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Rachel Fuller



Last Updated: 12/20/2009

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Status: Single
Country: UK
Signup Date: 1/5/2006

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December 20, 2009 - Sunday 

Current mood:  artistic
Nearly done all the xmas shopping. Im definitely going to wait until last minute christmas eve to get the last few. Its a perfect opportunity to practise tolerance and patience. Its not because i am the queen of procrastination and subconciously enjoy chaos and mayhem.





8:24 AM 
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July 7, 2009 - Tuesday 
DVD Review: Rachel Fuller Presents In The Attic Live with Pete Townshend And Friends
This nifty little package - 1 DVD and 2 CDs bargain-priced at $11.98 for the set, and only available at Best Buy - captures two of the intimate acoustic productions put together by Rachel Fuller, the English composer, arranger and singer who is also the longtime partner of Pete Townshend, at various stops on the Who’s 2006-07 world tour as a way to keep herself busy. “I said, if I’m gonna go, I’m gonna have to have something to DO,” Fuller explained when the Attic came to the Troubadour last fall. The house-partyish production, which started as a webcast from her actual attic back in 2005 and gradually worked its way into American nightclubs, has allowed Fuller to present her music to a wider audience, and as a side benefit, has sparked some of the most fun and inspired Pete Townshend performances of the last twenty years.
The physical surroundings of these shows, which took place in tiny clubs before less than 200 people, seem to have had an interesting effect on the music. For Who fans who managed to get into these events, the chance to see Townshend in a living-room size venue, pulling out rarely-played gems like “Sunrise” and “The Acid Queen” along with brand-new songs that had never been performed live and the occasional hit, was an unprecedented thrill. But those fans also got to see a rarely-exposed side of Townshend - his proficiency as a side man.
In the liner notes, he credits the shows for breaking a streak of writer’s block, by giving him a forum to test out ideas without feeling he had to “write the fucking song of my life every time out, so I started to knock songs out.” None of those new songs are included here, but you can still see him taking pleasure in discovery, coming up with his own parts for songs by Alexi Murdoch, Amos Lee and Ben Harper, and adapting to Joe Purdy’s slow, restrained take on “Let My Love Open The Door”. He throws himself into Purdy’s rendition of the gospel standard “Talk About Suffering” with a joyful abandon, soloing effortlessly, harmonizing on the choruses, even those he doesn’t quite know the words to. It’s a loose, instinctive, truly exciting performance, one that every Townshend fan should hear, but one that would never have been possible with 20,000 people watching.
The best of the batch comes at the very end of the Joe’s Pub set when Lou Reed sits down, and the two rip into “White Light White Heat”, Townshend adding signature Who rhythm patterns under that relentless beat, Lou barking out the lyrics with gusto and nodding approval at his new sideman. They follow it with a sublime “Pale Blue Eyes”, haunting and lovely. They both look like they’re having the time of their lives, surprising each other, getting off on each others’ playing. And like the Purdy duet, it’s the kind of thing that they might not have had the balls to do at a big concert without overthinking and orchestrating the whole thing to death. Townshend used to wing it on stage all the time, but ever since Keith Moon’s death, Who shows have become dependable if highly predictable. It’s encouraging to see him working on the fly again.
Fuller’s songs about housewifely neurosis are droll and self-deprecating, beautifully sung and played. She’s very precise and mannered, as befits her background as a classical musician and orchestrator. Jimmy Fallon’s songs are funnier then Tenacious D’s - their straightahead reading of Tommy songs is all set-up and no punchline, while Fallon’s contributions sound like they’d go over great around the campfire, all he needs now is some Scouts. Of the other assorted guests, Alexi Murdoch and Rachel Yamagata emerge as the winners of Open Mic Night, though I can’t help but wonder, what happened to J Mascis, who reportedly gave up a searing, deafening "See Me Feel Me" on the same NYC night as Lou Reed’s appearance? If you can’t have everything, at least what we have here is highly watchable at all times, and flat-out great in its best moments.
3:28 AM 
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July 7, 2009 - Tuesday 

