newsminer.com

Bill Bernstein

FAIRBANKS — The opportunity to visit and perform in Alaska came up as somewhat of a fluke, singer/songwriter Rachael Sage said, sparked by an off-hand comment made in reference to a tour promoting her new album, “Chandeliers.”

“I said that I wanted to see what chandeliers look like in Alaska. I have no idea why I said that, I guess I was thinking they would be very unique with antlers and things, and like a week later I got a call asking me to do a tour in Alaska,” the folk and acoustic musician said.

Things were quickly set in motion, surprising her that “once you put a comment out there like that, things just come up (quickly),” leading to her performance at the College Coffeehouse Sept. 11. She’ll bring tunes from her eighth album, which she said is representative of a metaphor that has become continuously more prominent in her thoughts and songwriting.

“I was just fixated on them (chandeliers) and was planning to call my previous album Chandeliers, but about two weeks before that record was done I wrote the title track for this one and knew I had to wait to use that name,” she said.

Sage, a New Yorker who describes her sound as melodic pop, finds chandeliers as a metaphor intriguing and full of hope, something that can sometimes be hard to come by in life and the music business.

“They’re so beautiful and shiny, towering above you, but they are also so fragile in a way,” she explained of her vision of the fixtures and their deeper meaning. “They come in all different sizes, forms, visions and often people don’t take the time to stop, look up and notice.”

Those aspects “pulled it (the song) all together for me,” she said, as well as helping her “appreciate the process of being an artist al all the good stuff along the way.” The title track is joined by 11 other original tunes penned by Sage, addressing such topics as romantic and platonic love, life and personal strength. Each song “has its own little journey, about life and love,” she said.

Sage’s music career began early, when she was a toddler attempting to learn ballet. Instead of practicing her dancing skills, she said she would return from class and start “freakishly pounding away the tunes I had heard on the piano.” She said she lucked out at having some naturally occurring musical talent.

“I was really blessed to have that and the piano, because both of my parents are tone deaf,” she said.

They were supportive, though, as she attempted renditions at classic stuff, the Grease album and others, stumbling her way through her self-taught youth. She also began writing when she was just five years old, and over time has incorporated many musical influences — 1980s pop, jazz, blues, 1970s rock, and Jewish and other forms from her upbringing — as her sound developed.

“I hope I write with more ingenuity than just focusing on other styles, but the influences are there,” she said of her writing styles. “I try no to listen to a lot of other music while I’m writing. I try to keep with an inner influence, and think in terms of colors an thoughts and music as the ideas come.”

“Chandelier” was released June 10, and joins Sage’s collection: “The Blustering Sun” (2006); “Ballands & Burlesque” (2004); “Public Record” (2003); “Illusion’s Carnival” (2002); “Painting of a Painting” (2001); “Smashing the Serene” (1998); and “Morbid Romantic” (1996). The Fairbanks appearance is in honor of the new album’s release. It is Sage’s first trip to Alaska, and she is excited to see if the state lives up to its reputation of being a place full of unassuming, down-to-earth, open-minded, kind people. She also is keeping in mind that life in Alaska is a bit different than what she’s used to in New York City.

“I’m kind of a diva, and my friend that recently visited Alaska warned me to bring practical shoes,” she joked.

Copies of Sage’s CD will be available during her performance at the College Coffeehouse.

What: Rachael Sage, CD release performance

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 11, doors open at 7 p.m.

Where: College Coffeehouse

Admission: $8

Contact Features Editor Erica Goff at 459-7523.