Cantu's can-do spirit is evident as debut album draws notice
SOMERVILLE -- A would-be rock star's work is never done. It's a snowy Saturday afternoon, but inside a mostly deserted Q Division Studios -- there's an engineer mixing tracks by a hardcore band, but that's about it -- budding songwriter Rachael Cantu is hunched over a desk, busily penning in show dates on a stack of tour fliers. When she finishes, she darts to the copier, which is belching out another batch.
''Luckily, I have a label and I'm getting a manager and things are coming together, but there's so much to do," Cantu says, marveling for a moment at her expanding tour itinerary, which includes a CD-release party Tuesday at the Middle East Upstairs. ''I'm my own business, and like any small business you have to invest in it and put a lot of time and money into it. I'm doing more work than I've ever done, but you know, it's great! It's for my music."
A visitor notices a nearby pile of autographed promotional posters advertising ''Run All Night," her debut album out on Q Division's in-house label. ''I'm just glad I got to use the silver Sharpie," Cantu says with a satisfied smile. ''It's so much more fun than the black one."
The singer-songwriter's quick laugh and self-deprecating humor mix easily with the unflustered poise with which she carries herself. Not every 24-year-old would be this grounded -- certainly not one with a debut album on the CMJ Top 200 albums chart (at last look it was hovering in the mid-70s, ahead of singer-songwriters such as Neko Case and Ryan Adams). Actually, her upbeat demeanor is a far cry from the darkly probing persona that permeates much of ''Run All Night."
''I try not to let anything bother me," Cantu says. ''I'm realistic and levelheaded about stuff, and I think [music] is where the other stuff comes out. I feel like if I didn't have that outlet, you would see the dark side in me. It's not necessarily from being unhappy though. Maybe it comes from a sadness, but I find beauty in that and that's why I write. I think it's beautiful." She flashes a mock kewpie doll grin as the unappetizing alternative.
And yet she's got much to smile about. Cantu's musical life has, so far, been on a fast track. She fronted an indie-rock band in high school back home in Orange County, Calif., tried community college but started skipping everything except music and art classes, and then moved to Somerville with a friend on a whim three years ago. She began writing songs, performing live, and met music folks along the way who booked her into small venues like the Paradise Lounge. That's where Q Division co-owner and producer Mike Denneen first caught her, playing a solo acoustic set at one of Q's ''Earfull" installments showcasing authors and musicians.
''I had first heard about her from Andrea Kremer, who works at the label," Denneen recalls. ''Somebody had canceled on us, I asked Andrea if she could recommend anybody, and at the last minute she suggested Rachael. So she opened that show, and I was just completely blown away by her voice. It's really intimate and really big at the same time."
''Run All Night" boasts some talented friends who lent a hand, including guest vocalist Tegan Quin (of the Canadian folk-pop duo Tegan and Sara) on the exuberant ''Saturday" and the Rudds' Tony Goddess, who contributed keyboards to ''Blood Laughs." But ultimately, it's the quiet force of Cantu's voice and personality that carries the album. It's a voice that is at once wounded and resilient, wistful and wary, but always nakedly direct.
As the title implies, ''Run All Night" is best suited for nocturnal listening. And night, not surprisingly, is her favorite time to write. ''I like it when it's dark and moody," says Cantu. ''There's so much more energy for me when there's no energy out there at all, just this creepiness and stillness. It's like nobody else exists and I'm just going crazy. I write my songs while I'm going crazy."
A vote for Roy Roy Orbison's widow, Barbara Orbison, has launched an online campaign petitioning the US Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp for the late, legendary crooner whose omnipresent shades, haunting voice, and storied eight-octave range made songs including ''Crying," ''Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)," ''In Dreams," and ''Oh Pretty Woman" enduring classics.
''This is a grass-roots campaign from my heart and I am calling on everyone that loved Roy and his music," said Barbara Orbison in a statement. The campaign is meant to honor what would have been her husband's 70th birthday (April 23). Orbison was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 1988 became a member of the Traveling Wilburys supergroup that included George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan. Orbison died of a heart attack on Dec. 6, 1988. He was 52 and had just recorded ''Mystery Girl," a comeback solo album that was released to critical acclaim in February 1989.
A posthumous hit single, ''You Got It," ended a 20-plus-year drought after Orbison had racked up an astonishing 22 Top 40 hits in six years. Orbison disciples have included artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen to k.d. lang (who dueted with Orbison on her cover of ''Crying") to Van Halen, which scored a hit in 1982 with its incendiary take on ''Oh Pretty Woman." More information about the petition can be accessed at www.petitiononline.com/royvote/petition.html.
Bits & pieces Tonight British singer-songwriter sensation KT Tunstall is at the Paradise. The Boston roots-pop outfit Vinyl Skyway headlines a Lizard Lounge bill with Mishima U.S.A. and Molly Coddle. Boston alt-rockers the Fair Enough bring the noise to the Attic in Newton. Tomorrow Say When headlines a Harpers Ferry bill that includes Boston Brit-style rockers Baby Strange. Local hip-hop/R&B troupers One Love have collaborated with the production team of Tempting Fate on a three-song single, ''That's Cool," which the group will celebrate at the Blue Wave Lounge. Lyrical and Shea Rose open the show. John Cate & the Van Gogh Brothers are at Toad. Monday Wolf Eyes are at Great Scott. The Cloud Room is at T.T. the Bear's. Tuesday Boston chanteuse Eileen Rose begins a monthlong residence at the Lizard Lounge. The Wu Tang Clan's GZA/Genius and Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs share the stage at the Paradise Rock Club. Wednesday The Slackers top a reggae-flavored bill at the Middle East Downstairs with the local reggae-rockers Stolen Records and Flashlight Brown. Thursday A Wish for Fire is at T.T. the Bear's.