Category: Music
LAist Interview: Rachel Fuller
In the middle of a busy year for British singer-composer Rachel Fuller, what with two original musicals being prepped for world premieres, one of her pet projects from years past is finally getting its wide-scale US release. In The Attic, a program of loose, informal collaborations between Fuller, her partner Pete Townshend, and a series of musical guests ranging from the world-renowned (Lou Reed, Flaming Lips, Raconteurs) to the near-totally unknown, has evolved from a webcast based in Fuller’s literal attic, to a live-on-location travel show, to a cabaret show in tiny American nightclubs. The performances captured on the CD/ DVD package released through Best Buy in April are from the last phase, and include a set of songs taped at LA’s Hotel Café in early 2007 with collaborators Amos Lee, Alexi Murdoch, Rachel Yamagata, Tenacious D and Ben Harper signing up for Fuller and Townshend's experiment in open-mic night.
Fuller spoke to LAist from her home in Richmond about her role as organizer of the Attic events, what makes them work, dreams of the perfect lineup for the show, and fills us in on future plans to present her own music, which seem more likely to involve theatrical engagements than music videos.
Out of eight In The Attic shows you’ve put on in the States, we’ve gotten three of them in LA. Is there a particular reason you like bringing it here?
Well initially, the first two, the Who were touring, so we happened to be in LA. So it was an opportunity, really. The Troubadour, I believe they were there again. So, I was traveling with Pete, as I often do when they’re doing shows. But I get a bit bored, and I want to do something creative and fun, so it’s always a good time to do one.
How do you go about choosing the guests that you want to invite to be a part of these?
Well, I guess I’m really lucky, because I just invite people that I think are fabulous. And often I try and find somebody who’s fairly well-established, somebody who’s perhaps, almost a complete unknown, and somebody who’s sort of in between. I was also lucky enough to be working with this fabulous girl called Carrie, who had worked for an agent here in London and her knowledge of new artists, especially the ones that were up and coming, was way beyond mine. So she would sometimes suggest people to me, and give me a copy of their music and I would have a listen. And we just did it like that really.
Do you think the nature of the shows, in small intimate venues, does that give the artists some breathing room to try some things that they might not attempt on a bigger stage?
I think it does but, I think personally speaking, but also having spoken to a few other people, that artists find it more intimidating to play in smaller venues. It feels more intimate to them. Whereas if you’re playing to a big arena, for some reason, it’s easier. But it wasn't just to do with the small venues, I think it was to do with the format as well. I mean, we really just didn’t rehearse. At best, we would do a soundcheck and just that kind of easygoing… It’s a bit like if you have a musician over to your house, and you just kind of sit round in the living room and play and try things out and you’re allowed to make mistakes. It’s almost required, in a sense, that the performance is imperfect. And without exception, every artist that performed on an ITA had a real laugh. You know, they just really enjoyed themselves. It did feel different to anything they’d done before. And obviously, for pretty much all the artists, they were just so kind of overwhelmed to be sitting there and jamming with Pete, I think. But the whole experience was just extraordinary. And Pete has said many times, “You’re not re-inventing the wheel, here Rachel. This is something us musicians have always done.” But there was something about the way everything was put together, that did feel really incredibly intimate, and fun, and informal.
I think had we done bigger shows, it wouldn’t have been the same. I mean, at Joe’s Pub in New York, you could hear people eating their food. But I think as well, for the audience, it felt special. It felt like they were really seeing something special. They were so small, some of the venues, blimey!
There’s clearly a lot of material from the number of shows that you’ve done. How did you go about editing everything you have in the library to what we see on this release?
Well we just decided to pick a couple of shows. We did eight live shows, there’s no way that you could fit all of that into one package. It would just be too much. We’re kind of hoping that this one does well, and people want to see more, and then of course we’ve got so much more to get out there. We just said, where shall we start, and the second Hotel Café show was… well they were all great, actually! I think we just went with that one… I can’t even remember how we chose. And then the Joe’s Pub one, because I think the thing with Lou Reed was pretty special. So we just picked two, and like I said, if this does well, there’s another six shows to get out there, which we will do.

