Rachael Sage: Musical, Artful, and Full of Hope

Since NYC-based artist Rachael Sage began her own record label over twenty years ago, she has steadily released a slew of vibrant and dynamic songs with poetic lyrics that span subjects as wide as her inspirations.

Recently, she released a new remix for her song “Cave,” which is from her critically acclaimed album, Character. The album came out right before the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, and it is an inspirational tribute to survivorship that reflects on concepts such as identity, compassion, and optimism.

Sage wrote “Cave” when she was a teenager and rediscovered it during her 2018 recovery from cancer while sifting through an old box of lyrics.

OFM had the opportunity to chat more with Sage about the remix, as well as her upcoming album and weekly livestream performances on Facebook.Hi, Rachael! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. What can listeners expect from your new remix of “Cave?”
My remix of “Cave” is very world influenced, and there are elements from the original recording, but there are also a lot of exotic rhythms and elements that I had very little to do with. My longtime friend and new collaborator, Don_Cerati—I say that because it is very important to him—he and I met years ago when I first moved to the East Village. We hit it off and we chatted about music every time we saw each other, but it took us upward of 20 years to do a remix together. It feels inevitable and overdue at the same time. I just think he is brilliant, and he brings a lot of diverse musical influences. I like to think the remix sounds like the world at large, more so than just my own singer-songwriter aesthetic.

Can you tell us more about the concept and inspiration behind “Cave?”
I wrote the song when I was in college. When I was a teenager, probably around 17. I was in one of those sophomoric relationships where you learn that your judgment may not be what you thought it was about a person. People do keep secrets from one another, and I suppose in that moment, I had a little bit of my idealism and my romantic tendencies shattered. It was also kind of an awakening for me. I needed to be more careful about who I let closely into my life and heart.

So, perfect songwriting material [laughs]. An interesting little fact is that I wrote that song on a real typewriter sitting in my dorm room. Probably crying after I found out that this person had not been ‘faithful’ to me, and I began that examination of what that even meant. I also think I had the maturity to turn that lens on myself and reckon myself through the song with the concept of truth and honesty within a relationship and realize in other ways, other than the overt way of cheating, I had also been clandestine and hid certain things in terms of my emotions and what I was feeling. It was kind of like relationship 101. A lot of angst.

In terms of why I recorded it, I actually never recorded it before. It stayed as a piece of writing in a journal, and I found it in a drawer when I was in my cancer treatment a few years ago. It was so similar to the dynamic I was experiencing within that relationship, so I just thought, this finally needs to go on an album. What has been very interesting is that during the pandemic, it seems to have struck a chord when I have played it live for all kinds of folks who are at home doing their best to maintain boundaries and be loving within their relationships.

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“Cave” is from your album Character, which came out last March. How has the album been received over the past year?
It has been humbling that the album has been so well received, especially during a time when music has become very important and vital to a lot of people. I did not know what to expect. It came out right as the pandemic and worldwide chaos began. I am proud of it, and I believe a great deal that it was something that helped me personally through my own experience with cancer. It was the first music that I made as I was recovering, and it was equal parts therapeutic, but also very joyful. I was eager to get back into the life I love and tour. I was having a sort of personal renaissance just as all the lockdowns began. It was jarring for everyone, every single human on this planet.

I was also grateful that I had this work. I had about a month of touring behind it when my tour was unceremoniously halted, and I had been out with my childhood idol, Howard Jones, who is just a wonderful human being. He is so loving and generous, so I really had one of the great career moments in my life. Then, of course, it all stopped very abruptly with lockdown, but I had a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for what I just experienced. I hope that comes through in my music too.

I feel like it is something people have been able to latch on to, especially the song “Blue Sky Days,” which is about seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. For me, it was my treatment, and for the world, it is being able to get out of lockdown and recover from this once in a lifetime crazy experience. I do not want to call it a nightmare because I know there have been silver linings about it for many people, but for others, they have not seen those just yet. I think the album has been an anthem about patience and gratitude.

How has your cancer treatment journey been going?
As far as I know, I am doing fine! I have to have these tests every six months, which you can imagine are not so much fun, especially during times of COVID. They can be stressful. I am waiting until my second vaccine to have another one of those tests. I had one last year during lockdown, and I think it is so crucial to have that follow up treatment course, I encourage everyone to continue to do that, but I am so close to being able to get the vaccine that I am going to wait until then. God willing, everything will be fine.You have a new album slated to come out in August. What can you tell us about that?
Tentatively in August, somewhere around then. It is a spoken word album, and I am going to put it out under a different project name, but it will not be too hard to figure out that it is me. It is a very collaborative project that I started, literally, with an interface, a laptop, and microphone all sitting on an ironing board in a rented Airbnb. That is where I ended up when my tour was canceled, and I began recording it in Connecticut.  I was staying outside of New York while things were kind of at their peak of confusion. I am just grateful for even that minimal technology to be creative.

I have been writing poetry for about 25 years, but over the last year or so, it became more of a prolific endeavor for me. I started doing something that I never would have expected to have yielded some of these poems, but it was recommended to me by an integrative doctor to journal or write about what I was feeling. I was really no good at that because I did not have the discipline to pick up and journal and do it, but what I started doing was just opening up a Facebook post, of all things, I was always on there, and spontaneously writing a poem in verse and letting it flow off the top of my head.

