Rahel
"If they want to know me, tell them to stroll through my collection. I'm in my collection." - Isabella Stewart Gardner; Art Collector
Music has always been a part of my life. My mother started me on the piano at a very young age and then enrolled me in the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. I studied piano, solfeges and recorder, and studied the flute at public school. As a teen I joined the High School chorus and took up the guitar privately. Having had my fill of the Berklee School of Music jazz guitar method, I continued my lessons by listening to and playing along with LP’s of the likes of James Taylor, Paul Simon, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. I was in awe of the amazing open tunings of Mary McCaslin and Joni Mitchell. I also learned a bit of Renaissance music on the recorder.
Beatle-mania of the ‘60’s opened my ears to a new beat that guided my generation all the way to Woodstock. I have fond memories of the post-Woodstock era; hippies, flower power, feminism, and anti-war protests all held important messages of empowerment, equality, and the strength of community. Music was at the forefront during those beautifully turbulent times; Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary were very influential leaders. I grew with the music. I listened to and learned the songs of Santana, Led Zeppelin, and Earth, Wind and Fire. Music was abundant. It was everywhere; it seemed to fill the world.
The ‘70’s provided the mold that formed my identity as a youth. It was a dynamic era that embraced the ideals of the ‘60’s and moved them into the next generation. It was a time when black and white turned into living color. Freedom moved to Love as we celebrated in unity and harmony and rejoiced in the diversity that was part of our Oneness. We communed together and sang loudly for Peace. Creativity highlighted the goodness of life and, caught in the throng of living passionately, we danced our way into innovative and progressive thought. We were young, old and in the middle, and we were very busy living in the moment and discovering ourselves and each other. We had the Power and we were confident that one person could make a difference and that, together, we could change the world.
I spent my summers traveling. In the summer of ’76, after an initial visit to Israel, and with $400, a tent, a camping stove, and our thumbs, I traveled through Europe with a friend. We had no plans, no schedules, and no idea where we were going. We started in Amsterdam at the “Festival of Fools”, and after two weeks of outrageous clowning, mimes, theater and fabulous music, we decided to go to wherever there were festivals. That summer I felt something I had never felt before. I remember waking up one morning and, sitting outside our little two-person tent, I suddenly understood what it was to feel free. I could do anything or nothing at all; I could go anywhere or nowhere at all. I discovered the whole world opening up to me in celebration. I was FREE!
Autumn 1976 found me back in Israel where I lived for the next twenty-two years. I learned Hebrew, Torah, Complementary and Alternative Therapies, and about Healing, G*D, and the abundance of Spirit. I married, raised a family, played music for babies and tots, put on children’s musicals, and performed together with musicians from all over the world. At an open house event at the home of Professor Dov Noy in Jerusalem, each guest spoke briefly about themselves, their hopes, dreams and aspirations. My eyes were opened that evening to the world of possibility where hopes and dreams were achieved and became realities. I was having the time of my life. I was living in the Presence of the Divine. Every moment offered inspiration; and the music offered wonderful harmonies, happy and joyous dissonance, slightly off-key sounding scales… it felt complete. Life was full, creative, imaginative, multi-layered and multicultural. It sang of joy, sorrow, and yearning, and reached deep into the very core of human experience. It was then that I understood that I had become rich.
I have walked this earth on a path that has embraced the Divine, though I have not always lived it “awake” in a conscious and mindful state. It is abundantly clear that living consciously under the loving wings of our Creator is a path to embrace and to follow as best we can. Today I am a Musician, Performing and Healing Artist, and a Spiritual Counselor. This is what defines me, keeps me spiritually connected and involved with communities of all kinds. This is the closest path to freedom that I’ve found yet.
SONG INSPIRATIONS
BELONG: We had a pet chameleon. In order to keep it alive we had to feed it live crickets. The house became a cricket sanctuary. At first the chirping was unbearable. But I soon got used to the sounds and came to enjoy sitting in the house listening to the crickets singing their songs. It made me feel very warm, cozy and at home. “Belong” was born out of the feelings of comfort that I got from the songs of the crickets!
