Rachael Yamagata Biography

Rachael Yamagata
Background information
Born	September 23, 1977 (1977-09-23) (age 31)
Genre(s)	Adult alternative Blues rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Piano Guitar Vocals
Label(s)	RCA Victor (2003-2007); Warner Bros. Records (2008-)
Associated acts	Bumpus, Chantal Kreviazuk
Website	rachaelyamagata.com

Rachael Yamagata (born September 23, 1977 in Arlington, Virginia) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a Yonsei or fourth-generation Japanese American on her father's side and of Italian and German ancestry on her mother's side.

Early life

A child of divorced parents, Yamagata divided her time growing up between her Sansei Japanese American father, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and Harvard graduate; and her Italian-German mother, an artist/painter in New York City. Yamagata graduated from the Holton-Arms School for Girls in Bethesda, Maryland, and attended Northwestern and Vassar.

Music career

Bumpus

Yamagata became the vocalist for the Chicago funk-fusion band Bumpus, spending six years writing and recording three albums with the band and touring the country. In 2001, after having written a number of songs that didn't fit with the funk style of the band, Yamagata decided to take the songs and launch a solo career. In September 2002, she landed a two-record deal with Arista's Private Music and her self-titled EP produced by Malcolm Burn, Rachael Yamagata EP was released in October.

Solo career

Her first full-length album, Happenstance, followed in June 2004. It was produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Ben Folds Five). "I Want You" features several members of prominent American Klezmer group The Klezmatics. Videos were made for the first and second singles "Worn Me Down" and "1963".

Her songs have featured on several TV shows, including How I Met Your Mother, ER , Nip/Tuck, Men in Trees, Alias, One Tree Hill, Brothers & Sisters and The O.C., to which she made a guest performance in season 2. Yamagata also contributed a song to Mandy Moore's 2007 album, Wild Hope.¹ She also toured with Moore, opening many of her shows around the country.

On May 22, 2008, a new banner was added to her site indicating the digital release of a new EP, Loose Ends, with three new songs, serving as a preview for the now delayed release of her second full-length album.

In early 2008, her site featured a "teaser video" for the new album. The album was finally released on October 7, 2008.²Yamagata's second studio album is called Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart.² It was originally slated for release in the late-summer of 2007.³⁴

On October 9th, 2008, a two-song live acoustic video performance premiered on LiveDaily Sessions, featuring the songs "Faster" and "Sunday Afternoon"⁵.

Yamagata's songs have appeared in a number of films and television shows. These include:

She also made an appearance in Jason Mraz's second album, singing a song with him called Did You Get My Message?. She also sings on Fireflies and The Believer on Rhett Miller's solo CD, Blame On Me on Toots and the Maytals True Love, Barfly on Ray Lamontagne's Till the Sun Turns Black, Let it Ride, Sweet Illusions,Cold Roses, and Friends, on Ryan Adams' Cold Roses. She sings backup on six tracks on the Bright Eyes' album Cassadaga. She co-wrote Kaleidoscope with Jill Cunniff, formerly of Luscious Jackson, for Cunniff's solo album City Beach and also plays keyboards and second vocals.

Discography

Studio albums

• Happenstance (2004)
• Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart (2008)

EPs

• EP (2003)
• Live at the Loft & More (2005)
• Loose Ends (2008)

Singles

• "Worn Me Down"
• "Letter Read"
• "1963"
• "River"
• "Elephants"

Live/Compilations

• Live at the Bonnaroo Music Festival (2004), released exclusively on Bonnaroo
• Sony Connect Sets (2005), released exclusively on Sony Connect
• KCRW Sessions: Rachel Yamagata (2005), released exclusively on iTunes
• Napster session: Rachael Yamagata (2005), released exclusively on Napster

Bumpus

• Bumpus (1999)
• Steroscope (2001)

Other contributions

• WFUV: City Folk Live VII - "Worn Me Down" (2004)
• Toots and the Maytals - True Love (2004)
• Ryan Adams - Cold Roses (2005)
• Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z (2005)
• Chris Holmes - Blister of the Spotlight (2006)
• Rhett Miller - The Believer (2006)
• Ray LaMontagne - Till the Sun Turns Black (2006)
• Bright Eyes - Four Winds (2007)
• Bright Eyes - Cassadaga (2007)
• Ben Arthur - Mouhfeel (2007)
• Mandy Moore - Wild Hope (2007)
• Jill Cunniff - City Beach (2007)

References

External links

• Official website
• Elephants Review
• Rachael Yamagata at MySpace
• Rachael Yamagata at the Internet Movie Database
• Rachael Yamagata at TV.com
• Rachael Yamagata: Confessions on Happenstance
• Stereo Subversion Interview - Fall 2008