Americana singer-songwriter Taylor Rae was born and raised in Santa Cruz but now calls Austin, Texas, home. She recently played the South by Southwest music festival in Austin and NPR Music named her as one of the best at this year’s festival.
Rae will be returning to Santa Cruz for an album release concert for her latest album The Void. Ahead of the concert, KAZU's Dylan Music asked her about her childhood in Santa Cruz County and how she got started in music.
"I grew up in Ben Lomond, started music from an early age. I was involved in local theater and musical theater and got my start on the stage early. I always knew I loved it. I always knew that’s where I wanted to be, whether acting and singing or eventually singing my own songs," she said. "It was an absolute dream. I feel like I had a really magical childhood surrounded by the most beautiful nature on the planet, and a community of people that really support the arts. My high school teachers, my guidance counselor, my parents, my friend’s parents…they were always so supportive of following an artistic dream."
Click the audio player at the top of this story to listen to the interview or read the highlights below.
On her latest album, The Void, and the 'second-song energy' of "Maybe I'm the Villain"
All of my favorite records have such a heavy-hitting second song. “Maybe I’m the Villain” was the last song that I wrote before recording the record. I was really happy with the collection of songs that I had, but I felt like there was a side that was missing. There was an intensity that was missing. And so I specifically wrote the song, at least the melodies and the progression and that kind of blues-rock vibe, so that The Void would come out and then just like heavy-hit.
On the song "Telluride"
Dylan Music: This song has this line “even when I miss you most, I’ll never go back to the coast.” So is this song about an ex-partner, perhaps, who maybe lives here on the Central Coast?
Taylor Rae: Actually, he lives in St, Petersburg, Florida.
DM: Oh, that was the coast.
TR: But it is also [about] the Santa Cruz coast. I just felt like the coast represented maybe him, maybe an old way of life, maybe back home…it’s just a place that, no matter how homesick I get, we're not going back, no matter how much it hurts sometimes.
Americana singer-songwriter Taylor Rae's album The Void is out now and she’ll be doing an album release show at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz on Friday, May 9th.