Check It Out in Original Context, here:
http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=13927New Year's resolution - Michael Rault (Vuetube)Michael Rault's just might be 'relax'
Some days it must seem to Michael Rault as though he doesn't even have a moment to think. In addition to putting together a new solo album over the past year—which he was in the process of mixing when I reached him—the young singer-songwriter is also busy planning a tour opening for Bedouin Soundclash singer and guitarist Jay Malinkowsi for March, preparing to open for Mudhoney in January, spent October in Toronto playing lead guitar on expat Ben Stevenson's forthcoming album and, finally, preparing to play with and open for Stevenson on New Year's Eve.
While it might seem overwhelming to anyone else—and Rault admits that sometimes it can feel that way sometimes for him too—he says it's the music that keeps him going.
"There's occasional times when you wish things might have spaced out a little more conveniently, but it's great—this is what I wanna do with my time," he says. "Even though I might get a little overwhelmed at times it's all really good when you're actually in the studio or at the show. Sometimes it's just when you're sitting down with your calender going, 'How the hell can I schedule all this so that I don't screw one or more of these projects up.' I'm getting close to the end of the tunnel now and I feel like I managed to pull it off."
As for the new stuff, Rault is excited to not only be nearing finishing the project, but also to show off a more encompassing side of his music. Though Rault explains that it's got more of an R&B feel than some of his previous work, it still has an edge to it.
"I guess it's still got a little bit of a '60s-esque vibe to it, though it's not really a throwback. It's got a lot of songs that sound like '60s girl-group songs and a song that sounds like a New Orleans funk song a bit. It's branched out a bit—I think it's consolidated. This is the record that shows the most of my influences at the same time I'd say. It isn't just focusing on one thing," he explains. "[It's] a little more restrained than the stuff I did in the Mixed Signals days but I still think it qualifies as a garage record. Most of the records I listen to are all recorded with a certain amount of rough-around-the-edges style, so if it doesn't have that it kind of doesn't really appeal to me because it doesn't fit in with any of the records I like."Fans of Rault may get a chance to hear some of the new material on New Year's Eve, but the young musician can't say for certain."I don't really plan things too far ahead," he says, saying that while some of the songs on the new record might work in a solo show, some definitely wouldn't. "I guess it's always a mixed bag: you never know what you're gonna get when you come out to one of my shows." V
Thu, Dec 31 (9 pm)
Michael Rault
With Ben Stevenson andthe Wondertones
Black Dog,
$15