Q&A with NewSong finalist Your Friend Rachel

Your Friend Rachel is first and foremost a crafter. Of lyrics, melodies, stories, and art made from trash. Her songs speak to the dissonance of being human in an increasingly inhuman world. A songwriter since childhood, her work blossomed in collaboration with spouse Pat Oberstaedt, a multi-hyphenate instrumentalist and music producer. Together, they formed the comedic folk duo The Gender Gnomes, releasing two EPs, a full length album, and several singles including “The Wedding Song,” which earned them their five minutes of TikTok fame. As a duo, they’ve toured with chamber-pop group Beche and collaborated with tour de force writer-performer Patty Irwin on her one-woman show “Country Queen.” Having accumulated a plethora of original songs spanning genres, the two have turned their talents to Rachel’s solo project. Your Friend Rachel’s debut album Silly Little Human came out last week!

 

Your Friend Rachel: The sound waves in my house growing up were a wonderland of classic rock, funk, folk, jazz, and show tunes … until my brother and I became teenagers and filled the house with pop-punk and ska.

 

My parents are both singer-songwriters and played in a party band for most of my childhood. I grew up sitting in with them on stage, which I hated at the time (now I’m trying to convince them to come on tour with me!). While they didn’t force me into music, I think they would have been disappointed if I’d wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. I got into songwriting, then opera, then theater, then opera again, then theater again, and finally back to my truest love, songwriting. Mom and Dad are very proud (and they co-produced my album).

 

When I was 12, I wrote a song called “When You’re 5” as part of an album I made for an 8th grade English project (yea, I was a nerd). I don’t know if I was proud of it at the time, but I heard it again recently and was shocked by how well I captured the feeling of yearning for childhood freedom while I myself was still a child. I’ve always been very dramatic about time. 

 

Lyrics and melodies almost always come to me together, out of the blue. Then I try to listen to what’s in my head to sense the feel or vibe a song wants. Then I usually grab my spouse and writing partner, Pat, and they figure out the chords for me because I slept through music theory in college.

 

This is the year I finally got my album made and launched my solo project! Honestly, the weirdest adventure this year has been creating content to promote my music online. The internet is a funny place, but learning how to be myself authentically there has made me want to show up more authentically in every aspect of my life.