Do you have in mind a dream roster that you’d like to put together?
Who would my dream roster be? It would be Pete… Stevie Wonder… Joni Mitchell… Prince... and who else? ME, of course! That would be pretty great. But they’re just my favorite artists, I guess. There were a couple of occasions when it looked like we may able to do one with Neil Young and Eddie Vedder, who, Pete’s worked with both before. And that would have been great. But that was really just a matter of schedule. And Bob Dylan as well. A lot of it, like I said, was opportunity, we happened to be there and we would just pull one together very quickly.
There have been some amazing people. Obviously when you do a show with Billy Corgan and Lou Reed and even to a certain extent, Tenacious D, because he’s out there and he’s a well known face, and he’s done his movies and stuff… you know a lot about the artists and you know what to expect. But it was the new artists that I was just… there’s so much SHIT in the charts… am I allowed to say that?
Certainly! We don’t censor in LA!
There’s really just so much shit. And before we did these shows, every once in a while I would flick through the music channels and I’d just think, “I just can’t bear another video in a fucking night club with girls in bikinis and … I just can’t bear it. Just… ecch!” And of course there’s the very odd good thing that gets into the mainstream, of course there is. But so much of it, I was so disheartened. Then reaching a bit further and finding the extraordinary wealth of talent which is out there, that nobody really knows about. And of course people like Alexi Murdoch and Joe Purdy and Amos Lee and Rachel Yamagata, they are all starting to make a name for themselves, and of course Martha Wainwright. It’s just extraordinary, I just think they absolutely blow away so much of the crap that’s out there. It seems very unjust to me that a lot of this kind of second-rate stuff is doing well and there’s this extraordinary talent that’s still very much behind the scenes in some cases.
I guess that’s not a new condition. It seems sometimes like it improves and after a while it starts to slide back.
Well Pete said to me, it’s always been this way. It’s always been this way, even in the 60s and 70s. Out of the top 40 there would be two or three really good tracks, a track by the Beatles or the Stones or you know, but there was also an incredible amount of shit around then. So I think you’re right, I think it has always been that way. But I got very disheartened, and now my faith has been really restored. There’s just a huge amount of just amazing talent out there, and people writing new music that’s different, that’s touching and moving and makes the hairs on your arms stand up. And that’s what I want,. I want to be moved by music. But obviously, different things for different people.
I know that you come from a classical background. It seems to me that in the last twenty or thirty years, that the distinct border between serious, composed music, and popular music is starting to break down. I’m thinking about things like John Adams turning the works of Radiohead into a so-called serious concert piano, or Frank Zappa’s music entering the repertoire of 20th century orchestras. Do you think that’s true, and if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I think there’s always going to be a divide between the classical, more serious music, and pop because I do think they have different functions. Pop is so transient. Yeah, I do see a merging of the two, but... I think movie soundtracks is where I see them really coming together in a way that works really brilliantly. A friend of mine, Cathy Nelson, is a music supervisor out there, and she’s amazing. You know, in the course of a movie there’ll be extraordinarily diverse… there’ll be a Vivaldi harpsichord sonata, or a Scarlatti harpsichord sonata, a piece by Coolio and a piece by Alexi Murdoch, all in the same movie. And that seems to tie it all together really well, so I think movies have really brought that together.
Do you have any plans at this point to perform your own work in the US?
Well with regards to In The Attic, I’m sure there’ll be some more at some point in time. I don’t know when. And I love putting myself in the middle of that, and kind of screaming at the audience. And I feel comfortable. I certainly can’t compare myself to most of the artists that I share a stage with. But I feel like I have a right to be there and I do enjoy performing. But I don’t know if that’s something that I’m going to focus on, myself as a performer. A, I think I’m too old now. I’m thirty-five. And the idea of going out there with no knickers on and kind of shocking people, is something that I did, God, a long time ago. And now I’m almost, kind of smoking a pipe in my pajamas.
I think my music is also very middle of the road, so short of getting it on boxes of Tampax across the nation, I don’t imagine that millions and millions of people will ever get to hear my music. But I’m always very touched when someone does find it and they say “Oh God I heard your music and it was really great.” And, you know, I’ve reached a fair number of people with my stuff. And I’m passionate about it. I don’t see myself jumping into the charts any time in the future, and I don’t think most people know about about me. Nobody knows about me. I could maybe do like a small three or four day residency at Joe’s Pub, I kind of have enough mates over there that would come see me and have a nice time.
What about recorded music? Anything coming our way?
I have, actually. I just put it up on my web site now, and my Myspace page, and people go and listen to it and I get a bit of feedback, and it’s very nice. I’ve recently done a thing, I’m a big fan of a movie director called Pedro Almodovar. And so, I picked four of his films, I’ve seen pretty much all of them, and wrote four pieces of music inspired by the movies. That’s mainly piano, Spanish guitar, cello and voice. And Pete and I have been working on those, and they should be ready soon. I'm just finishing some of the lyrics up, I always struggle with the last few lines, But as soon as they’re recorded they’ll be up, and on my site.
It’s all good. I’m really lucky. I’m working on two music theater pieces at the moment, one based on my experiences playing the organ in a crematorium when I was seventeen for two years, and the other one is set in the 50s, it’s like a noir detective falls in love with a stripper. So that’s a new style of writing for me, very like Etta James. Smoky nightclub… It’s going on, I’m putting it on in a theater here in London at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. And the other piece set in and around the crematorium, which is also a lot to do with growing old, plastic surgery, and that kind of thing, I’m hoping is going to go up, will get workshopped at the New York Public Theater, maybe at the end of this year or the beginning of next. So I’m still writing, I’m still out there writing, singing, doing my stuff. I love it. I’m lucky.
3:24 AM 
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October 14, 2008 - Tuesday 
Its been a while! Ive had a nice break in France and prepapring for the road.
I've started working on my Pedro Almodovar EP, and my writer and i are doing rewrites on ASH ready for another workshop in the New Year. I am also hosting an ATTIC show at the Toubador in LA - although this one is mostly a prmotional show for Bestbuy, who are releasing a DVD/CD package of earlier ATTICshows from the last tour.Hurrah! I'll do a little comp for a couple of tix for you orrible lot.

