x252.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17787\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>How did <\/strong><strong><em>Joy!<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u00a0evolve?<\/strong><br \/>\nA few years back, I started doing an annual holiday show at New York City\u2019s Joe\u2019s Pub. I titled the show \u201cTchatchkes &amp; Latkes,\u201d without any intention of writing a song with the same title. The night before the first show, it just kind of poured out. I hadn\u2019t even memorized it yet, so I read it from a journal, and that was really the seed from which this project grew.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When did you write the other songs?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cHanukkah in the Village\u201d was written for my second reprise of the show. And last year I arranged \u201cJoy to the World\u201d for a holiday charity benefit my drummer invited me to play\u2014with the strict direction that I could only play one original and one Christmas carol. I don\u2019t do covers often, but once I\u2019d recorded it, I felt like I had the makings of a collection and that it was a good balance of slightly unexpected and quirky holiday fare.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHanukkah in the Village\u201d paints a beautifully detailed portrait of New York City.<\/strong><br \/>\nThis song was also part of the evolution of my annual show \u201cTchatchkes &amp; Latkes\u201d at Joe\u2019s Pub. But the visual image that sparked the song was literally the holiday sale sign in the Patricia Field boutique on Bowery in NYC, which I could in fact see from my window\u2014like the first line suggests.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Could you actually see it from your window?<\/strong><br \/>\nYes. One of my early gigs was working as a window dresser, and I always appreciate a great, creatively decorated window\u2014which that store consistently delivered. It\u2019s a very tongue in cheek song lyrically about all the not-exactly-spiritual things that comprise \u201choliday spirit\u201d in NYC\u2019s East Village\u2014like clothing sales at boutiques, buying frozen latkes at Whole Foods, coming up with the right gift for a loved-one\u2014concert tickets, musical boxed sets, pajamas. I wanted some of the absurdity of the holiday frenzy to come through in the lyrics but then I tried to juxtapose that with a very romantic, straightforward ballad arrangement. Live, most people seem to tap into the humor right away, but I\u2019ve also noticed that some people listen to the recording and just think it\u2019s a \u201cpretty Hanukkah song.\u201d I\u2019m OK with that too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about recording your first Yiddish song \u201cUmru\u00a0Meine\u201d?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019ve always wanted to learn to sing in Yiddish. About a year ago, I was presented with the opportunity to sing in a choir with The National Yiddish Theatre, supporting the brilliant Mandy Patinkin, in a Yiddish rendition of \u201cSomewhere over the Rainbow\u201d\u2014at a benefit concert.<\/p>\n<p><strong>He seems to have an intensity that connects with everything he does.<\/strong><br \/>\nIt was so inspiring seeing him have such a visceral connection to our mother tongue, and I suppose it spurred me on. I, unfortunately, didn\u2019t know my grandparents. I\u2019ve never really had a way into learning Yiddish to speak, let alone sing. But soon after, the musical director of the theatre company, Zalmen Mlotek, offered to teach me the words and melody to the original \u201cUmru Meine\u201d\u2014and he sent me an MP3 of him playing it himself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is this the original version?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019ve never been very good at covering exactly what someone else does, so I set it to my own piano arrangement, composed a new bridge, and showed up to rehearsal a little \u201cover-prepared.\u201d Story of my life I suppose. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I know I do this to compensate for my insecurity over not being able to read music, but sometimes it works in my favor and helps me really make a song my own. I had a debut performance last spring at a Mother\u2019s Day benefit for The National Yiddish Theatre, and I am so grateful to be able to include it on this EP.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17786\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17786\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-17786 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-2-081717RachaelSage1215_edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"556\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-2-081717RachaelSage1215_edit.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-2-081717RachaelSage1215_edit-300x253.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17786\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What\u00a0did you learn about yourself during the recording of this Holiday album?<\/strong><br \/>\nI learned that I probably have another full album\u2019s worth of holiday material in me. