Dearest Frands,
We’ve reached a pivotal point on the calendar; the beginning of my Birthday Month. A time to reflect over the last year and see how far you’ve come. OK, well, maybe not for everyone. But I’m sure gonna do it. And comparing where things were a year ago versus where they are now, it’s just plain amazing what has changed.
Last year we were in the final weeks of preparation for the release of my EP, Happy Happy. Since then, I’ve been nominated for FOUR WSTW Hometown Heroes Awards, and I was named Favorite Musician (Upstate) in the Delaware Today Magazine Best of Delaware reader poll. I’ve extended my playing area to New York and Chicago. And this past Friday I PACKED the upstairs portion of the World Café Live at The Queen for a lunchtime show. People were turned away at the doors because they were at capacity.  You can go look at a few videos on my YouTube page.
None of these things could have been accomplished without your support. I want to extend a great big hearty thank you to all of you.
So what’s next? Big Things, Folks. BIG.
First and foremost I have added Brian Nowak to the lineup as my brand new guitarist. Guys, if you haven’t seen me play with Brian, you need to come see us. It’s a whole new level of awesome. Here are the dates during which you can see us:
8/6: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Elephant Talk Music Festival
Guys, this is a FREE 3-day music festival featuring artists from all over the East Coast. If you can make it at any point during the weekend, I highly recommend it. The Festival runs from Friday through Sunday, and my set is Saturday at 5pm outside The Boneyard.
8/18: WILMINGTON, DE – My Local Birthday Party at Gallucio’s!
Do you like Pizza?  Do you like Me? Great! Come to my birthday party at Gallucio’s! We’re going from 6-8 on the back patio.
8/21: BROOKLYN, NY – My NYC Birthday Party at Spike Hill!
I don’t want my NYC friends and family to feel left out, so I’m having TWO birthday parties! Come out and celebrate with me in Williamsburg, right outside the Bedford Ave. stop on the L. It’s a Sunday, yeah, but my set is at 6 pm so you have plenty of time to get home and go to bed after.
And that’s just THIS month, folks. Philadelphia, I’m coming for you in September with THREE shows! I’ve got a benefit for my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night team on 9/18 at The Legendary Dobbs on South Street, and I’ll be part of two tribute shows as well. And here’s a big announcement:
9/10: WATERBURY, CT – This Connecticut Yankee Returns!
Guys, I love Delaware, I really do. But I miss my home state pretty bad sometimes, and I know you miss me too. So I’ve been trying to come home. It goes down on September 10th at the Freight Street Gallery in Waterbury. We’ll keep you posted on the details. Mark your calendars in the meantime.
I’ve rambled enough for one blog. Love you all, and I can’t wait to see you at a show!
Love,
Rachel

Two blogs in as many weeks!  Who knew?

First of all, thanks to everyone who tuned into Hometown Heroes last Sunday, and extra thanks to those who sent in texts or notes of encouragement during the show.  It was even more fun knowing you all were listening.  If you haven't listened yet, then you are still in luck until next Monday.  Click over to http://www.wstw.com/heroes and scroll down.  You want the show from 3/27.  It's only up for another week, so hurry hurry!  You'll also be treated to some great music from other local musicians like John & Brittany, Leslie Carey, Venice Sunlight, and of course my boys The Hold Up!  I'm heading out to rehearse with them in a little while - they'll be backing me up this Tuesday night at the Blue Parrot!  I'm on at 9pm, and if you're local, RSVP to the Facebook event and come on out!

Yesterday I took a trip down to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms with my Mom and Adam.  All these years living down here and we've never been to see them!  Because of the rain, we started at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History first.  Mom and I really enjoyed the exhibit with all the First Ladies' dresses, and I was super happy to see Colbert's portrait.  It was kind of hidden in a back corner, which made the situation all the more amusing. 

Speaking of DC, are you aware that I'm going to be playing there in just a few short weeks?  Well I am.  My Very First Washington DC Gig has been added to my Events Page, as have a number of other places such as Philadelphia and - Get This - Chicago!  I know, I know.  It seems like just yesterday I was attending my first open mic, scared out of my mind, and now Adam and I are planning our first road trip for a show. Send me all your good car juju as we'll be putting a lot of miles on our poor little car in the next couple of months between all these shows and the trip back up to Boston for the Rethink Music conference at the end of this month.  Which reminds me, I have not yet discussed this with you folks.  I am going to attend the Rethink Music conference in Boston.  Much like the Future Of Music Coalition's Policy Summit, this conference is an opportunity for people in various aspects of the music industry to get together and discuss how the music industry is crumbling and how we can fix it.  More than anything else, I'm excited for the "Artists' Presentation" featuring Damian Kulash, Ben Folds, Neil Gaiman, and Amanda Palmer.  I mean, obviously I'm excited to see the guy from OK Go - if you've talked to me for five minutes ever, you know how I feel about them.  BUT.  When Adam and I got married, I walked down the aisle to "The Luckiest," a Ben Folds song.  And if you knew me in high school, you know that my Senior Quote for the yearbook was "If you need me, me and Neil'll be hanging out with the Dream King," a quote from a Tori Amos song that references Neil Gaiman and his Sandman series.  And Amanda Palmer may be Neil's wife, but she's the one that all us indie musicians are basing our business plans on.  I haven't been to a conference where her name hasn't come up. There is So Much I can learn from her.