I hope you are all well and happy.I am going to stay blogging whilst on the road - i know how you all worry about me.

Went to see Mikey last week play a gig in London. He was fabulous and it was nice to see Mark and Jill although we didnt get to chat.

What else?,,,,,the poodle had his nuts off, ive cut bangs into my hair, i cant stop eating pies, still love an afternoon nap, still playing guitar, still mental.

After myAlmodovar EP is finished,my"artist" wants me to paint my room in KEW completely black, including blackout windows, and putting me in there for 24 hours with only a penlight and red electric guitar. its called BLACK BOX, WHITE LIGHT, RED GUITAR. Im dreading it.

Following that its had a great idea to eat a piece of Damien Hirsts art, and then put the poo with undigested art cut in half into formaldehyde in a perspex box. Its getting creepy huh?

Love Rachxxx
4:50 AM 
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July 31, 2008 - Thursday 

Current mood:  artistic
**Repost of yesterdays Bulletin**

Hey All,

Hope you are well! Rachel has completed her album entitled "Kew" & we think you're going to love it! It was created in just over a week & is based on what Rachel saw in life for that short period of time!

The whole album which consists of 7 full length songs, is and will remain free to download for all of the fans!

You can listen and download 4 of the tracks here on myspace. You can listen and download the remaining tracks at the website www.weekinkew.com

Also while visiting the site, you will find photos of her Kew flat, a personal blog & and a link so that you can register to the forum!

Rachel appreciates all of your love & support!

Comment & let us know what you think!
Regards,
Tausha
Myspace Admin
8:26 PM 
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July 21, 2008 - Monday 
Hello all!!

Have you visited the Kew site yet?? If not please do for photos, blogs & all sorts of news..it's all exclusive, you won't be able to find it anywhere else!! Please visit & register for your full access to everything Rachel on her journey!

Kew Site

Thanks for your support!
Team Rachelxx
3:08 AM 
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July 18, 2008 - Friday 

Current mood:  adventurous
Hello Myspacers!!

We are proud to announce, that the tickets have just gone onsale for the workshop performance of ASH!!!

It will be held at the Arcola Theatre in London on Monday August 11th @ 8pm.