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) And summer is a great time to start getting into the holiday spirit. I have absolutely no problem channeling the holidays in warm weather. Maybe this explains my annual urge to spend December and January in California.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about your writing process.<\/strong><br \/>\nI used to write down every idea I ever had in little notebooks and have a constant record of my every creative reflection. For a long time this worked pretty well for me, and I\u2019d go back to those ideas and spin them into songs, when I was lucky. But the older I get, the less I do that. I think it\u2019s because I realized I was looking inward so often, I wasn\u2019t living my life as much as I could\u2014 so as to actually have more, substantively, to share.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What songwriting tip would you like to offer?<\/strong><br \/>\nI would encourage songwriter to be more adventurous in their \u201creal life,\u201d even if it\u2019s just a day or two a week. And to remember that with the arts, you really are what you eat. Each one of us has so much to express but it\u2019s easy to fall into the trap of expressing one or two things in a variety of different ways. People ask me now how I write songs\u2014whether at the piano or the guitar or in my head walking down the street or recording in an iPad. It\u2019s nice to be able to say yes, all of that\u2014and also in the shower or banging on a djembe. Try to be flexible, and say yes to that invitation to go skydiving or even just to a museum, a movie or to a rally for something you believe in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When did this shift happen for you?<\/strong><br \/>\nI worked on my craft with an almost tunnel vision for many years, in my teens and 20s\u2014at the expense of friendships, relationships and even my personal health. But now I\u2019m catching up on widening my life-perspective, and I\u2019ve never been more excited about songwriting, even if I don\u2019t write quite as frequently.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you think it\u2019s important for musicians to write songs that have greater social value\u2014in hopes of eliciting change?<\/strong><br \/>\nFor me, it\u2019s been vital. But it\u2019s hard to speak for others. Earlier this year I wrote my EP <em>The Tide<\/em> very quickly and unexpectedly, and felt a need to share my handful of socially-conscious songs as soon as possible\u2014and to do something positive by donating the proceeds to American Refugee Committee. The musicians I recruited were well aware of the nature of the project and we all connected in a very emotional way to the content\u2014focusing on topics like intolerance and gun violence, but also on our inevitable humanity and vulnerability.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17785\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17785\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-17785 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-3-081717RachaelSage1044_edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-3-081717RachaelSage1044_edit.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-3-081717RachaelSage1044_edit-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17785\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Was there a lesson learned?<\/strong><br \/>\nIn general, art reflects society, and so it becomes important to give voice to the voiceless\u2014but also to entertain and provide hope and escapism, when necessary. I look at it as a balance\u2014just like no one person can walk through life only focusing on the horrors we see on the news, without also giving or receiving some love, some uplift in their life. With so much violence and instability, it\u2019s a pretty easy time for a lot of people to go crazy, literally and figuratively\u2014which is why art is ever more important as an emotional safety-valve.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What song of yours addresses some of these socio-political issues that haunt our society?<\/strong><br \/>\nAll of the songs on <em>The Tide<\/em> address these issues in one way or another, but my favorite is the EP closer, \u201cTomorrow.\u201d I cowrote it with my guitarist James Mastro (Ian Hunter, Garland Jeffreys) right after the Presidential election, and we were basically shell-shocked and commiserating with each other at dinner in London. The dinner chat turned into a challenge for us to go back to my hotel room and write a song reflecting how we both felt, but with some kind of hopeful spin on how having a divisive, reality star-president might eventually unify more people to come together \u201ctomorrow,\u201d in the broadest sense. There is always hope, in the aftermath of shock\u2014because that\u2019s when many people finally wake up to their beliefs and act upon them\u2014and when people comfort one another and find their individual voices, in times of duress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You play a Casio\u00a0Privia, a Guild acoustic guitar and a Martin acoustic guitar. Are there any other\u00a0instruments\/equipment\u00a0you\u00a0use?