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| Rachel Brandsness: Fools For Rowen |
The mini bio on Fools For Rowan web site gives you some insight into this young rocker!
We sent Rachel Ten of The Best and this is what she had to say:
ABOUT ME
"I secretly want to be Jimmy Page when I grow up. Nancy Wilson of Heart's guitar playing makes me want to go practice right now. I'm not very coordinated and I trip a lot but have a couple of killer dance moves (ask Erin and Ryan...it's true!) I like to stay up late at night. I try to never take myself too seriously...I feel like people miss out on a lot of good laughs that way."
HOMETOWN
Klamath Falls, OR
INTERESTS
Music, recording, quoting "Anchorman" with Erin, skiing, movie scores, attempting to speak Spanish
FAVORITE QUOTES
" 'Sweet Odin's raven' by Ron Burgundy. I'll also settle for 'Sweet Methuselah's ladle!' by Ryan Nanney!"
FUN FACT
"When I was five years old, I wore a red Power Ranger costume to the dentist. It was not Halloween."
LAST BOOK I READ
"A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle
FAVORITE MOVIES
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Emperor's New Groove
TOP 5 SONGS
"Crazy On You" by Heart
"Let Down" by Radiohead
"The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen
"Angels of the Silences" by Counting Crows
"Dead Flowers" by The Rolling Stones
FAVORITE FOOD
Carnitas burritos, chicken pad thai, cheesecake, Bongo Java coffee
FAVORITE TV SHOW
"Family Guy"
[Shreddelicious] 1 When did you start playing guitar?
[Rachel Brandsness] I started playing guitar in the seventh grade. A friend of mine played electric guitar and it looked like a lot of fun so I decided to give it a try and ended up falling completely in love with it. I had always loved music and played the trumpet in the Junior. High band, but the guitar kind of became my musical soul mate.
[Shreddelicious] 2 What made you decide to take guitar seriously?
[Rachel Brandsness] When I was 14, I went to see the band Heart perform with a few of my friends. I had never been to a big rock show and getting to see Nancy Wilson absolutely tearing up her guitar and jumping and kicking all over this huge stage just blew my mind! I knew from that moment on that I all I wanted to do was be a guitarist and started to really take my practising and lessons really seriously.
Fools For Rowan Guitar Battle - Carbondale Sunset Concert - SIU - 7-28-11
[Shreddelicious] 3 What are your favourite albums?
[Rachel Brandsness] Some of my favorite albums would have to be obviously, anything Heart puts out. I love them. But also, I love Evanescence's latest self-titled album. I also love Counting Crows' "August and Everything After," and Halestorm's latest album "Strange Case of...". As far as albums that really made a difference in my guitar playing, I'd have to say Led Zeppelin's IV, Heart's Dreamboat Annie, and Boston's Greatest Hits. I learned how to play the way I do by sitting at home and absorbing those albums for hours on end growing up.
[Shreddelicious] 4 What do you think of the use of social media for promoting your work?
[Rachel Brandsness] I started playing guitar in the seventh grade. A friend of mine played electric guitar and it looked like a lot of fun so I decided to give it a try and ended up falling completely in love with it. I had always loved music and played the trumpet in the Junior. High band, but the guitar kind of became my musical soul mate.
[Shreddelicious] 2 What made you decide to take guitar seriously?
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| Courtesy: Arica Norzagaray |
[Rachel Brandsness] When I was 14, I went to see the band Heart perform with a few of my friends. I had never been to a big rock show and getting to see Nancy Wilson absolutely tearing up her guitar and jumping and kicking all over this huge stage just blew my mind! I knew from that moment on that I all I wanted to do was be a guitarist and started to really take my practising and lessons really seriously.
Fools For Rowan Guitar Battle - Carbondale Sunset Concert - SIU - 7-28-11
[Shreddelicious] 3 What are your favourite albums?
[Rachel Brandsness] Some of my favorite albums would have to be obviously, anything Heart puts out. I love them. But also, I love Evanescence's latest self-titled album. I also love Counting Crows' "August and Everything After," and Halestorm's latest album "Strange Case of...". As far as albums that really made a difference in my guitar playing, I'd have to say Led Zeppelin's IV, Heart's Dreamboat Annie, and Boston's Greatest Hits. I learned how to play the way I do by sitting at home and absorbing those albums for hours on end growing up.
[Shreddelicious] 4 What do you think of the use of social media for promoting your work?
[Rachel Brandsness] Social media has been a great thing for Fools For Rowan! It allows us to have much more intimate and personal relationships with our fans and gives us the ability to connect with thousands more fans and potential fans than we would ever be able to without it. Things can get a little sticky when it comes to illegal downloading and file sharing and the other aspects of technological advances in music and social media, but overall, I would say that most of these social media advances have helped us more than hurt us.
Tangled LIVE by Fools For Rowan
[Shreddelicious] 5 If you had a chance to play with anyone who would you pick?
[Rachel Brandsness] I have this ultimate dream of getting to play guitar on stage with Nancy Wilson of Heart one day. She is my hero when it comes to guitar and I really admire her musicianship and overall ability to completely rock a stage. It would also be pretty amazing to get to perform with Jimmy Page or Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.
