Photos by Lee Zavitz/Zed Pro Media
Rebecca Rain is a talented Canadian country singer songwriter who I came across on Instagram. Like what I heard and chased her up for an interview. She kindly answered my questions and this is what she had to say.
1. How did you get into music?
I started writing poetry when I was ten. Around that time, my dad got an old piano for my three little brothers and I to play and he was also working part time as a karaoke disc jockey. To occupy us, he would set up his karaoke machine for us to use when he wasn’t working. Eventually I started to love singing and began learning simple chords on the piano to put to my poetry. One thing led to another and I fell in love with music and writing songs. I’ve been writing, performing and recording ever since.
2. What inspired the song Every Direction?
I was about to enter into a new relationship and was afraid to take the leap of faith and fully commit. Giving your heart away can be a scary and confusing time. It’s so easy to feel like all of your thoughts and feelings are going in different directions as you’re falling in love. I wanted to write about those feelings in a way that made sense and connected with people. I thought driving down a twisting and turning road would be a good metaphor to help make those feelings make sense. My co writer Matt Connell and I kept that in mind when we wrote “Every Direction” and it was cool to see all of those different feelings come together in a simple story about driving.
3. Were you happy how it has been received?
I’m very happy with how it’s been received so far .We’ve had a lot of positive feedback and people saying they can relate to the song, which is the coolest feeling.
4. How does a song start for you?
I get inspiration for writing in a lot of different ways. Sometimes I get ideas while I’m driving and I’ll have to pull over and record the words and melody on my phone. Other times I like to pour a glass of wine at night, sit down in the living room or my bedroom and think about everything that’s been inspiring me or really bothering me lately, then take out my guitar and write a song about it. There are also many times I book a writing session with another writer and we meet and spend an afternoon over coffee and bounce song ideas off of each other until we have a song we’re both happy with. I collaborate a lot with other writers. Even when I initially write a song alone I usually take it to someone else to get their opinion after and see if they want to add any of their own ideas to the song. I find two heads are almost always better than one!
5. Where do you get your inspiration from?
I write a lot about the struggles I’ve experienced firsthand in my life . One thing I love so much about country music is that it’s totally okay to write about heavy subjects like heartache and struggle. Country is such a great release of emotion and really helps people get through hard times and come out stronger.
6. Has your songwriting changed from when you were starting out?
Definitely. I started out writing pop music that wasn’t very good and I needed to learn a lot about structuring songs and how to be truer to myself as an artist in that process. I eventually made the switch to writing country music after working with a few different writers and learned from them how to express my thoughts and feelings more clearly and write better songs.
7. What has been the best piece of advice you have given about your music career?
A producer I once worked with told me to “walk, don’t run” in this industry and it is the best advice I could have ever received. It’s very easy to get caught up in the pressure to get “rich and famous” quick, especially when you’re a young artist but chasing fame and fortune and making that your priority takes away from what’s really important, which is developing your craft so you can genuinely connect your music with people in a way that will inspire them. That can really only come with time and experience.
8. Do you have an album in the works?
Yes, I’ll be releasing one single at a time in 2019 from my new EP “Heartbreak Revival”.
9. Will it be different to your earlier material?
It will be a lot more influenced by traditional country but will still have a modern twist. The songs are all very personal and are about some really difficult struggles I’ve gone through over the past few years.
10. What is the upcoming song about?
Tequila and heartbreak!
11. Will the theme of the song revolve in the video clip as well?
Most definitely- the video shoot we just did was super fun and different from anything else I’ve done before. I’m excited to see the final edit and share the video with everyone.
12. Do you have set theme for your music or does it go with the flow and changes?
It goes with the flow and changes of my life.
13. Do like to write with out inspiration or distractions or do you need a bit of both?
I think a bit of both is good. sometimes you need to take a break from writing and distract your mind with other things so you can get back to writing the song with a better frame of mind and better ideas.
14. How important is having a plan in place for your music?
I think it’s good to schedule all of the goals and shows you want to do within a year as far in advance as you can. I find by planning ahead you give yourself more time to carefully plan out exactly how you want to share your music. It gives you peace of mind to know you’ve planned ahead!
15. How important are video clips for you?
I think video is super important when you’re an artist. People like to not only hear your music but also see the images and concepts behind it as well. It’s a great way to express the song in more depth, which is always cool and super fun and creative!
16. What do you love about Social Media and connecting with your fans?
I love that Social Media squashes the barrier between artists and fans. Not only is the artist able to share their day to day journey in greater detail with fans but the fans also get to be seen and heard too. I love reading messages and comments from people who like my music and being able to talk to them. It makes my experience as an artist that much more real and gratifying.
17. How important is your brand Rebecca Rain?
It’s very important to me. It’s my passion.
18. What does 2019 have in store for you?
Lots of shows and my new EP “Heartbreak Revival”. Stay tuned ?
