John V. Wood Artist Interview Sample
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North American (General)Transcript
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What's up, everybody? I'm John Wood and I'd like to welcome you back to the sound check Podcast. We're coming to you from KJ HK 90.7 FM in Lawrence, Kansas. And we're a part of the award winning ad Astra Podcast Stream. Joining me today on Sound check is New York born in L A based singer, songwriter activist Raye Zaragoza Ray, Thanks for taking time out of your cove in quarantine to talk with me today. Thanks for having me good to be here. So your new album, Women and Color will be released soon from Rebel River Records. Congratulations, By the way, thank you so much. And and you know, you started with heroin E p in 2015, then fight for you in 2017 and the live release. How would you define your sound? Just overall as, ah introduction to some of these Jayhawks listening that may not have had the pleasure of experiencing your Americana music before. How would you define your sound? It's kind of like indie folk pop depends on the song. I think I get compared. I'm very much influenced by Joni Mitchell and First Aid Kit and the Sweet Foxes and Harry Chapin, and I think it's a little bit like, um, you know, more modern day full could meet classic rock. Yeah, because I will have to say that that women and color is a very relevant, very powerful, very Americana tour de force. It feels very earthy. Very, very. I haven't had to colleges folk because folk limits it. I think you're right when you have the pop aspect. And when you mentioned Joni Mitchell, I do get that feel or Stevie Nicks style of your voice to eso and your lyrics. Your lyrics? Well, you deserve it. The lyrics are very poignant. Your music's engaging. The message is quite powerful. What was the process like putting this album together from start to finish? Obviously you got the global pandemic going on. Right now, you've got all the social, emotional and racial distress going on in the country. What was the process like? And how did what was going on in the world? Effect alter or add to your process for creating women in color? Yeah, you know it's wild. I wrote most of these songs two years ago because we recorded the album a year ago. Yeah, everything on the record was written at least a year and a half ago. Um, maybe like one of the problems written, like, a couple months before you recorded the album. Well, with this being such an important message that I think you're bringing to the masses, what was it like once again to work with master producer Tucker Martine on this project? He's been around the block a few times. What was it like working with Tucker? Yes. I love talking to people who know who. Tucker, Uh, you know, Tucker is because he is really an after and it was such a dream come true to work with him. Um, I literally I'm a huge blind pilot fan. And I was driving down like Venice Boulevard five years ago and there something don't doubt came on. And I just started crying. I had to pull over my car and I was like, I don't care what happens. Like whoever produced this track is going to produce my music one day. And I just made this pact with myself and then, like, later on fast forward, like, four years later, my management is like, Okay, like who's the dream like, Who's the dream producer to produce this? And I said, Tucker, Martine, he's a dream. And so I talked to Tucker. Luckily, I got a phone call with him and we had an amazing we just like our such like, musical soulmate. Um, but I also talked to, like, so many different producers. I mean, I want to say, like, 30 producers and I just with every And I told Tucker this. I feel like with every producer I spoke to, I was just like all I could think about was Tucker. You know, like I just want Tucker to produce it and, you know, he's incredibly busy person. And so I was very lucky to be able to schedule something with him so grateful. And he's a wizard, and he's someone who his ear is out of this world. He can hear things that no one else can and his attention to detail. And yet his ability to paint these incredibly beautiful like song paintings is just completely bonkers. And I'm a huge fan, and I'm I'm still on Cloud nine, but I got to work with him. It's definitely gotta Tucker stamp to it. It's very tight. It's very clean. It sounds really good. Do you have any funny stories about working with him in the studio? In any any funny stories you can share? It's so funny. So we had Colin Meloy of the December come in and play on the song, they say, and Tucker was like, Yeah, Colin will play in your record. You've got to make sure you get into Orangina. Eso I like looked all over Portland for Orangina and I got it. And then later and after we recorded later that night, Tucker and I made like I don't even know all I had in his studio because we wanted to celebrate the finishing of fight like a girl. The mix. And so I made us cocktails, which was just Orangina and white wine, actually was amazing. And so it was just like me and Tucker and everyone dancing around the studio, listening to a final mix drinking Orangina and wine because calling a lawyer loved Orangina. People underestimate the power of a good Orangina