February 6, 2012
First and foremost...
What did yall think about the Superbowl?!
To be quite honest with you, I didn't watch much of the game at all. My Detroit Lions were out so I wasn't interested, hehe. However I DID watch the halftime show in it's entirety and thought that Madonna ROCKED it! Please Lord, let me be HALF as hot & relevant when I'm in my 50's. Get it, get it girl!
Well, this day finds me rather peaceful. I have the house to myself for the morning, my two dogs are laying at my feet, and I've been in my downstairs bathroom recording work tapes for some of the new songs I've invented over the last couple weeks. (I tell you, the acoustics in my bathroom are AMAZING!) My year 2012 has certainly started off as an interesting one. It's been music-filled, drama-filled, confusion-filled, and full of excitement! I feel like the ball is rolling and I'm just thrilled with the motion, regardless of what direction it ends up rolling in, haha.
Mark my words, folks you WILL have a new CD by summer 2012, that is a promise!
There are some big ideas I have in the works and if they materialize, I will be over the moon. And if they don't, well, then I go an alternative route. But either way, at the end of the day, you will have music in your hands that I can be proud of. The last year has been a labor of love. I'm writing from a different place, a much more "I refuse to worry about what is too much and what isn't enough" state of mind. It's refreshing. It's rejuvenating. And after 7 years in this time, it's inspiring me again. ;)
And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I personally believe I'm singing/sounding better than ever. I'm pretty sure that whole "growing/coming into yourself" thing they talk about is true, and it's happening. And I'm fully embracing it.
That last couple of months have been nothing short of song-provoking. People have shown their true colors and I'm absorbing it all, the good and the bad. Some people change, some people don't. Either way, I'm writing a ton of songs about it. And some of them are even happy! I know, I know...you're floored. Me too. Love is funny like that ;)
My dogs are wonderful. They've been enjoying this RIDICULOUSLY warm weather that Nashville has been on the receiving end of the last few weeks. Can't believe it's February and I'm going for a run in a t-shirt & shorts some days! But hey, I won't complain. I will certainly take an early spring!!! The family is still crazy but happy, haha. My nephew celebrated his 1st birthday a couple months ago. Being up there for Christmas was just what my heart needed. I will never be more in-sync with anyone like I am with my 3 younger siblings & the rest of my family. I'm so thankful that I get to say that & mean it. We are the most ghetto/Polish/hilbilly/dramatic bunch that's ever come from the state of Michigan, or probably anywhere for that fact. I'm convinced we'd be WAY more entertaining than the Kardashians. Come on, E! ... give us a shot! Ha.
Be sure to come out and see us on Monday, February 13th at a cute & hip little venue called That's Cool. This Ain't No Love Song Valentine's Show features myself and good friends Wyatt Espalin, Kristine Walter, Roy Davis & guests and starts at 8PM.
Nothing but love,
RW
November 10, 2011
I love Fall. I don't know what it is about this season...the weather, the leaves, just the time in falls in the year, but it's been good for me. I'm reading, writing, praying, walking my dogs, and for the first time in 6 months, actually being ok with just being by myself. The last few weeks have been good self-reflecting time, which I was way overdue for.
If you would have told me earlier this year that I'd go through half of what I've been through, I would have never believed a word of it. I feel as though this heart has lived through more in the year 2011 than it has the last 5 years combined. It's been a complete and utter rollercoaster ride. With all the highs and lows, I've been charging as fast as humanly possible through it all.
I'm finally ready to breathe. I'm ready to be. Focus.
I'm not there yet, but I will be.
I'm singing better, stronger than I ever have before. Guess life will inspire you like that ;) For months, I went on somewhat of a writing "hiatus". Probably because I had too much stuff going on and couldn't make sense of half of the stuff spinning around in my head. But now the pen and paper won't stop for me. I'm inspired at every turn.
There's also a new studio on the very near horizon. This excites me to no end because that means a lot of my songs will be finished up before the year's out and I'll be able to share it with you! I've been having some very promising/productive meetings, randomly the universe is connecting me with incredible people and for once, I'm just letting it do it's thing and see where I end up ;)
The shows I've played have revitalized me and gained more fans (which is always a plus when you play in Nashville!), I'm excited for my sold out Bluebird show on Friday (it sold out in the first hour!!!), and next week I get to go to Michigan and get inspired in a way that no song/concert can do for me...
