 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
"My days are numbered/ time slips by like snow/that melts on my windshield/as I drive myself home/I start to wonder/holding fast the wheel/when it stops falling/how will I feel" The lines unfold with the pacing of well-spun prose, as self-conscious musings or as keen observations from the perspective of an unsuspecting character. Singer/songwriter Rachel Zylstra performs in a way that evokes the playful interaction of chamber music, bringing the piano to the forefront and showcasing her classical training. Having honed her dramatic flair on the theatrical stage during college, she fluidly relates to her audience with an easy self-deprecating charm that sharpens to intense emotional precision during each song's delivery. She recorded and released her first collection of songs, Out the Window Next to Me, in 2000, and in 2001 received an honorable mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for the song "Contentment" from that album. Her career continued to pick up steam when, in September 2001, she was accepted into the songwriting study program of the Contemporary Music Center on Martha's Vineyard. The opportunity afforded her a second release, The Vineyard Sessions, which receives regular airplay on local radio in Grand Rapids, MI, and was nominated for best local folk album at the 2003 WYCE Jammie Awards. Having collaborated with Joe Spix for art and design (whose credits include work on albums by Robert Plant, Nelly, and others), Rachel released her first full-length album, Most of It Is True, on October 15, 2005. She performed at the legendary Bitter End in Manhattan's Greenwich Village to an enthusiastic crowd of over 100 people, sixty-two of whom purchased the album that night. Most of It Is True is delivered cleverly, her piano echoing at times the quirky dissonance of Sondheim and Bernstein together with the intimacy of Joni Mitchell's autobiographical narrative. One gets the impression that this album was woven in the chill of a mid-western winter, mittens and all. Rachel continues to write and has begun compiling songs for a fourth album. She is currently in the planning stages of a midwestern tour, spring of 2006. For more information, visit www.rachelzylstra.com. Check out the artist's website: http://www.rachelzylstra.com Track List: 1. Lost 2. Shiver 3. The Prince 4. Living in Fantasy 5. Go Around 6. Fortuneteller 7. Time Like Snow 8. Into This Town 9. The Answer Lady 10. Another Again 11. So Fair 12. Game Other Genres:
|