LimeWire Music Blog

Hailing from New Jersey and currently residing in Seattle, Rachel Flotard has been piloting Visqueen for years while singing with Neko Case. When her father took ill, she put her career on hold in order to spend time with him as he battled prostate cancer. Losing her dad led Flotard to take deeper stock of her life and career. She formed her own indie label, Local 638 Records, and released the power-pop gem Message to Garcia to rave reviews. In this EXCLUSIVE interview, Rachel Flotard recalls the evolution of her new album and some of her fondest memories of life on the road.

LWMB: What took so long to get this album out? We’ve been hearing bits of it for three years!

Rachael Flotard: I know. Sorry about that. For the last several years, I was living with the coolest prostate cancer patient on the West Coast: my dad. I was juggling music and his care until I couldn’t do both anymore. The timing wasn’t right to put out an album, even though I wanted to pretend it was. Hence the bits you heard, and trying to keep my band hat on while my nurse’s uniform was getting too tight, if you catch my drift. Now that I’ve had time to breathe after losing him, it all makes total sense. Visqueen is, and has always been, independent. And it takes focus for me to make it move. Today I have the strength and motivation of 10 dads.

How did you decide to start your own label, rather than signing to an established one this time out?

Releasing the new album on my own schedule and terms instead of waiting for the miracle label situation (which doesn’t exist by the way) to reveal itself, was essential. I’m happy I made the decision to take this on, and it just fits the way I work. It can be as big or as small as I want it to be, because “established” doesn’t mean “wiser route,” “proven theory,” or even “resourceful thinking.” The music business can sometimes feel like an industry packed with Chicken Littles who need safe bets and low cherries. And lucky for me, my cherries just don’t touch the ground.

How did you first meet up with Neko Case?

She’s been stalking me pretty hard for a long time. I think she wants a piece of my caboose in the worst way. Still trying to figure it out. You’ll have to ask her the real story. It involves Minnie Mouse gloves and deep-fried tomatoes I’m sure.

“Visqueen is, and has always been, independent. And it takes focus for me to make it move.”

I love that you are working with [bassist] Cristina Bautista, and that you’ve known her since she was 14! What is different about working with her versus previous bassists?

Well, Carla, an obvious difference is about three feet. Cristina, though wee, is taller than Ronnie Barnett and higher than Kim’s hairdo in spirit. All I can say is, if you play bass in Visqueen, you are automatically the best person ever. In fact, I keep their old heads on my wall like a safari club. Anyway, Cristina is truly a rock miracle, and makes me excited to play. Voice? CHECK. Bass mastery? CHECK. She is the tiny wind beneath my bingo wings. And you can print that!

You sure know how to write a perfect pop song — but always with some surprises. Who do you hold in highest songwriting esteem?

Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Rick Neilsen, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, Walt Disney, Tom & Jerry, and a bazillion others. Real hipsters, like Steve Miller. My comfort food of songs comes from classic rock radio, probably from about the time I got my learner’s permit or driver’s license.

How did a Jersey Girl like you end up in Seattle?

A garbage truck dropped me off. I watched Singles 40 times and thought I could change Matt Dillon. I came out for my friend Vanessa’s wedding somewhere around 1993. It was in the San Juan Islands.

You and drummer Ben Hooker go way back. Can you talk a bit about your musical partnership?

It’s more like a marriage really. And with about as much sex: ZERO. He is the drummer of my life, no matter how much we suck and joke around. We met in 1996 and have been together playing music in one crappy practice space or another. We are peas and carrots. He and his amazing real-life wife Gina welcomed a super baby boy, Eli, about three months ago. It has been incredible watching him as a new father. It kills me with joy. He is becoming an even greater human, if that’s possible.

Can you tell me a little about being an advice columnist? What’s the best letter you’ve ever gotten?

It involves some horse rape, and I will not recount the details. I barfed, and the word perforation was used. YIKES!

What sorts of challenges do you have with your own label?

Duh.

How do you keep things fresh? (Besides new bass players? Ha-ha! And don’t say Summer’s Eve.)

Summer’s Eve.

Best gig ever (so far)?

If you can book this sort of thing, play inside of a double-wide trailer at a dude’s “getting out of prison” party. Load full stacks into a living room made entirely of one piece of plastic and then try not to blast tiny crystal deer figurines off the shelves with your volume. Welcome home!

Worst gig ever (so far)?

Try this: Drive white-knuckle nine hours through a blizzard to play a crack/coffeehouse that pays only in discounted lentil soup. Upside: it’s organic.

What has changed the most for you as a musicians since Hafacat days?

Practice!