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$22.00 – General Admission
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Rachel Yamagata
Easton, MD — Front porch of producer John Alagia’s house on the Chesapeake Bay.
I am in the studio. And when I say studio, I mean Alagia’s house that we’ve spent weeks converting into a studio. We shipped gear, borrowed microphones, amps, guitars, and a grand piano that’s living in his bedroom (because that’s where we get the best sound). We housed vox mics in his shower for some natural reverb and of course the porch where I write this — a past scene of pre production jams complete with drums made out of cardboard beer cases and recycling bins — cellos stuck in wads of duck tape so as not to slip on the floor, a wurly set up by the table of receipts I’m calling ‘my office’ etc.
The players are my dream team, the kinds that have taken years to find and make history with. We’ve been saying ‘there’s a lot of love in the room’ and there must be because schedules have been routed, carpools arranged — anything to help a girl now financing her own career full throttle. Victor Indrizzo has a week off from Sheryl Crow’s tour and when he’s not doing the dishes has laid down some of the most bad-ass drum tracks that I’ve ever heard. Mike Viola (Candy Butchers, Walk Hard, Get Him To The Greek) has already tracked harmonies to rival The Beach Boys and The Carpenters and truth be told, wears sunglasses while in his pajamas. Michael Chaves (John Mayer, Five For Fighting) is the guru of vibe on guitar, only wears black and insists on sleeping on the couch as if it’s the best room in the house. Kevin Salem (Dumptruck, Yo La Tengo) is still doing additional tracks he dreams up between producing underground Pakistani superstars as well as shuttling English cellist Oli Kraus (Sia, Duffy) down from NYC — the same cellist I once leaned over to my friend at a Beth Orton concert 8 years ago saying ‘someday I’ll have strings like that’, but that’s another story… And of course Tom Freund who will forever be known as Starfish for the way he spreads out in a bed — not that grown men are sharing beds here or anything. He can make you cry when he plays upright.
There is no label — only my own — and I’m pretty sure the artwork for this record will come down to Camera+, the iPhone app that works wonders on pictures. The stash of cash that Dad put away for my wedding has been put to use here along with whatever frequent flyer miles I knew I’d use someday. I launched my PledgeMusic campaign, which a psychic recently told me was karmic. I quickly reached my goal thanks to my incredible fans, and formed my own independent team of folks to get this record out. I must say it is all going along swimmingly.
The songs are deep but not sorrowful and there is a sense of humor in some that can only come out when you are sleeping in a tent and considering the name ‘Frankenfish’ for the album title, but “Chesapeake” won out and Frankenfish became the name of my label. Midway through recording the album, we had a listening party bbq tonight where one person said to me that the songs sound like I’m in control of my own life now and I think she is right. “Chesapeake” has been made with a lot of love in the room (and tequila) and like the Franken fish that can swim and walk on land is surprising the hell outta me.