Ep. 211 - RACHAEL & VILRAY ("Do Friends in Fall in Love?")

Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

SUMMARY:
Lake Street Dive's Rachael Price and composer/guitarist Vilray discuss their dynamic duo that preserves the spirit of the Great American Songbook with original music.
PART ONE:
Scott tells a story about a bad demo that helped him learn an important lesson. Then Paul introduces a pop quiz to identify songs solely based on their drum intros. Scott does OK.
PART TWO:
Scott's in-depth interview with Rachael & Vilray
ABOUT RACHAEL & VILRAY:
Rachael and Vilray first met when they were both students at the New England Conservatory of Music. Rachael Price went on to form the band Lake Street Dive with their fellow students Michael Calabrese, Bridget Kearney, and Mike “McDuck” Olson, while Vilray developed his own path as a solo performer. Inspired by a shared love of classic Tin Pan Alley pop standards, the duo came together in 2015, eventually signing with Nonesuch Records. They released their self-titled debut in 2019, and the more elaborately produced I Love a Love Song album earlier this year. While Rachael contributes as a songwriter in other contexts, vocalist and guitarist Vilray is the sole writer of the duo’s original songs. Heavily steeped in classic songwriting traditions with a contemporary flourish, the music of Rachael & Vilray is simultaneously fresh and timeless. The pair joined Scott for a conversation about songwriting and song interpretation earlier this year when I Love a Long Song was first released.