So.  I'll be seeing many of you in the next few weeks.  Wouldn't it be nice if you got an EXTRA BIG HUG because of your generosity?  Here's a link to my fundraising page for this year's Light The Night Walk for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  I've put out a few incentives for people who donate again this year, too, but even the smallest donation is appreciated.  I've set the bar kind of high for this year, but last year you all raised $400 in a week and a half, so I think we can do this.

Lots of love to you guys.  Thanks for all your support.  I couldn't do any of this without you.

Hey guys!  Sorry I've been such a blogging disappointment as of late.  But one of my many New Year's Resolutions is to be better at this.  So here goes.

Adam and I spent New Year's with our dear friend Donna, the fiddle player of Gael in the Harbor and Maid of Honor of our wedding (not in that order).  Then on New Year's Day, we saw The King's Speech with her.  It *really* got me missing London.  I'm working on a song, actually, about just that - Missing London.  As if that weren't enough to make me insane, then today I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (for the second time) with my parents.  No, I'm not an Anglophile, why would you think that? ;-)

Speaking of London, here's a short bit from the "Things I never would have expected of Rachel" department.  I am completely and utterly hooked on these TV shows on BBC America where Andrew Lloyd Weber casts the lead in his next production reality singing competition style.  This is surprising because A) as much as I love musical theater, I've never been a fan of Lloyd Weber's, B) I don't really care for reality television, and C) I especially don't like singing competitions on reality television.  But somehow, these shows are complete and utter crack to me.  The last time I was in the UK I saw a poster advertising the winner of the first series ("How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?"), Connie Fisher, doing another run of "The Sound of Music" in the Cambridge train station and I stopped dead in my tracks, whipped out my iPhone, and tried (unsucessfully) to take a photo, because the 3G didn't have a flash on it.  Then my last night in London, my dear friend brought me to a production of Avenue Q, where Princeton was being played by Daniel Boys (finalist in the second series, "Any Dream Will Do").  I totally fangirled over the poor dear at the stage door, shouting "I saw you on TV!"  I think he was amused by the loud little Yank, though.  Now I've discovered that my favorite finalist from this series ("I'll Do Anything"), Rachel Tucker, is playing Elphaba in Wicked on the West End.  And Lee Mead, the winner of "Any Dream Will Do" (who was bloody brilliant and my favorite the whole series) plays Fiyero.  Clearly this means I need to get my behind back over to the UK and see Wicked.  Dearest British residents, please hire me to play a show there.  We can negotiate terms. 

Umm, okay, back to business.  I hit my 500th fan on Facebook during Chanukah as part of a MSI9W-inspired challenge to my Facebook fans.  I told them I'd record a cover of Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song if they could bump my fan total from 472 to 500 before the end of Chanukah.  It was a glowing success, and we've blown through that goal number.  I kept my end of the bargain up by posting this video.  Since I missed Chanukah and Christmas here on RachelSchain.com (I've been so Facebook-centric), I'm giving you folks a few gifts.

1) New(ish) Song!  In October I recorded a wonderful interview with Charlie Silvestri of WCHE's Up Close and Acoustic.  The whole interview is available here (and it's a fun interview), but I've made my song "Unconventionally Yours" available for download EXCLUSIVELY to people on my mailing list.  So, join the mailing list. 

2) (actually) New Song!  My 11/20 New York City show went so well they asked me back.  So hey, NY, I'm coming back on January 15!  This show will celebrate a few firsts: First show of 2011, First show with my new-to-me guitar named Blue, and First time playing with a distortion pedal because this show is going to be the Premiere of my BRAND NEW SONG "Google Thinks We're Dating"!  Woo-hoo!  It's very funny, and very punky - think Indigo GIrls meet Fall Out Boy - about a girl who goes to Los Angeles on vacation, randomly meets some celebrity, and the photo of the encounter gets picked up by all the gossip sites.  So you definitely want to come to the show to say you were there.

3) (can't make the show because you live too far?) Exclusive Webcast!  If you live too far away to make it to the show, but you want to say you were watching the night "Google Thinks We're Dating" was premiered?  We're cool there!  I will be sending an EXCLUSIVE link only to people on my Mailing List so that they can watch the Live Webcast of my NYC show.  So join the mailing list.  You'll get a gift now and in 2 weeks.  Total Win.

One last note before I go; Mark Rogers at WSTW's Hometown Heroes has played my songs twice now.  I am so grateful.  Literally, tonight, I was pulling into the parking lot at the grocery store when "Not My Place" came on.  You may care to look up the show to hear tonight's broadcast when it's posted in the next day or so.  You'll get a great peek into the fantastic Delaware Valley music scene that is growing while you're at it.  Listen live in future weeks and you can even text in a request to hear your favorite song of mine.

Not that I don't love you all, but it was my bedtime about an hour ago.  I hope that 2011 is 10 times as fantastic for you as the last two days of it have been for me.  Thank you all for being so gosh darn amazing.

Love,

Rachel

My friend Sam has a great quote on one of her profiles - "Sometimes you just need to fall and build your wings on the way down."  She's so right, and really I should've had that in my head 2 weeks ago.  But we're back on the wagon now.

This chapter was ridiculously intimidating for me.  Right off the bat it talks about how you've got to think of your fans as customers.  I don't have a problem with that concept at all, but how do I start thinking about my FRIENDS as customers? 

