Rebekah Pulley's much anticipated fourth cd, "Back to Boogaloo" is now available and receiving glowing reviews from local critics. I am not one to argue. The 13 track disc features the likes of WMNF fave, Ronny Elliot, and Pulley's own daughter on "Parade." "Back to Boogaloo" pulls in an alt-country feel with Rebekah's smooth vocals keeping even the smokiest of sad songs from being drenched in too much melancholy. Even the break-up song, "Cry", hits notes of defiance in her lyrics. While many track delve into heartache and parting ways ("Island of You" has her Norah Jonesin'), "Parade" and "Watching You Go" are there to pick you up. Pulley's backing band, "The Reluctant Prophets" provide a solid addition to her own guitar work. The folks at Zen Studios also did a remarkable job capturing the warmth of the songs without muddy-ing it up with too much production. Several songs talk about personal crossroads, which piqued our interest. We decided to go to the source herself for answers to our questions.
Mmx: First of all, where is Boogaloo and why do you want to go back there?
RP: Boogaloo isn’t a physical place, not a city or building. It is really a state of mind; that perfect mental outlook, that un-breached sense of childhood wonderment. I was sang this song ‘Back To Boogaloo’ as a child. Boogaloo became my nickname. I still don’t know if it was a real or made up song and it doesn’t matter to me. It was the love and playfulness in the melody that I remember most. Through all the turbulence of life, I’d like to always keep a little piece of that memory with me.
Mmx: Your new CD has several songs that deal with love lost. Is this where you are with your life now, or are you pulling from other experiences?
RP: That first heartbreak we go through in our youth is a traumatic thing, even if that first love was a jerk. It could be a friend, parent or lover. No matter who it was the impression seems to hang around and haunt us forever. We unintentionally compare present relationships to past ones. Some of us are fortunate enough to never experience something like this or are unaffected. But a lot of us have been there, including me and we are all have our own ways of dealing with the effects. I just do it with songs.
Mmx: Is there a song you're most proud of on this release? Are there any others you had a hard time letting go of, or want to keep tweaking?
RP: I’m really proud that my daughter sang on ‘Parade’. We were going to edit her part a bit to keep the song smoother, but I loved having her on there and decided to keep her part it exactly as it was recorded. ‘Not Your Girlfriend Anymore’ almost didn’t make it on the cd. Early on it was lacking something but we just couldn’t figure out what. Then Steve Connelly added a really great guitar part and the final mix of the song turned out amazing. Overall, the vocals turned out okay, but if I had the time and money to go back and rerecord some of my vocal parts I would have.They were all pretty much one take and I wasn’t feeling well that day. ‘Watching You Go’ was actually recorded solely for the BAAMO cd, ‘Cheatin Heart: Tales of Lies and Love’ but we decided to throw it on the end on the recording.
Mmx: Several critics have compared you to other alt-rock lady singers. Who would you compare your music to? Who inspires you most?
RP: It’s funny because growing up I had these strange musical mood swings that weren’t always in good taste. I would listen to what was available to me but I kept digging until I unveiled my own musical passions. I got into Mark Knopfler early on and still love his stuff. Eventually I heard Physical Graffiti from Led Zeppelin and that was it for me. I’m still a fan of and have been very inspired by all those 60-70’s bands. But there are also a ton of current artists that I adore. Ray Lamontagne, The Avett Brothers, Neko Case, Kathleen Edwards, Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, Nick Cave….I could on and on.
Mmx: You're also in the Velvet Underground cover band, Venus in Furs. What's it like for you to switch gears? Do the music genres ever bleed into the other when you play?
RP: I love the Velvet Underground’s material and being able to play their songs is a treat for me. It gets me out of my own head and also allows me do a lot of lead guitar work that I was afraid to try before. As a result I have been more confident to play leads in my own music. I was always able but wary. I wanted to leave that to the guys who knew what they were doing, but I’ve come to realize that I know what I’m doing too. It’s a fun challenge.
Mmx: You've been to South by Southwest and have played the area extensively. At this point in your music career what is success for you? What is one of the biggest obstacles you've had to deal with so far?
RP: Like every other musician, we are all just trying to get our music out there and be heard. It’s extremely hard and very discouraging at times. I would just love to be able to pay my bills every month with a little money left over to enjoy. People don’t realize that musicians, for the most part, spend years devoting themselves to their craft. We put our heart and soul into every note; our bodies ache after long shows. Still, we never get raises, promotions, a 401K or health benefits, but we continue doing it night after night because we love it more than anything. When you put an artist in the position of being their own business, there is bound to be some kind of negative affect on the artists. My biggest challenge has been to be my own booking agent, manager, PR person and web master while still finding down time to reflect on life and write songs. The business of music is continually nipping at my heels.
Mmx: What does the world still need to know about Rebekah Pulley?
RP: I’m a really shy, introverted person who tends to have a hard time talking with people I don’t know well. I’ve had several people tell me that they thought I was a snob or conceited because of my lack of conversation. But that is never the case. I am sincerely overwhelmed by the kindness of people who come out to shows. I would love to be a great conversationalist and let them know this in person. But instead I end up running off to reflect on it in a quiet place and think of all the right things I could have said. I have been working on overcoming that affliction. Always, I am thinking of ways to make a better song, a better record and how I can be a better performer. I want people to enjoy my music and my shows. It means very much to me. Also, I would love to learn how to knit, sew my own clothes, be a great cook, a great guitar player, a great songwriter, hang glide, play the cello, get a dog, swim laps, go to Ireland and remodel my bathroom.
Go see Rebekah play because for now, "Back to Boogaloo" is only available at a few places, including her gigs.
It's available online at: www.cdbaby.com/all/rebekahpulley
Itunes will be picking it up in a few weeks. And it will be on the shelves of local independent music stores starting Septemeber 5.