DIALOG: I was just playing around on the guitar and I decided to record what I came up with. The song had been milling around in my head all day and it wasn't until midnight that the words finally came to me. I entered this song into a songwriting contest on a whim. When I became a finalist I realized that I didn't understand what the song was about. I had to really work hard and play with it before I felt that I connected with it. The work became more important to me than the prize and it felt great to be given credit for the amount of work that I had put in.
RISE UP SINGING: I was simply sitting in that still and quiet moment with guitar and pen in hand. I glanced over to my book shelf and noticed a particular songbook. Next thing I knew I was writing a song that was somewhat reminiscent of the protest songs of the late ‘60’s. My favorite verse is the last verse, “Stand up, make yourself known. We all make a difference. One by one we are changing. Together we’ll see the dawning of a new age.” This verse truly expresses my hope for a better world.
I'LL SAY A PRAYER: Jason, of ROOTES, says, "There's something about this song. We don’t play it very often, but when we do, and it’s just right, I get goose bumps."
MY LITTLE BIRD: I actually wrote the first line of this song while sitting on a plane! The tune and first sentence just popped into my head. I jotted it down so as not to lose it then quickly forgot about it. Sometime later I found that piece of paper and finished the song. I think it's about freedom. Jason's bass work and solo on this song are fantastic.
DOWN BLUES: I was feeling very alone and down. I was hoping that a “Prince Charming” would come and sweep me off my feet and take me out of my blues. Reality check please? In real life we have to learn to love ourselves before any “Prince Charming” is going to even look at us. I’ve since learned to “take my time for living. Soul searching is where it’s at.” I’m riding it through.
THIS JOURNEY OF YOU: If you’ve ever been in love, or had a mad uncontrollable crush on someone, you will totally relate to this song. I was hopelessly in love, or at least infatuated when I wrote this song. I was crazy in love even with all its ups and downs. I was there. Unfortunately he wasn’t. But I got a good song out of it and that’s all good!
7-4 HIGH: What the heck does that mean anyway?? Sometimes I just have no idea what my songs are about, or what they are trying to tell me. Sometimes I just write down the words. They come as visions or guidelines or something. Most of the lyric in this song is clear. The part I don’t get is what does “7-4-High” mean? If you have any clues, please tell me!
SOUL SOLITARY: Now THIS is a song. It expresses extreme loneliness. In the white winters of New Hampshire the snows cover vast expanses of land with pure and natural whiteness. In the spring the flowers come out to usher in beautiful summer days. The fall foliage never fails to show off the splendor of God’s awesome creation. Yet, even with all that, without love and without friendship, all I could see and feel was solitude and loneliness. My life felt like a stark desert. Sometimes my life as a musician feels like this. You wonder when you will ever touch someone’s heart with your melodies or lyric. You wonder if anyone will ever notice you, and your songs; your life’s work.
KEE ELEF SHANIM - A THOUSAND YEARS: I really like this song. I love the message. In Hebrew it's really deep. Trying to match that depth into an English lyric was not easy. The message changed slightly but it's a really cool song in both languages. The rhythm is rooted in the Middle East.
T'HOME EL T'HOME - DEEP CRIES TO DEEP: Jason's creative bass work has transformed this song into an amazing work. I especially like to improvise vocally around his bass grooves. Translating the Hebrew lyric into English also opened up new doors for creative interpretation and expression.
DIDN'T WE: Vows… commitments…. Two people vow to stay together for better or for worse. How many of us have actually accomplished that? I sang this song one year at the Milford Pumpkin Festival in New Hampshire. At the end of the set a woman approached me. She wanted to tell me that this song really reached her. She felt I was singing about her life. It was nice to know that my song had reached someone, for better or for worse!
OSEH SHALOM - SONG FOR PEACE: “Oseh Shalom” is a popular prayer that has artists world-wide writing all sorts of musical versions to. My version was born literally one night in a dream. I dreamt I was sitting in a room playing my guitar and working on a song. It was this song. As I was singing people slowly gathered nearby and began to pray. Someone in the room told me to hush because people were praying nearby. But I didn’t stop; I kept on playing because I instinctively understood that those who had gathered were there because of the song. When I woke up the song was spinning around in my head. So I grabbed a tape recorder and recorded it so I wouldn’t lose it. The dream gave me the first part of the song. I developed the rest over the course of the day. It expresses a celebration of positive energy and good feelings. Peace.