See, I'm still at that burgeoning stage in my career where the vast majority of my supporters are my friends.  Being that I come by the name "The Friendship Borg" honestly (Resistance is Futile, you Will be assimilated), I know a LOT of people.  I think of everyone I know as a "Friend."  If someone is only an acquaintance in my mind, it means I haven't talked to them that much. Asking my friends to buy Happy Happy was extraordinarily hard for me - I mean, shouldn't friends get comp copies?  But really, if my FRIENDS aren't willing to buy my CD, how can I expect anyone else to?  Besides, if it were the other way around, which it often is, I wouldn't let them give me free copies.  So it's all just an excercise in placing value on my art. 

Also, this chapter made me deal with the nagging feeling I've had for weeks that I'm putting the cart before the horse.  I don't think I'm nearly as far along in my career as this book is designed for.  The chapter talks about having mailing lists of at least 1000.  I have 23.  While I LOVE the number 23, I think this is definitely an area to work on (and thankfully is the subject of the next chapter).  Somehow, the Universe kept sending me little tweets of encouragement about how I'm a work in progress and I need to recognize that.  This afternoon I finally broke from that rut when I read an article suggesting that all musicians record tracks for the Holidays and it made me think "Hey, what if I write a great little song and put it out as a bribe MP3 for the season?"  Of course, being that I'm Jewish, Christmas is *so* not my thing.  But I've started on a Chanukah song that I think will appeal to more than just the Tribe.  Think "The Christians & The Pagans" crossed with "A Lonely Jew On Christmas" and you've got a good idea.  So I'll start playing that song out next month, and tell people they can get the MP3 by signing up for my mailing list.  Genius. 

The main excercise in this week's chapter is to send out a newsletter, which I have done.  TaDa!  If you didn't get it delivered to your inbox, well, that's because you aren't signed up for my mailing list.  It's super easy to do - just put your email address into that little box on the right and hit "submit."

On a personal note, if you haven't seen it in any of the other places I've posted it we managed to raise $426 towards Claire's efforts in memory of her husband, Dave.  I'm so proud and thrilled to have accomplished this.

I'll get the next post up in the next few days, before I head to the FMC Policy Summit.  That is a Promise.

Hello darlings!

So much for getting this week done earlier, huh?  Oh well.  I'll catch up.  Besides, there are so many exciting things to talk to you about in my world right now, and how apropos that they should happen in the week coinciding with the MSI9W chapter on Blogging, eh?

This week has two parts - writing my own actual blog and starting reading other people's blogs.  We'll get back to part 2 momentarily.

Part one (subtitled: "Oh how I loved everybody else when I finally got to talk so much about myself")  (that's a quote from a Dar Williams song, "What Do You Hear In These Sounds" and if you don't know it go click on the link right now).

Ariel wants us blogging about our lives.  OK, you got it.

This has been an amazingly exciting week in Rachel-land.  Adam, Ginny, and I celebrated Rosh Hashanah down in Baltimore with Mom, The Dadu, and Jeter.  Mom made the traditional Rosh Hashanah meal of baked chicken with onions and carrots and served it up with raisin-laden challah (I'm pretty sure that it's in the Torah somewhere that we eat that for RH, and if not the Torah, at least the Talmud).  After Sundown Thursday night, I popped up to Philadelphia on a whim to play the McGillin's Pub Open Mic hosted by my friend Kelvin of the Absolute Zeros.  I did a little promotion for my Friday night gig at Lickety Split while I was there and met some nice people.  I'm definitely planning to come back.

Friday morning I received emails from Music Alley, the Podcast music service that Ariel suggested we sign up for in week 4, saying that 3 of my songs were being played by a podcast in Ireland.  No, really.  I've listened to it and I'm thrilled.  Even though the guy is speaking in Gaelic and I can't really understand him except when he's reading website addresses.  (I've got a few friends who sort of speak Gaelic, though, and I've asked for a translation.)

Then sometime later on Friday morning, I was pondering creative ways to use social media to get people to listen to me (I swear; This is what I think about now) and I had the GENIUS idea to broadcast my Friday night gig live from my iPhone.  Oh G-d do I love my iPhone, my genius mind, and the combination of the two together.  I teased the option of people tuning into the stream mid-day on Facebook and Twitter.   That night for the actual stream, even on short notice, I had 8 different computers logged in.  Shout outs to LIberalgeek, Jim from Summit Entertainment (who was my boss when I hosted Karaoke in my early 20s), Debbie, The Wolfe Family, my in-laws, and my parents, btw.  And to the other two viewers, whomever you might've been.  This experiment was a great success, and there is no doubt that we'll do it again.  Especially for an artist like myself who has so many fans scattered all over the country and the world, I will be posting more shows for you all to see.  I only wish I'd thought of this for the CD release show. 

After the stream, My Brilliant Friend/Fan Debbie tweeted about the set.  See, I covered a song by my Favorite Band-not-available-in-the-USA, The Hoosiers.  Debbie, also being a Hoosiers fan, tweeted about it, and not 10 minutes later we had a response from Irwin Sparkes, their lead singer who kind of looks like Ben Stiller.  Attention from one of my favorite bands?  That's enough to make this an epic weekend.

But wait, there's more.

