Rachelle

Rachelle

Ex-Subway Performer, Rhyming Obsession, Quirky Behaviour

“I started my musical career on the subway. It was a way to connect to the audience with a humorous and seductive approach. Playing on the street and subway gives you a thick skin. Especially back then when the attitude in the city was more rough. People could scream at me that I sucked. I learned how to keep my shit together.”

“ Being a kid here was like growing up in the story books. I felt like NY was a magical place during my childhood. It’s always been that way. Especially when I was running around on my own. I remember we went to the river and riverside park. Everything is moving. The water is there. We’re on this mythical Island full of interesting people. I was always curious about what’s going on behind every single window and their story.”

“I play accordion, piano, guitar, electric base, bells, whistles, different kinds of keyboard. I connect these instruments in my performances.”

“The subway is a powerful place. I think it saves our city from becoming dangerous. If you ride the subway, you will always stand six inches from somebody you never see in your neighborhood or day to day life. In other cities people are in their cars all the time. There’s a lot more separation and segregation. Riots happening other places, I could not ever imagining the same thing happen in NYC. The subway has a huge unifying power here.”

“I still stop and see the magic in NYC. One thing I love about this city is that if you have a thought in your head throughout the day, there will be symbols of what you’ve been thinking or it will manifest.”

“There could be a performer singing what I’m thinking. A book someone’s reading. Street art. All these things confirming that I’m not alone having these thoughts. I think that is what makes this city so magical. If you have a shitty day there’s always that one crack open where you can see the light. It’s always there if you want it to”

“Time is defined differently here than any other place. Everywhere else I go, people ask me why I’m walking so fast. There is a saying about the New York minute because of the fast pace life here. Everything needs to happen instantly and more things happen in a minute here than any other place. The best anyone could say after a show is that they lost track of time.”

“People who don’t understand sidewalk etiquette. Move over!”

Favorite neighborhood? The East Village.

Favorite street to stroll? First Avenue between Houston and 14th street.

Why? It’s got heart. I love the “Mom & Pop” shops: Fineline Tattoos, Mexican food at the Downtown Bakery, shoe store on St. Mark’s.

Favorite restaurant? Pangea - it’s old-school! Cozy, delicious, low volume so you don’t have to shout to be heard, plus the back room is one of my alltime favorite places to perform.

Favorite bar? I don’t go to bars, I do ice cream at Morgenstern’s on Rivington Street.

Hidden gem? Community gardens are the jewels of the city. 6th street and avenue B is lovely. They have events all season, music, films, workshop.

How to be(come) a New Yorker? Be cool, have a sense of humor, don’t take any sh*t, don’t start any sh*t.

Your New York soundtrack? Odyssey — Native New Yorker.

5 THINGS THAT TELLS A STORY ABOUT RACHELLE

BOOK “At 19 I was downtown by myself at night with an existential crises. It was wintertime and I wondered into an abandon building where I found this book lying on the floor. I took this as a huge sign that I was on the right track with my life. This book has encouraged me to do what I do, plus it is the weirdest book in the world.”

RHYMING BOOK “I love using rhyming dictionary to write songs. Sometimes I can pick any word and start creating songs.”

CAR “This is my dream car if I was a hot shot driver. Since I am like rinky dink, I have a tiny little El Camino and have to imagine myself driving around. It is my funeral car.”

TOY MUSIC INSTRUMENT “I love bells and toys. It is impossible to not feel a little bit happy when you see this, and it is one of the most soothing and calming things. I like to use it in performances as well.”

HELMET “I like to ride my pink bike with a big black helmet. I think a little bit of autism is in the mix of me, so I like to have the compression. It protects me from over stimulus.”