Can you believe that's my nephew?! He turns 1 in a few short weeks and I can't believe how big and beautiful this kid is! My heart could literally burst when talking about him so I won't...but I just thought I'd share this super adorable picture <3
Well that's it for now. I promise to upload lots of video footage from the show on Friday up on YouTube so look out for it!
Nothin but love,
RW
MAY 20, 2011
My life is nothing short of insane at the moment.
I'm on such a rollercoaster of emotions that it's hard to know where I'll land at any given moment. However, I will say that I'm extremely grateful for all that's been thrown in my lap the last couple months...good and bad. I'm learning so much about myself, sometimes it's disappointing and other times, I couldn't feel more accomplished. In the midst of all this "growth", I also feel like I haven't had a minute to breathe in quite awhile. I've been on a traveling frenzy here lately. Between Gatlinburg, Detroit, Vegas...I'm ready to relax for a minute and let the "real world" set back in. Good thing because I have A LOT OF STUFF COMING UP!!!
Musically, things are chaotic and beautiful and stressful and "almost, almost, almost..." I'm sure we've all been there. However, it does feel like it's starting to pay off in some sort of way. Shows coming up, working on my new album (we are 5 songs in, people!!), AND I'm shooting my FIRST MUSIC VIDEO SOON!!! (More details on that later!)
AND...
CMA Festival is upon us and praise the Lord, I'll be back! So excited to announce who will be joining me for yet another year at Limelight. However, this year they've asked me to host the AFTER PARTY! So instead of a before the stadium blowout like I've done the last several years, this time, we're taking the party to the extreme! I'm excited and nervous because it's something I've never tackled before. However, I feel pretty solid that CMA-ers will follow me into this unchartered water and throw down like never before!!!
Also, I'll be performing at The Bluebird Cafe on Friday, June 10th during CMA for those of you 18 and under who wouldn't be able to stay out for the Limelight party, come see me there!!
Not to mention, for you local Tennesseans, I'll be playing at the National Moofest for 101.7 WLAR in Athens, TN! I'll hit the stage at 2pm and the lineup for that afternoon is AMAZING and includes 80's icon TIFFANY!
Okay, well I better go now. My dogs are deathly afraid of the annoyingly loud and disgusting cicadas that are everywhere and they've been outside barking at me since I started this blog, haha.
TALK SOON! LOVE YOU MUCHO!
-RW
January 4, 2011
It seems VERY strange to type "2011"...where did 2010 go? They say the older you get, the more time flies by. I just figured that's what old people said to sound wise, haha. But no, maybe I'm officially "getting up there" myself now :)
I sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with loved ones and a fun & safe New Year's! I got to go home to Michigan for a week and celebrate the holidays with some of my very best friends that flew in from all over the country and my family, particularly my new baby nephew, Nolan. My poor sister...I harassed her each and every day since he was born (he was 3 weeks old once I got up there) to send me several pics via our phones every few hours, haha! Needless to say, seeing photos and actually holding him are two VERY different things. He is amazing and beautiful and perfect and untouched by the world. That innocence is unlike anything I've ever known. She's lucky I didn't kidnap him :)
New Year's was unbelievably fun and was rung in with a big old bang, Nashville-style! I think I'm still recovering, haha!!
And nothing could have started my first "work week" in 2011 than to hear that a song I co-wrote made it's official debut on CMT yesterday! The song is called "If I Run", by the new sibling-trio The Harters. It's getting rave reviews across the board, it's actually overwhelmingly positive! I'm kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop or something... :) The song is at radio now so be sure to call your local stations and request it! It's also available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. etc. so download it today!! Watch it on CMT here!