Saturday I went up to Union County MusicFest for the first of two free days of music.  The number one reason to go?  Seeing OK Go.  So, um, remember how I talked about them in the last blog entry, saying that I probably wouldn't have ever pursued this as a career without their example?  Just wanted to make sure you remembered.  Luckily before the show I had an opportunity to talk to Dan Konopka, the drummer, and give him 4 copies of Happy Happy.  One for each of them.  I won't lie, folks, I got a little choked up when I told him that the EP probably wouldn't have ever been made if not for OK Go.  He thanked me for saying so.  He had to run off, so I didn't get to elaborate too much, but hopefully I'll have a chance to someday.  Their set was, as per usual, totally killer and I fangirled it up with Katy-my-invisible-robot, Adam, and fellow fangirl Sam.  But then when I woke up the next morning, I had an email from Dan.  The guys all listened to the CD on their way to their hotel that night, and they enjoyed it.  No, REALLY.  I don't think I have to tell you how I felt about that.  It's not every artist that gets to play their music for their idols and get positive feedback.

So this weekend, in addition to being played on a podcast on the other side of an ocean and playing a great set (if I do say so myself), I was acknowledged as an artist in some capacity or another by members of my two favorite bands.  I'll call that a success.

The rest of this blog is being reappropriated to wave 3.  To be posted later today.

So this is going to be a "getting to know Rachel" post in addition to an Ariel-related one.

I get that there are people who aren't into the internet.  I'm not one of them.

I remember my first experiences with the internet.  My Dad introduced me to the BBS back in the 80's.  Then we had Prodigy.  Then I begged and begged and we got AOL, much to my Dad's chagrin.  I took a typing class in school, but I really learned to type in the Sailor Moon Chat Rooms on AOL.  (1996, what's up?!)  Then in college AIM was THE thing.  So when Facebook and Myspace started to gain acceptance, I was all over them.  I've had Facebook since it was only available to college students, and Myspace since moving down to Delaware 5 years ago.  These tools have actually made me some of my dearest friends and sent me on trips to other states and countries where I might not have been able to go. I'm all about Social Media. 

Also, well, there are the stories that gave me the courage to do this in the first place.  I'd been an idiot for years, waiting for some big record company exec to come find me.  Then two artists helped me figure out that there was another way.

1) OK Go.  They're my favorite band, period.  They have been for years, long before anyone ever thought about dancing on treadmills, and they're fully aware of this fact.  For some crazy reason, Radio does not like them.  For some even crazier reason, this was somehow an excuse for the major label where they'd been signed to ignore their existence.  This makes no sense.  If you are a major label, and you have an investment in a band, you ought to be doing things to promote that band.  If Radio isn't working, then try something else.  But Major Label In Question was not on that bandwagon.  So OK Go took things in their own hands.  They put out a video for A Million Ways, where they danced in the lead singer's backyard in a routine choreographed by his big sister, and by accident it became a viral hit.  MLIQ was not happy, but they let it slide.  So then they figured if they could do it by accident, they could do it on purpose, and then created The Treadmill Video.  MLIQ wasn't going to let it see the light of day, but they didn't care.  They put it out anyway.  It went so viral it defined the idea of a Viral Video.  They sold more copies of their CD after that video than they did in the initial relase, more than a year thereafter.  They have proven that someone with talent and a good idea can break the mould of traditional methods of promotion.

Lessons Learned: I don't have to depend on some major label discovering me and finding some way to make me appealing, because even if I do get signed to one they aren't actually going to protect their investments.  Also, I don't have to be a skinny, blonde dancer who can't sing.  There can be another way.

2) Ingrid Michaelson.  I've known Ingrid for years.  Well, let me rephrase.  We went to the same college and were in shows and theater companies and social circles together.  I first met her because she lived on the same floor as a guy I was dating when I was a senior in high school.  I think very highly of her as a person and as an artist.  Then, a few years after college, she just plain blew up.  See, she put up a myspace with her music.  The right people heard it, and the next thing she knew her songs were being played on Grey's Anatomy and Old Navy commercials (at least that's how the Wall Street Journal reported things).  Whoa.  That was a huge wake up call for me.  Ingrid didn't wait to be discovered.  She produced her own CD, put it out there for the world, and the world responded.

Lessons Learned: The internet is a powerful tool.  It is possible to do this without any kind of label backing whatsoever now.

These lessons in the power of the Internet and Social Networking gave me the courage I needed to start pursuing Singing as a career in the first place.  So I have a Myspace, I created a Facebook FanPage as soon as anyone was allowed to, and I have profiles all over the freaking net.  You don't have to ask me twice.

This week's lessons are geared mostly towards Musicians who are afraid of using the Net to market themselves, and I did a lot of the "make your brand match all over the net" last week, but I still was able to glean a few very valuable ideas from the chapter.

• I created accounts for myself on Delicious and Google Reader (follow me, I'm RachelSchain at gmail you know the rest).  I can cut my reading time down by 90% having all my bookmarks and stories delivered to me, and I can even increase my awareness by that same token.  This gives me more time to respond, participate, and engage.  AWESOME. Also, I have a category for sites I should be visiting daily, to act as a kind of to do list.  That way I don't forget about profiles.
• Ariel's book also turned me onto Music Alley, a website where you can submit your music to be played on loads of internet radio stations and podcasts.  After setting up there, I popped over to ScrubRadio.com, where I discovered that a DJ has been playing "Rockstar, Bitch!" for weeks now.  I connected with him, I've posted a link to the station over on the blogroll and across my other social media sites (all at once, using Ping.fm), and I'm going to be recording a few bumpers/promos for him this week, as per Ariel's suggestion. 
• I'm making it a personal goal over the next week to try to get into Tumblr more.  I've had one for a few months, but I haven't quite gotten the swing of it yet.  I see more and more younger music fans really using it, though, and if I want to reach them I have to be where they are.  

