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| Photo courtesy of Wooing |
Bubble Baths & Friends!
By Matt Chrystal
Meet your new favorite band, Wooing.
Talking to Rachel Trachtenburg was very much akin to taking a spin of her band Wooing’s latest EP, DayDream Time Machine. Both are instantly likable, smart, and slightly eccentric. Both give off a sense of familiarity, yet still come off sounding refreshingly new and inspired. And both pack a lot of punch into a quick burst.
Literally growing up on the road, Rachel already has nearly two decades of experience in the music biz, and she is only 24 (She's definitely 24, not still 23). Starting out at six as the drummer for her family's band, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Trachtenburg has developed into an adept songwriter and hauntingly soulful vocalist who set down roots in NYC and found kindred spirits in Rosie Slater and JR Thomason to form Wooing.
The trio kicked off 2018 by kicking out the jams on their 3 song EP, Daydream Time Machine, which pairs surreal sounds with pop sensibility. The EP acts as teaser, just enough to wet our beaks and leave us wanting more -- or to woo us if you will (see what I did there).
I caught up with Rachel to talk all things Wooing, just ahead of her band's coming to Asbury Park in support of The Black Lips.
Cool Matty C: Wooing will be opening for The Black Lips when you come to Asbury Park. How did this pairing come about?
Rachel Trachtenburg: It's through our management (Leg Up Management), who work with them as well. I'm really excited; I have known about them for a long time, and I'm excited to play with them. I think there is a vibe going on that just fits both of us really well.
Talking about gigs, let's take a step back in time for a moment, going into last summer. Wooing played a monthlong residency at Pianos in NYC. What were your take-aways from that series of shows?
RT: It was amazing. We all have a lot of experience playing shows at Pianos, and having a residency there was just fun. It felt comfortable, and it was really great to just get into the swing of things. We got to book a lot of our friends' bands, too, which was really nice; and we got to play with a lot of cool New York people. I love Pianos as a venue, and I would also love to do more residencies like that one.
Everyone loves an origin story, so how did the band come together?
RT: Rosie (Slater), our drummer, had been in a previous project (Supercute!) with me, and we had toured around together. JR (Thomason) played guitar with R. Stevie Moore, and I happened to be singing backup vocals at one R. Stevie show; and we met there. Wooing originally started out as a solo project for me, and it just naturally formed into what it has become today.
When I hear the word, Wooing, I'm picturing Ric Flair shouting at the end of a killer promo but you probably picked the name for other reasons...
RT: It just kinda popped into my head. It's just a fun word that people don't use that much anymore. I like the double meaning and the idea of people yelling "Wooo" at shows and that whole kinda thing.
The logo just came to me while trying to figure out band names. I was sick of promoting things under my own name and wanted to have a band again, and so it all just came out naturally. It wasn't exactly inspired by one thing or another. I just like double meanings and I also like the way it's written out. It's just a fun word.
The logo is pretty terrific and would make for a sweet tattoo...
RT: Thank you! Yeah. I designed it myself, and it is obviously hand drawn by me. Hands are just really hard for me to draw, so I have waited to put hands on it. For a while, her arm would just kinda be cut off. So, through the years, I have worked on them and I'm kinda ok with how they look now. Slowly, the logo got her one hand.
You mentioned that Wooing went from a possible solo project to a full on band project. And this project includes you sharing songwriting duties. Can you share what the process looks like?
RT: JR and I collaborated on a good amount of the songs. The lyrics come from me for the most part, but musically we have both been having a whole lotta fun working together on some of the new stuff.
We have really let ourselves be free flowing when it comes to songwriting, especially our newer stuff that we are working on. There are some songs that are pretty long with some jammy moments going on. As far as songwriting goes, it has been a lot of fun to explore that side of it.
Wooing released the Daydream Time Machine EP in January of this year. Are there any immediate or concrete plans to follow up with a full album?
RT: We are working on writing more for a full album. We also plan on releasing some new music soon, maybe a single here and there as we build up to an album. Our plans are not set in stone at the moment, but we definitely are working our way on getting something ready.
Let's talk about the video you just put out for "In Colour." How much input did you have in the production, and what was the experience like?
RT: The whole experience was incredible. We worked with John Zhao, who also directed my solo music video for "I Like to Be Alone." I chose him because he really understands my aesthetic and what inspires me. We both have a mutual obsession with The X-Files and other nerdy stuff. He knows how much I am fascinated with cults; and, after hearing our demo, he presented the storyboards to me.