New beginnings. Dear Lord, just let me repeat the year 2010 and I'll be good :) Love you all!!! -RW
November 13, 2010
The last few weeks have been so insane, it's hard to even wrap my head around it. I feel like despite all the chaos around me at the moment, I finally have view of my "North Star" and I'm not taking my eyes off it. It's been a good time, a confusing time, a "soul-searching" time. I hear it's healthy to do that every now and then. I'm in the studio doing some new stuff...stuff that is SPEAKING TO ME for the first time in quite awhile. It's outside my comfort zone in a way, but it's not. Does that make sense? It is because people are not used to hearing me sing/sound like this. It isn't because it's always been in me and it feels natural. I'm excited for your ears to feast upon what I've been cooking up the last couple weeks. November and December are my "hibernation months". I'm just holing myself up, writing what I want to write, singing what I want to sing, working out at the gym again for the first time since my back injury, and just perfecting things so that the new year will EXPLODE in all things Rachel Williams! :)
I'm going home in about a week for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see mi familia again soon...and eat. A lot. Haha. Got some shows coming up that I'm looking VERY forward to! It's been awhile since I've been in "gig-mode"...with my back injury, moving, traveling, etc. etc. So needless to say, I'M READY! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I'll see you soon!! <3
Nothin but love,
Rachel
September 26, 2010
What a week! It is officially kicking my derriere today, no doubt. I had a spectacular birthday last week! My actual birthday was spent going to my 1st physical therapy session since my back injury at 7AM, then a belly full of pancakes from the Pancake Pantry with my boy, followed by a fabulous cowrite/Mexican food & margaritas with my Vickie Carrico, followed by a wonderful dinner & drinks with 15 or so friends, FOLLOWED by the comedy club to see Dan Levy from my faaaavorite show, "Chelsea Lately"! Friday was birthday outing #2 where a friend and I met our girl, Chelsea Handler at a book signing in Green Hills followed by seeing her at Bridgestone Arena and sporting her infamous "Coslopis" shirt around downtown. Needless to say, I got a lot of looks that night...good and bad. Then it was up at 5AM on Saturday (sweet Jeeez-us) to get ready to set up sound equipment and perform for over 3 hours for the Women's Half Marathon here in Nashville. It was quite the experience, let me tell you! Watching the sun come up as I'm singing and women are running by me definitely made me appreciate the fact that THEY are the ones running, my job was easy. Met a ton of wonderful ladies throughout the morning and really enjoyed jamming with my boys and hanging out at an abnormally early weekend performance. Then it was home to nap and get ready for BIRTHDAY OUTING #3. About 25 of my closest friends showed up to ring in my birthday (and my boyfriend's birthday, who's is on the 29th) at my favorite East Nashville hangout. We ate, we drank, we danced...it was lovely ;) Photos will be up soon on Facebook, so be sure to check them out!
Just wanted to thank everybody who wished me a Happy Birthday on Facebook/Twitter/MySpace...I appreciate you all sooo much and I'm ready to BRING like it's never been brought before, baby <3
Also, PLEASE don't forget to send us your venue/gig suggestions to rachelwilliamsmusic@live.com so that we can get it going! Love you all!!
Nothin but love,
Rachel
September 15, 2010
Welcome to my first blog on my new website! I am excited to "unveil" the new look of RachelWilliamsOnline.com! It's a more simplistic look for now, but we'll jazz it up soon. I'm more excited because I'll be having complete control over it's content, therefore, able to update you with the latest news, blogs, photos, and tour dates whenever they pop up!
Things are well in my world these days. For those you that aren't a friend/fan on Facebook or Twitter, I've been suffering with a back injury for a little over 2 months now. A ruptured disk in my lower back (don't even ask me how it happened because I have no idea!) will definitely put someone out of commission for quite some time. It's situations like these that makes you so undoubtedly grateful for a health body. You don't realize just how much your back does for you or what all is connected/affected by your sciatic nerve. Needless to say, this is an injury I NEVER wish to duplicate or see anyone else go through. It's getting better...I'm able to move around and walk a lot better now. I start physical therapy next week so we'll see how that goes. I actually start it on MY BIRTHDAY.
Gaaah, I can't believe I'm already another year older. I don't know where the year has gone honestly. I can recall every detail of this time last year and it seems like it was just yesterday. I guess that's a true sign that I'm getting older ;) I'm excited though. I'm getting all my ducks in a row and I'm ready. This fall/winter we are hitting the road! Everywhere and anywhere that will let us play, we're there...and I can't wait! I've got cabin fever staying in Nashville and I'm ready to BUST LOOSE ;) So look for us and be sure to email us your suggestions on venues/events to play near you! Send your suggestions to rachelwilliamsmusic@yahoo.com
Well, I've saw Brooks & Dunn last week, Wynonna was on Oprah today, I get to see Reba on Friday, and then to see my favorite comedian, Chelsea Handler next week! Ah yes, September is good to me ;)
See you soon!
Nothin but love,
Rachel
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