<\/strong><br \/>\nI play a lot of different instruments in the studio, but yes, my Casio Privia and Guild acoustic are my longtime live road axes, and I love them so much because they sound great and travel so well. In the studio, I always play a Steinway grand piano\u2014a through-line on all 12 albums, and a Wurlitzer electric piano that John Lee Hooker introduced me to when I met him in college and used to go over to his house and jam on it. I\u2019d never heard of, let alone played, one\u2014until I met him\u2014and now it\u2019s my main composing instrument. I also record with a beautiful 1966 Martin acoustic, as well as two Gretsch electric guitars that have made recent appearances in my music videos. I recently acquired a gorgeous orange Gretsch semi-hollow electric guitar from the legendary guitar shop Matt Umanov, which is sadly closing after 50 years. It happens to be on my block, and I\u2019ll miss that place so much. It was really an institution.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17784\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17784\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17784\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-6-with-Howard-Jones-Photo-credit-Amanda-Rose.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-6-with-Howard-Jones-Photo-credit-Amanda-Rose.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-6-with-Howard-Jones-Photo-credit-Amanda-Rose-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17784\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachael Sage, supporting Howard Jones, Union Chapel, London, 28th March 2017<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Wait, you hung out with John Lee Hooker?<\/strong><br \/>\nWe met when I was a college DJ at Stanford. His organ player\u2019s day job was delivering kegs to my dorm for happy hour, and I played piano at every happy hour. He sat down next to me, complimented my playing and asked if I wanted to come over the next weekend and meet Johnny Lee. I mentioned I was also a DJ and asked if I could interview JLH. He said he was sure JLH would love that. That\u2019s how we first met. We became very good friends my junior year. I visited him frequently, had dinners, brought friends, watched videos and listened to music together. I even accompanied him to the Bay Area Music Awards, where he asked me who \u201cthat young fellow was,\u201d when Elvis Costello was doing a tribute to him. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) It was an amazing experience getting to know him, and a lot of our relationship is reflected in my song \u201cBlue Light,\u201d a few albums back [2008\u2019s <em>Chandelier<\/em>].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sad about Matt Umanov Guitars closing.<\/strong><br \/>\nVery sad about this but you can read all about it on their Facebook Page. I was in a couple weeks ago\u2014everything was being sold at a heavy discount and the mood is definitely somber. What I\u2019ve gathered from a friend who works there is simply that Matt did it for 50 years, looked around at the landscape and basically decided, \u201cI don\u2019t have to do this anymore.\u201d So many guitarists and singer-songwriters relished that place. I bought my first acoustic guitar, the 1966 Martin, there many years ago\u2014even before I could really play.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there anything special you do to take care of your voice?<\/strong><br \/>\nI warm up before every gig and every vocal recording session. That\u2019s a no-brainer, but I\u2019m always amazed how many of my peers seem to think they don\u2019t need to. I also warm <em>down<\/em> after gigs, especially if I have to do a lot of chatting after\u2014with folks at the merch table. Talking actually wears on my voice much more than singing, so that becomes very important on tour. And I eat well\u2014avoid dairy, chocolate, alcohol, etc. But more importantly, I just try to be as healthy as possible\u2014eating plenty of greens, carrots, plant-based protein (hummus, nuts, avocado), and drink tons of water.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17783\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17783\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17783\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-7-with-Howard-Jones-Photo-credit-Amanda-Rose.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-7-with-Howard-Jones-Photo-credit-Amanda-Rose.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-7-with-Howard-Jones-Photo-credit-Amanda-Rose-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17783\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachael Sage, supporting Howard Jones, Union Chapel, London, 28th March 2017<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Top 5 Musicians\u00a0who inspired you to become a Musician?<\/strong><br \/>\nBilly Joel, Carole King, Buddy Holly, Loretta Lynn, Elvis Presley.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top 5 favorite albums of all time?<\/strong><br \/>\nSorry, I have to list seven\u2014I can\u2019t choose:<br \/>\n<em>Piano Man<\/em> (1973) \u2013 Billy Joel<br \/>\n<em>The Unforgettable Fire<\/em> (1984) \u2013 U2<br \/>\n<em>I Do Not Want What I Haven\u2019t Got<\/em> (1990) \u2013 Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor<br \/>\n<em>Marc Cohn<\/em> (1991) \u2013 Marc Cohn<br \/>\n<em>Maria McKee<\/em> (1989) \u2013 Maria McKee<br \/>\n<em>99.9F\u00b0<\/em> (1992) \u2013 Suzanne Vega<br \/>\n<em>Rhythm and Repose<\/em> (2012) \u2013 Glen Hansard<\/p>\n<p><strong>How was your recent tour with Howard Jones\u2014someone you\u2019ve admired for a long time?