We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachael Sage a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachael , thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I had very academically minded parents who definitely pushed me to get good grades and always do my best – but more importantly they also taught me the virtual of making mistakes, owning up to them, telling the truth and having integrity.

When I was a little kid once I spilled a bunch of watercolor paints on the floor in my moms room and I was admittedly very nervous I’d “get in trouble” but to her enormous credit, she used it as a teaching moment about spontaneity in art and told me the colors and water spilling had created modern art, it was beautiful, she was proud of how “sophisticated” my painting was – and she proceeded to frame it and put it on my bedroom wall!

This formative moment when I was only 3 or 4 taught me so many early lessons that stuck with me for my entire life and career including: we are all capable of creating unexpected moments of genuine beauty and artistry and all it takes is someone acknowledging and encouraging to set us on that path; also, a “mistake” and how we embrace it with compassion can help define how we grow and evolve, in positive ways.

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 have been a working musician since my teens, and founded my label MPress Records almost 30 years ago.

I’ve released over 20 albums and EPs of my own original music as well as over half dozen other artists; I also produce music for myself and others, as well as create a variety of visual art including paintings, wearable art and graphic design.

As far as what services I provide, I’m a professional working musician and artist so my primarily goal is to uplift and inspire others via my creative output. Along with my small team at MPress Records, I also help provide distribution and promotional services to a handful of very passionate curated touring artists who, like me, love to tour and to create beautiful, timeless recordings.

We also create music for film and television – both custom and also licensable material from our catalog.

Folks can learn more about our music and roster of incredibly talented musicians at www.rachaelsage.com and also my own website: www.rachaelsage.com

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am currently celebrating 6 years in remission from uterine cancer. While there are many days where thankfully I don’t even think about that, nonetheless my cancer journey to now being a “thriver” has been very formative and certainly increased my ongoing sense of gratitude to be able to do what I love, for a living. When I was first diagnosed I recall going into a kind of research-overdrive, and somehow I didn’t panic but rather, I rolled up my sleeves, tried to learn as much as I could as quickly as possible and consult as many experts as I could, toward making a swift series of decisions about my treatment. Once I was nearing the end of my treatment I took small, manageable steps to regain my physical and mental strength, but I also tried to give myself the grace to ease back into singing and playing slowly and to listen to my body rather than to push it. It was a very challenging, difficult time in many ways but I also never stopped writing and painting and just did it more slowly and for shorter periods of time until I regained my energy. Nowadays, I do my very best to bring awareness re: women’s cancer prevention and detection through ongoing advocacy via organizations like Foundation For Womens Cancer and my own informational and fundraising project, www.braveryonfire.com

Whenever I take the stage now, I try to be as conscious and aware as possible – and to relish the magic and magnitude of just how meaningful art and music can be….and how it truly does have the power to shift hearts and minds in a positive way.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I have had to unlearn being so overly-prepared that you don’t leave room for spontaneity, in live performance.

As someone who was a very serious ballet student in my youth, I was raised in a conservatory environment and there’s was always a right and wrong way to do a step or a series of choreographed movements. While we were encouraged to also bring some individuality via musicality, as dancers, the basic premise was that technique and practice enabled you to interpret the choreographers vision without too much variation.

In live and recorded music, it’s so important to allow for improvisation, spontaneity and even the occasional mistake that may imbibe a moment with a different kind of soulfulness, authenticity and relatability. Perfection is overrated, and allowing every show to be a unique experience for each audience is something to be embraced.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rachaelsage.com
• Instagram: rachael_sage
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/rachaelsagepage
• Twitter: @rachaelsage
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/rachaelsage
• Soundcloud: https://SoundCloud.com/rachaelsage

Image Credits

Photos by Anna Azarov & Shervin Lainez except live image, by Cat Morley. Used by permission from MPress Records