So that's that.  Next week is all about blogging. 

UPDATES for this go around: This week was harder to implement into my longterm routine than I could've ever expected.  I've tried adding an RSS reader to my phone, I've tried loads of things, and yet since making my internet browsing an assignment, I cannot get myself to keep up with it.  I'm a tad ashamed.  But we shall persevere and keep trying.  Tumblr still remains a total mystery to me. 

Week 3, here we are.

This week is all about having an effective website.  I will admit, I was a tad cocky going into this challenge.  Look at the thing of beauty that surrounds this here blog!  It was designed by my dear friend Megan Grieves, and is supported by Phil Levine, the husband of my oldest friend in the world, Melanie Levine. 

Let's look at Ariel's requirements, shall we?

1. Add your pitch to your homepage.  Called Phil Friday, it was up in the headers Saturday Morning.  Fab.  I also added it to the first paragraph of the main page.

2. Your site must load in 3.5 seconds.  My site has always been a quick loader (thanks Meg).  Sweet.  (I may or may not have spent a good 30 minutes this morning panicked over the actual timing, which is more like 6-9 seconds, but I checked the sites of the last challenge's winners and they all have similar load times to mine.)

3.  NO Flash Intros. Yeah.  Not my style in the first place.  Especially since getting an iPhone, I'm less and less interested in Flash.

4. Have a consistent look and feel all over the Net.  This is where I spent the majority of time; messing with the colors on my Twitter, Myspace, and ReverbNation profiles so that they'd match this thing of beauty, and then changing the avatars on all the sites to be the same photo. Good thing I love Blue so much. :-D

5. Give away an exclusive, free MP3 in exchange for an email address to satisfy the "What's In It For Me" factor.  And this is where we're falling a little short at the moment.  I have Bobbi Sue up right now.  That, however, is not exclusively available on my site, it's on the EP.  No go.  What I would LOVE to put up is an MP3 of Notting Hill, but none currently exist.  SO, until we do have an MP3 of Notting Hill, I'm currently trying to enhance the audio from the video we took at the release party of Mixed Signals.  The EP version is all acoustic guitar and vocals, very stripped down.  The live version is the way I want to make it eventually - full band, with guitar solos right out of the Blues Traveler playbook.  The quality needs a little work, though, so this part is still in progress.

6.  Make it clear and set them at ease.  Updated paragraph at the top of the main page to include a bit of reassurance that Spam ain't my thing.  I'm Jewish, after all, and it just isn't Kosher.  Well, unless we're talking about Monty Python.  Then I will have the Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Baked Beans & Spam. 

EXTRA CREDIT (I'm adding this bit myself) Make it easily accessible.  I know Ariel is a big believer in the yourname.com domains and she's completely right, but I think this is a nice little addition in my personal case.  I went to BIMAFest in August.  They had a fantastically informative day of panels on Saturday, and it was so worth the time.  I got a lot of great one-on-one attention, and therefore Rockstar, Bitch came up in conversation a fair amount, as it is just wont to do.  One of the speakers asked me if it had a comma in the title, which put me on my "I'm not the bitch, HE'S the Bitch" wagon.  Everyone got a kick out of that, but they suggested that since everyone's really picking up on the idea of me as the "Rockstar Bitch" that I should just run with it.  Make t-shirts with pink glitter and the whole 9.  They're totally right.  So in the car on the way home I was telling my husband, Adam, about it and he said "You know, we should see if Rockstarbitch.com is available."  It was, quite possibly, one of his best ideas ever.  First of all, how are you ever going to forget Rockstarbitch.com?  Besides, I play Rockstar, Bitch last for almost every single set - it's the last thing people hear from me on the night.  So now, if you are so inclined, go to Rockstarbitch.com and you will see that it brings you to my RachelSchain.com homepage.  Rachel Schain is my name, it's as easy to post as can be, but it's not that easy to spell for some people, and after a few beers, who's going to remember my name?  Ahh, but they WILL remember Rockstar Bitch (they always do).  As soon as I start singing it, I can see people's brains click into "OH THIS GIRL!" recognition.

Next week's entry, which I'll start a LOT sooner than previous weeks, is all about effective Social Media usage. 

Updates for this go around:

I will be making 2 new songs available for download in the  next few weeks - Notting Hill and Unconventially Yours.  So a better bribe is on the way.

Emailing Phil to change my header to the new pitch shortly.

Site still runs nice and quick, so all is good as far as I can see!

So, Week 2, where I stumbled the first time.  Pushing through this wall.

I was feeling a little pressure because OMGMUSTHAVEAPITCHBYENDOFWEEK2.  Then it came to my attention that it isn't something I MUST have finished by the end of the week, but rather just something I need to start working on now.  I wish I understood that the first time around.  I'm so the type that does things step by step.  Even when I was a kid I refused to read book series in the wrong order.  You start with Kristy's Great Idea, and THEN you can read Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls.  It horrified me that someone could read Mary Anne Saves the Day right out of the gate. 