<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen we were in London, we performed at a gorgeous venue called Union Chapel, which is a beautiful church that just sounds otherworldly. The sound mixes itself because the reverb is so gorgeous. After soundcheck, a photographer wanted to shoot Howard and me sitting side by side at our keyboards, which was already amazing. But then we sort of fell into jamming on \u201cNo One is to Blame\u201d\u2014which is something I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever forget. He\u2019s such a lovely, down-to-earth person, and has a way of immediately putting you at ease\u2014which is the mark of a true mensch, in my book.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17782\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17782\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17782\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-8-with-John-Lee-Hooker.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-8-with-John-Lee-Hooker.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-8-with-John-Lee-Hooker-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17782\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachael Sage with John Lee Hooker<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Tell us another \u201cpinch me\u201d moment, where you found yourself saying, \u201c<\/strong><strong><em>Wow, this is really happening to me!<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nThe biggest \u201cpinch me\u201d moment I\u2019ve ever had was in the studio recording \u201cHelpless\u201d with Judy Collins, at Avatar Studios. I literally turned to my engineer, and said those words. And he did. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remember the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 1998, I released \u201cSistersong,\u201d which had been inspired by the brilliant Ani DiFranco. It was my attempt at gratitude for her incredible courage and boldness as a songwriter and performer who \u201cwalked the walk\u201d and was living her life with so much integrity and honesty. I really looked up to her when I was in college, and in many ways her music helped lift me up during a very dark time, so I really felt indebted. One day when I was just sitting alone in my apartment, I heard \u201cSistersong\u201d on WFUV\u2014and I almost broke a wall doing cartwheels. It was a pretty amazing feeling. Later, I ran into the fabulous DJ and music director Rita Houston, who told me she really liked the song\u2014so that added another level of excitement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019m smack in the middle of recording my next full album, <em>Myopia<\/em>, which is slated for a May 2018 release. This winter, I\u2019m going to be doing some more shows in the U.S. with Howard Jones\u2014so keep an eye out very soon for those details on my website.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can new fans to\u00a0stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.RachaelSage.com\">www.RachaelSage.com<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.Facebook.com\/rachaelsagepage\">www.Facebook.com\/rachaelsagepage<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.Instagram.com\/rachael_sage\">www.Instagram.com\/rachael_sage<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.Twitter.com\/rachaelsage\">www.Twitter.com\/rachaelsage<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17781\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-5-Joy_2500x2500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-5-Joy_2500x2500.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-5-Joy_2500x2500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rachael-Sage-5-Joy_2500x2500-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview Musician:\u00a0 RACHAEL SAGE Video:\u00a0 Joy! EP\u2014Exclusive Stream Hear The JOY!\u00a0 Rachael Sage Debuts First Holiday EP Award-Winning NYC Songstress Rachael Sage Shares New Holiday Collection Award-winning New York City songstress Rachael Sage never ceases to surprise. Whether it\u2019s her innovative, often handmade stage-costumes or unlikely collaborations with artists like Howard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[2391,10168,8377,3155,10170,10169,10171,5407,10172,10173,969,3948,5736,2601,8379,10174,10175,10176,10177,10178,10179,1070,6905,3990,8385,2481,10180,6793,9758,10181,7964,10182,10183,7694,10184,8389,10185,10186,8391,10187,8155,8590,10188,10189,10190,10191,10100,10192,3151,8395,1188,10161,7566,10193,4975,5191,3277,7856,10194,10195,3010,7978,10196,10197,9127,10198,7277,10199,10200,10201,10202,10203,10204,483,482,10205,10206,4490,10207,10208,10209,3938,10048,10210,10211,3616,10212,10213,8402,10214,10215,8157,3184,10216,10217,10218,10219,10220,10221,8645,10222,10223,9708,10224,10225],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17779"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17795,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17779\/revisions\/17795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}