Below is the link to purchase them:

Ticket Reservations

rach xx
5:37 PM 
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July 17, 2008 - Thursday 

Current mood:  excited
Category: Music
HELLO MYSPACERS!

As some of you may know, most of my time recently has been spent
composing the music and lyrics for my musical ASH, alongside the
writer Jack Shepherd. There is to be a full workshop/performance of
the piece including all dialogue and live music on August 11th at The
Arcola Theatre in London.
With all the preparation in place, I am feeling a little itchy. And
my songwriting artist has felt neglected and pissed off.

Having earnt some money on the road last year, and determined not to
just buy handbags with it, a few months ago, I purchased a very tiny
studio flat in Kew Village. Not only as an investment, but as place
for me to be creative. I often get very distracted at home. My artist
was thrilled, and I said – you do whatever you like! We have no
record company to please, no restrictions, I'm letting you out of the
box, if you want to play the church organ naked then so you shall.

This is what she has come up with.

On Sunday 20th July 2008 at 6pm, I will be packing my little bags and
going to live in the studio flat in Kew Village for a week. It is one
small room, with a tiny kitchen and bathroom.
Kew Village is about 2 miles from our home.
It has only a few shops – a Starbucks, a whole food store, a hardware
store, a grocery store, a book shop, a French bistro, a hairdresser,
a therapy room, a music store, a pharmacy and a few others.
In the week I live in my room, I intend to write a complete album
entitled KEW.
Each track will correlate to a store, what it sells, the kind of
people who shop and hang out in it and my relationship with the
people and the products.
I have booked a haircut and a session with a psychiatrist for the
week I will spend there.
I will not leave Kew Village for the week – at all.
In my room I have an electric keyboard, a dulcimer and an acoustic
guitar, hence the album will only have these 3 instruments plus vocal
on it.
God knows why, but my artist is insisting that the lyrics are written
on the white walls of the apartment in pencil. No notebooks. As I
move about the village, drinking coffee in Starbucks, chatting with
my therapist, buying organic food and having my haircut by my
extraordinarily upbeat hairdresser, I will use an mp3 dictaphone to
record any inspirations, which will then we worked out only on the
walls.

The week that I am in Kew, I will be taking photos and writing a
daily blog which will be posted on this site. In the chatroom I will
be able to interact with people as they follow the "process".

The finished album will be immediately uploaded to the website and my
myspace page for free download. Including photos of the lyrical walls
as artwork.

The writing will remain on the walls
Maybe I could do a small performance of the album in the room, where
im sure we could fit 10 people, but with the windows open to the
outside, perhaps the whole of Kew Village will hear. Maybe I'll
webcast it live too. For old times sake.

This is all about art. I am honouring my artist and no-one else.
I will keep my knickers on and I stopped taking drugs in the 90's ( a
good 20 years after it was deemed fashionable)
I shall be judged only for my work.

Love me – hate me.

Pretentious – moi?

Of course.

Rachel.xx



Visit the Kew site by clicking the banner below....


Photobucket
1:48 AM 
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July 1, 2008 - Tuesday 
Howdy all,

Firstly i would like to offer my condolences to Kevin regarding the passing of his father.
Its a tough one, and i send you much love and light.

Im working on a project that is very exciting and something that i would like you all t be involved in.
More will be revealed in a day or two.

It involves a new album, no record company, Starbucks, writing on walls, seeing a psychiatrist,having a haircut and being a village idiot.

Love Rachel.xx
6:26 AM 
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May 11, 2008 - Sunday 
Ive been working very hard on the musical. Pete, Jack and I did a first read through with music last week. i was expecting disaster but it was remarkably good! Its very exciting. We have been offered a night at the Arcola theatre in August to run through in front of an audience! Hurray!

This morning i visited the Down Syndrome Education centre here in the UK to meet with the research director and other staff. I was also lucky enough to sit in on a group with parents and their children from 2 - 4 years old. I am hoping to find a way to do something educational musically with the little ones and perhaps something more creative musically with teenagers. Perhaps a camp! at the end every teenager would have written a song and have a cd of it, perhaps also a live concert performing all the songs.

Pete is well, all is good here. The sun has come out.

I hope you are all well and happy,
more later......

Rachel.xx
1:28 PM 
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