(Yes, I know the titles of the Baby-Sitters Club books off the top of my head, don't you?) 

(And yes, I know I skipped over The Truth About Stacey - it was done for added effect, going straight for book 4, what are these people thinking?!) 

In my last entry, I mentioned my first attempt at the MSI9W course, and how I let it lapse. I was hung up on trying to craft my pitch by copying the other examples I've read, citing specific artists. In true Rachel Style, I pushed myself to hit the ground running and find the best pitch that anyone had ever come up with.  Sigh.  Oh Rachel.  My original idea was "Imagine if Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, and Dar Williams went out for a cup of tea." That (rightfully so) was criticized as "polite and boring" and "gives the idea that you're British" (which is funny to everyone who knows my Anglophile tendencies, I know).  But I got hung up on what else those three women could be doing together instead of drinking tea, which was the wrong road to go down entirely.

Now that I know we can start with coal and make it a diamond, I reviewed all the tips again and took the pressure off.  I honed in on the idea that the pitch should be a few words that give someone an idea of what you're going for.  I think I've got something better where we can start.

"Honest, melodic, acoustic pop sung by a devotee of Tori Amos and Dar Williams."

Good, right?  At least a good place to start, if not the most attention grabbing thing you've read (my husband's suggestion was: "EXPLOSIONS!!!!  Listen to Rachel Schain").  I think that I can best be described as acoustic pop, and the two things I'm most proud of in my songs are the melodies and the honesty of the lyrics.  I put Tori because people are constantly saying they can hear her influence in my singing style, and Dar because I wanted people to understand that I'm fairly literal in my songwriting.  I say what I mean to say, whereas Tori is very obtuse lyrically.  I left Joni out because even though people have compared me to her (and Yay For That), I don't want to give the idea that I'm a devotee of hers.  I have LOADS of respect for the woman, but I haven't spent as much time listening to her as I have the other women.  

While I have your attention:

• I'm happy to report that Happy Happy has almost sold out of its first run, and I'll be ordering a second one shortly.  If you've been to CDBaby.com to get it, you probably know that it's back-ordered.  They ordered more from me on Thursday morning, I had the package in the mail that afternoon, so we're waiting on the Post Office. 
• HOLY CRAP I'M ON iTUNES.  And emusic.  And Last.fm.  I know this shouldn't be such a surprise because I signed up with CDBaby specifically so they would arrange this for me, but hey.  It's real now.  Go take advantage of the convenience.
• I'm all set to go to the Future of Music Coalition's Policy Summit again this year.  MASSIVELY excited about that one.  Last year I went for just the first day and learned quite literally everything I know about the business end of this music thing.  I know I didn't get everything because it was a little overwhelming.  This year I get to go back and pick up what I missed last time.  And then some.

UPDATES FOR LATEST GO:

So, I (very smartly) consulted the folks on Ariel's social network on this topic.  Frankly, I liked the pitch I was using, but I wanted something more attention grabbing.  I mean hubby's EXPLOSIONS suggestion doesn't quite do what needs to be done either.  One genius suggestion I had was to replace "honest" with "raw" and use Tori's "claws" and Dar's "laugh."  So I LOVE the raw bit, and Dar's laugh, but Tori's claws bothered me.  I love Tori, believe me I do, but the idea of claws just gives me ookie feelings.  I'm not *that* bitchy, am I?  Honestly, though, the person who suggested that hadn't actually listened to the music at the time, she just jazzed up my earlier statement, so I am not taking any offense from it.  I don't know.  I feel like if Tori Amos and Dar Williams had a baby, that would be me.  That, however, is a boring pitch.  What if "If Dar Williams and Tori Amos had a baby and it EXPLODED it would sound like Rachel Schain"?

Somehow I don't think exploding babies make for good imagery either.

I'm using "Raw Melodic Acoustic Pop with the soul of Tori Amos and the laugh of Dar Williams."  At least until I come up with something better.

It's been awhile since I posted anything really *new* up here, so I thought I'd give you guys an update-y post.

I had to start Ariel's blog challenge over because I just fell too far behind and missed the end of the timeframe for finishing.  So if you see old posts popping up as new again, that's why.  The best news is that I'm actually trying again, rather than following the usual Rachel M.O. of deciding that it isn't worth it.

The Future of Music Policy Summit was fantastic.  I learned so much and made some great new friends, and I'll be taking what I learned and applying it over the next year.  I've been spending a fair bit of time worrying that maybe I've jumped the gun on a few steps I've taken in my career, but in a panel discussion titled "The New Artist Checklist" they suggested that I do many of the things I was worried about doing too soon as first steps.  So yay.  You can see footage of me at the conference about 40 minutes into this video, the interview with Damian Kulash.  And for the record, my show count comes NOWHERE NEAR 450 (Thanks, Damian). 

Shows Shows Shows!  I am booking left and right, people.  Next Friday, 11/5, I will be playing my very first Atlantic City gig at The Boneyard!  Should be a good time, too.  I'm on a bill with a few other acoustic acts, and there's a $5 cover we'll be splitting.  Then on 11/20, I will be making my NEW YORK CITY DEBUT!  No one is more excited about that than I am, folks, let me tell you.  I'll be playing a 40 minute set, starting at 8:30, at The Alphabet Lounge.  Before me, starting at 7, will be Mathis Grey, and then Andrew Bordeaux will be playing after him.  It's $10 to get in.  I will be finished by 9:15.  Therefore, if you are on the fence about seeing me vs. seeing some other band in the City that night, you'll have time for both most likely.  I expect to see all you vaguely local to NY people there.  Also in the works right now are shows in Baltimore with Jonah Knight and Chantilly, and a show in Boston, details tba.  If you want me to play your area, I'm definitely open to discussion.  You can start something rolling by going here.