It always had to be in some kind of verse or meter, these poetic devices. I did not censor myself at all, and they were like poetic improvs from the top of my head. I would try to do them as frequently as I could. Then, my rule for myself was that no matter what it was, I had to post it. I could not edit or rewrite it at that moment. Maybe later on my own time, but that is where a great deal of these poems came from. I later recorded them and added layers of music from all over the globe. Different musicians I have known for years, and some news ones too. It is an interesting project. I hope people enjoy it.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?
I think so! At least as long as I can remember. I have always had a passion for playing piano as soon as I figured out that it was a magical thing where you could basically hit buttons. I was 2, and someone either plopped me down at my living room piano or I made my way to it with my legs dangling off the bench, and I just started playing with my right hand only. It really did seem like magic to me because I very quickly realized that there was a connection between what I felt emotionally and what I could express with my hand. I was only playing with one hand, kind of like Thing from The Addams Family. People used to call me that when they would see me play with one hand.

Eventually, my parents, who are not musical at all, they still knew that I should be playing with two hands. They would be like, ‘Honey, I think Billy Joel plays with both hands.’ So, I started playing with like one finger at a time with my left hand. Then I eventually started writing my own songs. I think the singing was sort of a natural offshoot of the composing, and that came maybe a year or two before.

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What do you hope audiences take away from your music?
I hope that they take away that they are in control of their own lives. I feel like everything I create and output, I am aiming to be a metaphor for self-empowerment. I also hope people feel encouraged to empower others. People they care about in their lives.  Be this positive ripple effect. I want to be this tool and language to hopefully impact the world in a positive way and express the energy I hope to see change in the world. Also, I am not above a little bit of catharsis. I was a drama major. If there is anything I can express to help make others feel less alone, I think that is a huge privilege of my job as a musician.

You have been doing weekly livestream concerts, specifically your Sunday night show, Stay in with Sage. How have those been going, and has it been challenging to stay connected with fans during these times of COVID?
Great question. I started doing it immediately, and it was such a natural process. I did not consider whether it would be difficult to sustain it, but then once I was doing it, I think I maybe became a little bit addicted knowing that I would be able to serenade my listeners every Sunday. It became just as vital for me as I like to think it is for them. We have this wonderful ongoing rapport now, and I look forward to every Sunday evening at 6 p.m. EST on my Facebook page with delight and anticipation.

I never know what I am going to do, it is very spontaneous. Occasionally, I do a themed show around a holiday or event. Usually, it is just a combination of what I would do live on tour and what I am feeling that week. I might play a handful of songs, do some poems, check in with everyone and see how they are doing. It is certainly not a replacement for live shows and live touring, but it is the next best thing. I do not know how many I have done at this point, but there have been many, many shows. I stopped counting.

I would not say it is difficult, although there are definitely days where I feel a little lazy and it may be two or three in the afternoon, and I am like, I don’t feel like doing this. I would rather take a walk or sit down and even write a new song, but I really try to stick with it and never cancel unless I absolutely have to. I am grateful that I am able to do it, and I am going to continue to do it in one form or another.What do you miss the most about performing in front of a live audience?
Everything. It is my favorite thing to do in life. To have that incredible sacred connection with an audience, it is such a reflection of an elusive form of trust with these folks you may or may not know or may or may not have ever met. You may know some of them very well, but there is this suspension of disbelief. They are coming to see you and hear you do something a little unusual that maybe they feel that cannot do themselves. Maybe they are fellow musicians, and they are just reveling in seeing your expression.

There is just such a sense of awe that I have that we can all be in the same space having the same experience together. That is what I miss the most. There are other things in life that do imbibe one with that feeling, but they are few and far between. For me, the minute that I was bitten by that bug, that was it for me. I love recording, running a business, and nurturing other artists, but there is nothing like a live performance with an actual audience.

You have also been involved with a few virtual benefits and fundraisers. Do you have any coming up?
I do! I am doing something soon with the folks from The Ladybug Festival. It is called The Ladybug Festival J.A.M. Session. They are an amazing group because they present concerts comprised of all female artists, ongoing, but now, this will be their very first ongoing series of music industry tiered events and workshops. I am very honored to be a part of that, and the goal is to inform, encourage, and uplift others in independent music. Hopefully, I have something to offer via my experience, but there are some other amazing folks on that panel. That is March 22 at 7:30 p.m. You can find out more information about it on my website.

I am also in the process of choosing my next beneficiary for my ongoing Stay in with Sage series. I am floating a few ideas around, and I am looking to highlight a New York-based organization that helps the homeless and/or folks experiencing food insecurity during these incredibly challenging times. There is no shortage of wonderful organizations to support.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention our plug?
I am sure there must be, but I think you hit on the main ones! Just keep an eye out for the new album, new videos, and new visual expressions.

Stay up-to-date with Sage by following her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or visit her official website. Her music is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and all other digital streaming platforms.   

Photos Courtesy of Mark Anton Smith and Charlotte Davies