Idea-wise, it came from the director. As far as on the set, everyone that was cast in the video is a family member or friend of mine. I did the wardrobe and hand-dyed the fabrics and the clothes that people are wearing in the video. We shot it at my friend's barn in upstate NY and stayed there for the whole weekend. It was super fun and really just a magical experience. I mean, c'mon. We shot the video under a full moon, and everything just fell into place really nicely. Oh, and of course all those special effects just made it even more magical.
The video plays out more like a mini-movie than music video...
RT: Totally. John Zhao does feature films and short films, and he made a story out of the song. For me, the song "In Colour" is more about the personification of feelings and letting your thoughts take over. He took it to a whole 'nother level, which was just amazing.
Speaking of thoughts taking over and bringing things to another level... The video has a psychedelic feel about it and the song "In Colour" has been said to have been inspired by a documentary about LSD. Do psychedelics play a role in the Wooing experience?
RT: I personally have never done acid. I love that whole sixties aesthetic in general. I love early Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett and that whole kinda thing. I am fascinated more by the visual aspect and less of the actual doing LSD part. It's just a creative inspiration for me, and I just find it interesting to hear the history of LSD and learn how it has affected society and how societal views about it continually seem to change.
You mentioned inspiration; can you talk about your musical influences? In addition to sixties and seventies psychedelia, I detect there's some nineties nostalgia going on too.
RT: I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, so I love a lot of bands like Quasi, along with a bunch of the other Seattle and California DIY bands that are known for their fun distortion. I feel like Wooing has really been able to morph vibes from the 60s and the 90s into a something that is our own and feels and sounds natural and new.
You started out in the music biz when you were just 6 years old. You certainly don't appear to be a grizzled veteran of the industry but at just 23 years of age you already have nearly two decades of experience in the music biz. What do you enjoy most about life on the road?
RT: I'm actually 24 now!
It's been amazing. My younger years were full of experiences that translate very differently to me now as an adult. I have a lot of experience in being on tour and playing so many different venues, but I definitely was not paying attention in meetings when I was little. It's also pretty great that there is a history about this all too. The family band played Asbury Park a long time ago, and it's cool for me to get to revisit certain venues and certain towns. I'm very grateful to have had all this experience on the road leading up to this.
My daughter is five so I really need to tell her to get a moving with her career!
RT: Yeah! What is she doing with her life?!
What are some of your earliest recollections from touring with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players?
RT: We did a lot of touring, so a lot of it definitely blurs together. It never felt out of the ordinary. Sometimes, I look back; and I think yeah, maybe it was crazy to be in bars as a kid. But as far as like one certain memory or certain memories, I think I always just enjoyed whatever the treats were and enjoyed what dessert I got to have and doing funny things like making sure we had my favorite candies like Sugar Daddies on the tour rider. I also used to stick tons of gum to my drum set. I'm talking like piles of gum stuck to my kick drum. So yeah, there are things like that stick out in my memory.
Switching gears a bit... Your song "Tear World" was said to be inspired by whales in captivity and how they can't even communicate to one another. When I hear that song, it conjures up parallels to what's going on today with families being separated and children detained in cages.
With that being said, what are your thoughts on today's America, and your hopes for our future?
RT: I feel like right now is a really hard time, and it is also a really interesting time to be an artist. There's a middle line where you have to take care of your own mental health and still try to make an impact on the world. I have hope, and I feel like something good has to come out of all of this.
I personally find it easier to write about animal rights as opposed to doing political stuff. It is easier for me because I feel so connected to animals on a basic level. After watching the documentary, Blackfish, I was horrified and heartbroken because the whales that are captured are from different parts of the ocean, so their frequencies do not connect; and, therefore, they can't communicate with each other even though they are from the same species. So yeah, there definitely is a correlation to things that are happening today. Some people might find it real easy to just shut off and not look at all the horrors that happen here in our country and around the world, but there also is a lot of good being done out in the word today, too.
I highly recommend the Mr. Rogers documentary; he has a quote in it where he says, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." And that's where I am at. Look for people doing good, even if the world is crumbling. If you look, there are always people out there doing good.
You mentioned how important self-care can be, so I'm wondering, in addition to songwriting, what do you do for self-care?
RT: I like taking bubble baths. I find that bubble baths with epsom salt can be something that calms my nerves and can be very grounding. Living in the city can be kinda hard for me because I get limited time with nature, so I found peace in taking bubble baths. That is my main go-to when it comes to self-care. Oh, and of course spending time with the right people and surrounding myself with friends is important. As an adult, I try to make sure that my friends and I are bringing positivity into each other's lives.
Bubble Baths and Friends!!! New song title?
RT: Exactly. Yes. Bubble Baths and Friends!
Wooing will be performing with The Black Lips at New Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ on July 26.
The Daydream Time Machine EP is available now on Ba Da Bing Records.
For more info go to www.wooingband.com.
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