Last night, I recorded an interview and in-studio concert at WCHE with Charlie Silvestri.  It will probably air in December, but I'll keep you posted on when exactly it will be available.  In the meantime, I'll be making some MP3s of songs I sang last night available as exclusive downloads for people who join my mailing list (Look Over There To The Left And Join If You Haven't Yet).  You should be excited, because these songs have been previously unavailable up to this point - Unconventionally Yours and Notting Hill.  Yeah, I know you're psyched.  Me too. :-D

And that's about it. 

This blog entry is going to look like a repeat, and I apologize in advance.  The reason is that I had to start over again to fit the next wave of Ariel's challenge, having been derailed after Week 6.  But I have updated the blog to fit my current situation, and will be re-using past blogs and updating them accordingly in the weeks to come.

I am so far behind everyone else, but here goes.  Week 1 of Ariel Publicity's Music Success in Nine Weeks Blogging Challenge!

For the next several weeks, I'm going to study being a better businesswoman when it comes to my music.  Honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time.  I just put out my first EP, and I've actually got to buckle down and do this for serious because there are more things at stake than my pride and dreams for a change.  I didn't realize how scary this would be, to be honest.  I mean, I'm running a Business now (caps intentional). 

For my course notebook, I've chosen the blank book I got from my friend Sam as a bridesmaid gift.  The first page is a letter of love and encouragement, and I can't think of anything more valuable.  The successes of the past week include booking shows in Atlantic City and New York and getting started on booking a Boston show.  Also, I've been forcing myself to practice with a pick.  It's time I start pushing forward.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll tell you all that at the beginning of this year, I started this course and never made it past week 2.  Then I attempted this challenge during wave 2, but was derailed after week 6.  The good news is that I discovered that I was able to meet some of the goals I set for myself back then, some even within the time limits I set for them.  So that's good.  Time for some new goals.

Short Term Goals (things to accomplish during this course):

1. Develop a more polished pitch - this is where I stumbled last time.  I had this great idea for a pitch, and then I put it online and it was called "polite and boring."  That flustered me, and while I honestly have been trying to think of a better way of describing myself as an artist I just haven't gotten it yet. (By the end of Week 2, obviously)

2. Book a few shows out of town  - I've been talking about wanting to do this for a few months now, but I really need to actually do it.  I have a lot of fans in the NY/NJ/CT/MA area, and in the Rochester, NY area as well, who have been asking for a show so I want to play for them.  Then there's my college town of Binghamton, NY, where I still have friends/listeners and where the college station has a copy of my EP.  Finally, DC/Baltimore (or Bal-Wash, haha) would be fantastic.  I met some amazing people at the FMC Policy Summit who are helping in this regard.  (By November 18)

3. Get my music reviewed/add some press to my profile - When I first saw Ariel speak at the FMC Summit last Fall, she said "Make sure you're part of the conversation about you, and if there isn't one, get one started."  That line really stuck with me.  I would love for there to be a conversation about me and my music!  So yeah, let's get one started. (By November 30)

4. Develop better habits when it comes to communicating with my fanbase - I think I'm still too passive about talking to my fans.  I don't regularly send out emails, I am sending out tons of Facebook event invites that get little to no result, and I'm still thinking in terms of quick broadcast messages as opposed to structured ones.  Plus I definitely have the "oh I don't want to bother people" mentality.  (By December 18)

Long(er) Term Goals (next 4-6 months):

1. Write the rest of my next album - There are two songs that I play out regularly that aren't on my EP, and everyone's bugging me about them.  Sorry guys, I couldn't get them recorded in time for this release, they're going on the next one.  In order for there to be a next one, I need 4-6 more songs written.  I've got all these ideas that need to be fleshed out anyway.

2.  Get enough money together to record that next album and give the people who helped me on this one some - I got really lucky on this last EP and had some friends who were willing to do some work for free, but I feel like it put a strain on things that didn't have to be there.  So I want to do everything as a paying customer next time around, and hopefully I can make that happen.

3.  Get my life more organized - I'm not living in squalor or anything but I think it's fair to say that my maid has had the last few months off, if you get my drift, and what they say is true; cluttered surroundings make for a cluttered creative process.  I mean, just sitting down to write this blog entry I was sidetracked by half a dozen things that made me say "oh I'll just do x" and now it's almost 1 am.  If I'm caught up on all the other ridiculous stuff, I'll have less to distract me.  Plus working a day job AND doing the musician thing cannot be made easier by the fact that I can never find anything and often times I'm running around 5 minutes before I need to leave trying to find a shirt to wear.

Long Term Goals (in the next year):

1. Figure out "Step 2" - You know that bit in South Park with the Underpants Gnomes?  "Step 1: Collect Underpants, Step 2: Shrugs, Step 3: Biiiig Profit!"  Well, those words have been on my mind a lot lately, except my step 1 was "record a CD and start being serious about my music."  I'm not so naive as to think it's only 3 steps, that's just for comedic effect.  Last year at the FMC Summit I was totally overwhelmed by all the "Step 2" information I got, and only really picked up a few things.  I put most of those things to work, though, in the last year, and so now I've got to get more pieces into place.  Luckily at this year's summit, I picked up several more missing pieces.

