Sunday, August 10, 2014 at 11:59 AM "The Pretty and Witty" An Interview with Rachel Martin "Wildfire" album release, March of 2014 on iTunes As I've mentioned in previous posts, I absolutely love music and finding new artists to listen to. Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to Rachel Martin, an up and coming singer/songwriter. She initially followed me on Twitter (after seeing me tweet Echosmith -- a mutual love of ours) and I ended up listening to her album Wildfire and following her back because I absolutely fell in love. I think her music is the perfect mix of a really acoustic vibe combined with a sort of rock and roll, indie vibe. In other words, it's like she knew I'd be listening and made music that I love. If you're someone who loves Hilary Duff, Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles, or other artists along those lines, I can almost guarantee that you're gonna love Rachel's stuff. My favorite part about her music is, without a doubt, the authenticity of it. You can really tell that all of the lyrics are coming right from the heart and you can also hear all the passion in her voice which is something I really look for. It's really obvious that she's spent a lot of time making sure that every word makes sense and that the music is impeccable -- two things which make a killer impact. I also had the opportunity to interview her and learn more about her and I can safely say that this girl's the whole package -- a great personality, a go-getting kind of attitude, and beyond amazing music. Here's the full interview! : What got you interested in music? I don’t know that there was ever a starting point for my interest in music. It’s like asking me, ‘what got you interested in breathing?’ … I don’t know, I’ve never even consciously thought about it. It’s so natural and central to my existence that I couldn’t imagine life without it. Don’t get me wrong, there was definitely a progression of things that led to my making music, but that’s a different story. Music itself… Since day one. Seriously. Did you always know this was something you'd eventually want to pursue?Honestly, no- it’s kind of extraordinary- but looking back, it’s clear how everything was building up to this. I was always singing, but I never thought it would end up going anywhere. I really loved reading and writing, and I started making up my own stories very young. Around elementary school I started writing them down, and then in middle school, I discovered how much cooler everything sounded when it rhymed, so I started writing poetry. I was playing flute in the band, singing in chorus, and acting in community theatre musicals the whole time, but the combination never struck until seventh grade when I first picked up a guitar. I had found my niche- songwriting. Music, poetry, writing, performance, singing, my love of people… all of it came together. Everything I am points me to this. Who are your biggest musical influences? This is such a hard one, and you think I would’ve worked it out by now because everyone asks. Like, what genre of music do I make? I don’t know, musicy music. But that answer doesn’t fly… I’m like, pop with some indie rock vibes and a bit of country folk alternative… I don’t fit into a box very well, and that’s also probably because I listen to everything and I take in everything so all sorts of music inspires and influences me... I can tell you who I’ve been told I remind people of, and I can tell you some artists I really love, but I am at a loss when I’m asked this question. DARN IT. You got me. Can you describe your entire recording process?Describe my recording experience…? That would be impossible. There are no words to describe the hours and days and days and hours and hours and hours and more hours that I spent in the recording studio. It takes a lot of dedication, I’ll tell you that much. That, and patience, and repetition, and a lot… it takes a lot. Anyways, I’m a very active person and being in the same building for excruciating amounts of time drives me slightly crazy. My producer told me he was going to have to get me one of those mini-trampolines, because I ended up bouncing off the walls a couple hours in to every session… I actually broke the couch in the studio jumping on it, and we never did get a trampoline… ‘Recording’ is a deceptive name, though. It’s a nice, concise, clear little verb, but so much more goes into it behind the scenes. What inspires your lyrics? Life. Experiences. Observing. Remembering. Dreaming. Things I’ve been through, things I’ve seen others go through, things I’ve read about. Sights, sounds, feelings, places, imagination… It’s just musical poetry. It’s everywhere. Part of who I am is my awareness of it and attentiveness to it. When you're not writing/performing/recording, what do you find yourself doing?Practicing, interacting with fans, attempting to manage the business aspect of my music… I take breaks to eat and sleep… that’s it…. I’m only kidding. Well, I’m not, but so much of my time goes into music, it keeps me busy. Even when I’m not ‘music-ing’, it’s in the back of my mind… and I’ve still got senior year of high school and college applications to top it all off. Fitness is huge, too- I do all kinds of things to stay active, both in and out of the gym. I don’t want to get off on a tangent about it, though- I’m pretty passionate about fitness and I could go on forever about it! Just know that when it comes down to it, I just go crazy without activity. I have to work out, and I love to. Other than that, I love people and I love animals, and any chance I get to spend time with some good ones I know, I do. I’ve got a few good friends, my family is pretty close, and I’m not even going to get started about animals, but I really love horses. I’ve been riding since I was 3. I have two dogs and two birds but I’ve never had my own horse and I better stop because again super passionate and I could go on and on and on… But I still need time for myself. I get up early since it’s just about the only free time I have and have a ‘quiet time’ every day. I have a CD set called ‘Hymns For Stress Relief’ that I listen to while I read, and I have breakfast. Nothing else. I don’t turn my phone on until I’ve had that time. Have you felt like you sacrificed parts of your "childhood" as you've produced your own music? Yes and no. Most everyone else my age is just interested in having fun. They do just enough work, and then they goof off. “Cool Kids” by my friends in Echosmith paints a pretty good picture- (if you haven’t heard that song, go listen to it)- I get that song. I’m never invited to parties, I’m never really included, and if I am, I have to force my way there. I don’t connect or fit in with my peers who seem to be having the time of their lives. I’ve struggled with wanting to be like the cool kids- everyone wants to be accepted- but I’m just different. I’m unusually driven, I have a passion, I have a purpose, I have ambition, and I am a very hard worker. Sometimes I wish I could just let go and have fun and be a kid, but that’s not who I am. It’s okay, though. I really believe that I am fulfilling my calling when I give my all. I have absolutely sacrificed parts of ‘childhood’, but it was never that great for me anyways because I am not one of the ‘cool kids’ and I have always been mature beyond my years. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. What's the biggest piece of advice you'd give to new musicians?It’s all a learning process. Even the most experienced people are just professional learners… if you meet anyone who says otherwise, tell them to look around. There will never be a day in your life where you can’t learn something. It's pretty obvious that this girl is going to go really far places and I think it's going to be so cool to be able to say that we were all one of the first to know of such a star. Overall, if you're into really authentic, feel-good music that'll instantly cheer you up, you should definitely check out Rachel Martin's first album, Wildfire. It's full of a lot of cool acoustic variations with the perfect amount of rock, pop and indie mixed together. It's really rare to find music nowadays that isn't just full of superficial lyrics and average beats but I'm tellin ya, this is something different, in the best possible way and so worth the listen. If you're interested in giving Rachel's album a listen (and let's be honest, why wouldn't you be...), here's her full album from Spotify. My personal favorites are Lifeguard, Wildfire, and Wish With Conditions but literally every single song is great. Also, here are all of Rachel's links! Official Site: http://www.rachelmartinmusic.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RM_Music__ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelMartinOfficialMusic iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wildfire/id876895530 Spotify: Rachel Martin – Wildfire Nisha