[Shreddelicious] 6 Have you ever had any live show disasters?
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| Courtesy: Arica Norzagaray |
[Rachel Brandsness] Nothing too entirely terrible so far! I did have my belt break on stage though. The buckle broke mid-song and because my in-ear pack was attached to it in the back it was fairly heavy, so it started to get pulled out of my belt loops as I played, but I couldn't do anything about it because I needed both my hands to play my guitar. I spent the whole song trying to keep playing but not loose my belt entirely and the in-ear pack with it.
Fortunately, when the song ended, I was able to bend the belt back into shape enough that I could finish the show with it. Oh yeah, and one time I dropped our lead singer's fancy schmancy microphone right off the front end of the stage mid-set... That was pretty funny! The mic was fine, so I got off lucky that day, but I did have to jump off stage and grab it as the show continued on! Overall, being on tour and out on the road teaches you to roll with the punches and recover from the unexpected on the fly. Sometimes you have no other choice!
Its Alright Guitar Video
[Shreddelicious] 7 How do record your guitar videos?
[Rachel Brandsness] The best thing to do when posting videos of your playing on YouTube [ www.youtube.com/foolsforrowan ] is to make sure that the sound quality is decent and actually showcases what you sound like. I would also recommend putting on a good visual performance and looking the part, more so if you are posting performance/live show videos of your abilities. Perception is reality, so if you don't look the part, or you are completely boring to watch, you can risk losing peoples' interest even if you are playing some pretty great stuff.
[Shreddelicious] 8 What do you think of illegal music downloading?
[Rachel Brandsness] Yeah. The trends of so many people toward illegal downloading really is too bad. The fact that its so hard to make money selling music these days makes the record labels have to cut way back because they are having difficulty profiting and that in turn translates to them breaking less new bands and taking less chances on new bands like ours because they don't have the operating capital to be able to take on newer projects or develop project they see to have future potential. Plus, when you work extremely hard on something and pour your heart and soul...and hard earned money into it only to have it stolen, it can be discouraging.
Fools For Rowan New Intro and Chameleon - Klamath Falls, Oregon 5-26-12.mov
[Shreddelicious] 9 Can you tell us a bit about your Guitars and Amps?
[Rachel Brandsness] I currently use the same set up for the studio and live playing. Right now I am playing mostly Gibson guitars, in particular a 2009 Gibson Les Paul Studio and a 1967 Gibson SG Jr., which I am absolutely in love with. My current amp is the 20th Anniversary Bogner Shiva running out of a 4x12 cabinet with Vintage 30 speakers. It WAILS! The tone I can get out of that amp with not a single pedal or effect is out of this world!
[Shreddelicious] 10 Can you tell us about your latest recording?
[Rachel Brandsness] Our latest album, "Who Killed Amanda Day?" is due to come out July 3rd, 2012! We're super excited to release it and to finally get some new material out to the fans. I think they're really going to like what we've been working on. Our newest single, "Killed A Man Today" from our upcoming album is available now on iTunes.
Store: https://www.foolsforrowan.com/?page=store.php
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| Courtesy: Arica Norzagaray |
[Rachel Brandsness] Yeah. The trends of so many people toward illegal downloading really is too bad. The fact that its so hard to make money selling music these days makes the record labels have to cut way back because they are having difficulty profiting and that in turn translates to them breaking less new bands and taking less chances on new bands like ours because they don't have the operating capital to be able to take on newer projects or develop project they see to have future potential. Plus, when you work extremely hard on something and pour your heart and soul...and hard earned money into it only to have it stolen, it can be discouraging.
Fools For Rowan New Intro and Chameleon - Klamath Falls, Oregon 5-26-12.mov
[Shreddelicious] 9 Can you tell us a bit about your Guitars and Amps?
[Rachel Brandsness] I currently use the same set up for the studio and live playing. Right now I am playing mostly Gibson guitars, in particular a 2009 Gibson Les Paul Studio and a 1967 Gibson SG Jr., which I am absolutely in love with. My current amp is the 20th Anniversary Bogner Shiva running out of a 4x12 cabinet with Vintage 30 speakers. It WAILS! The tone I can get out of that amp with not a single pedal or effect is out of this world!
[Shreddelicious] 10 Can you tell us about your latest recording?
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| Courtesy: Arica Norzagaray |
[Rachel Brandsness] Our latest album, "Who Killed Amanda Day?" is due to come out July 3rd, 2012! We're super excited to release it and to finally get some new material out to the fans. I think they're really going to like what we've been working on. Our newest single, "Killed A Man Today" from our upcoming album is available now on iTunes.
Store: https://www.foolsforrowan.com/?page=store.php
Rachel Brandsness - Fools For Rowan links:
www.foolsforrowan.com
www.facebook.com/foolsforrowan
www.twitter.com/foolsforrowan
www.youtube.com/foolsforrowan
That girl can ROCK! In fact, the entire band is the greatest band you might have never heard of. Until now, of course. Go see them while you can still get close.
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