2. Drop some weight - This is as much about health as it is for self-esteem.  I recently turned 30 and I think my body is starting to tell me that it's not going to be able to deal with this extra weight as well as it used to.  If I'm going to be touring more in the next year, well then I'd better get my health improved.

3.  You know, World Domination and all that. ;-)

OK, Week 2 in the next few days.  I'm feeling good, people.

Hi everyone!  I hope you're having a wonderful day.  This is a BIG DAY for me, as I am finally releasing my very first EP, Happy Happy.  We're going to start by celebrating over at The Bellefonte Cafe with a concert featuring me and The Awesome Band!  I hope to see loads of you there.  The EP is available for download or purchase over at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/RachelSchain, and will be on iTunes, Amazon MP3, emusic, Rhapsody, Spotify, and a BUNCH of other places very soon.  I'll keep all of you posted on that.

Also, I'm a little behind, but I am participating in a very special course/contest run by Ariel Publicity.  Ariel's book, Music Success in Nine Weeks, is a course for Musicians who want to start thinking like business people so they can promote their art more effectively.  My next several blog entries will be judged by Ariel and her panel of experts (including this one, hi guys).  My week one entry will be up tomorrow, so now you'll all get some valuable insight into the process of music promotion and you'll just plain be hearing from me more.

Lots of love guys, thanks for all the help and support you've already given me!

Hey everyone, sorry I've been quiet for awhile.  It's been a busy couple of months.  I come with big news, however.  In, oh, 20 days or so (August 13), we will be celebrating the release of my very first EP, Happy Happy.  Why is it called Happy Happy?  It's named after this amazing piece of art I saw while visiting my friend in Los Angeles about a year ago.  I loved it so much, I made it the cover, see?

What you're looking at, basically, is a whole lot of 99 cent store junk that Choi Jeong-Hwa, a Korean artist, bought and strung up on wire hanging from a tent structure outside LACMA.  My friend and I were walking by and she said "Rachel.  We need to play THERE."  So we ran around for a few minutes playing in the 99 cent store playground that is Happy Happy.  We took photos, generally had a good time.  But as the months went by, the piece really stayed with me.  You can look at it from a bunch of different angles, but at the heart of this piece, it's a bunch of stuff from the 99 cent store.  It is this gorgeous plastic fun playground, and in your kitchen it could've been useful, but it doesn't have a whole lot of longevity.  Being such low quality, it won't last forever, and eventually winds up in a landfill polluting and leeching chemicals into our planet.  So it got me thinking about what "happy" really is.  This EP explores the concept of fleeting joy versus lasting happiness. There are a lot of things that are going to seem like they’re the right path when you’re taking them because they make you happy right then and there, but you’re going to have to go back to reality sooner or later.  I wrote to Jeong-Hwa and he graciously allowed me to use my photos of his gorgeous, thought-provoking art for my cover.

Here's the deal for purchasing, because a whole lot of you have asked how to pick up a copy.  I will have physical CDs and download cards (neat little cards with a link where you can download the music) available through me directly, obviously, but for those who are not local, you can get physical copies through CDBaby.com (link forthcoming) and digital downloads through iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and CDBaby. 

And finally, the biggest news of all.  I'm having a CD release party on August 13th at the Bellefonte Cafe.  It's fitting that I should have the party there, as that's where everything started.  I'll be joined by The Awesome Band for an acoustic set of all the songs on the EP, as well as some additional originals and covers.  It's going to be pretty great, if I do say so myself, and I hope you can make it.

I promise you'll be hearing more from me in the coming weeks.  Thanks for coming on this ride, guys. 

Hi everyone!  I hope you're loving the sunshine (or if you're not in a sunny area, then I hope you're loving something else).  I am about to run out and do some errands, but first let's get you guys up to date.

This week I got together with Devin, Markus, and Clint for our first band rehearsal (Beau couldn't make it, but he's promised to come to the next one).  Those within earshot said it sounded great, and I'll have to agree.  I'm really excited about what these guys are doing with the songs.  They add a dimension that you guys might not have heard just yet.  What I love best about singing with them is that I can concentrate on what I do best, rather than what chords are coming up on the guitar.  I really hope you'll get to see us live. 

Which brings me to the next order of business.  The Bellefonte Arts Festival is May 15th.  It will be superb.  The lineup is shaping up to be fantastic, and if it's anything like last year, boy are we in for a treat.  Mark your calendars, guys, because it's worth checking out.  Oh, and the band will be making their debut, in case you needed another reason to show up.

Make sure you check the gigs page to see the next time I'm playing.  I want to see all of you at shows!

Lots of Love,

Rachel xoxoxo

I'm blogging here briefly so that when I announce the new site, in, oh, the next few minutes, you all have something to look at over here in the blog section.

Hi everyone! Welcome to my very own website! Before I can do anything else, I absolutely must thank two people from the bottom of my heart: Megan Grieves, who designed the look of this gorgeous site and Phil Levine, who is providing me with all the technical stuff and hosting.  This would've at least been a lot harder without their help, and I cannot fully express my gratitude in this venue.

So my darlings, click around.  See what you like, what you don't, and let me know.

Smooches,

Rachel