Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Decker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I had my very first “big” solo when I was in second grade for the school-wide musical. I sat on a hay bale and sang about something kid-appropriate (brushing my teeth, maybe?). That was the first time I remember getting a thrill from singing in public and I think I was at least mildly hooked from then on. I went on to be involved in all sort of musical adventures throughout high school and college. After I moved to Chicago, I ended up joining a rockabilly band called The Honeybees. We were fortunate enough to be able to travel all over to play music, and I think that’s the period of time that really stuck with me – this could be done! Maybe we didn’t make a ton of money, but it was fun and I got to see new places, experience new things and listen to really great musicians. I wanted to be a part of the music scene for the rest of my life after that.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Oak Hill Drifters, a band out of Orlando, Florida. We play Americana, country, rock’n’roll, some swing and a few other things in between. I joined the band years and years ago through an ad on Craigslist, and though the band members have changed a bit here and there through the years, I think we’ve settled into where we’re going to be. We play all over central Florida, and have done tours through parts of Alaska, upstate New York, we’ve played in Las Vegas and Nashville and been a part of numerous festivals around the country. It’s been a lot of fun!

Oak Hill Drifters play quite a bit of our own original music, we recently put out a five song EP called “The Iris Sessions” that I’m really proud of. We worked with Billy Chapin as producer and got a wonderfully fleshed-out sound for each of the different songs.

We also like to pay homage to the music that has come before us. I’m a huge fan of Patsy Cline, I like to do one of her songs almost every time we play out. We work hard at our shows and I think it shows! Come see us sometime and let us know how we’re doing.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

For us, having folks come out to our shows and show support that way demonstrates to venue owners that we do indeed have fans and a crowd will show up for us! Nothing beats hearing music live and in person, and happy venue owners mean we get to come back again. (Tipping the band when appropriate sure doesn’t hurt, either!)

Of course, having folks play our music via streaming is great too. We still have actual CDs that you can get right from us at our shows and that’s the most helpful monetarily, but we’re on all the streaming services too. While that’s a whole different conversation, the fact is most people get their music online now and having more people listen to us and add us to playlists, etc only helps us reach a little further in our audience. Every little bit of support helps and we appreciate it!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, it’s seeing people singing along with us, especially on our original songs. It means that our song has touched that person in some way. It means that we’ve said something that is worthwhile and creates a wonderful connection with others, even if it’s temporary. There’s a shared release in singing that is visceral and just lovely.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.oakhilldrifters.com
• Instagram: @oakhilldrifters
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oakhilldrifters
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/oakhilldrifters
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wF9ikxI8xRp5XQ95k1Pry?si=T0ezxGMnRq6nLVwt50o1qQ

Image Credits

Jim Leatherman
Jay Rauchwarg
Mike Quick
Timothy Ecelbarger
Ken Voltz
Oak Hill Drifters