Rachel Jayson first discovered Fluevog during grad school at the Boston Conservatory. She wasn't able to afford a pair, being a broke college student until she was hired on at Boston Fluevog, and quickly became an avid collector.
What she loves about working at Fluevog:
I love working in such a whimsical environment. My fellow Bostonian
Fluevogologists are some of my best friends and we spend all day
talking to people about art, colors, and fashion. The city of Boston
is small and neighborhood-centric, making it easy for our whole staff
to bike or take public transit to work. That cozy, old-world feel also
manifests itself in the store. The Boston Fluevog has a strong living
room vibe to it. We're the only shoe store I know of that has regulars
- lots of our favorite customers often stop by just to say "hi." Not
to mention, there's a tiny rock band on display that includes a Gene
Simmons figurine, an Austin Powers action figure, and a tiny
functional drum set. We also start every weekend by listening to
AC/DC. You can't top that!
Inspiration behind her work:
I tend to be inspired by many things outside of music. I love color and color theory, as well as textures and shapes. Often when I'm creating my viola part
for my bands I'll think of a color or a texture that suits the piece and then try and create that with sound.
In addition to playing music I also do a fair amount of crafting. I make a lot of my own clothing and costume pieces for my bands. My biggest project to date is a gown that I made out of sheet music for a solo show I did in the fall. I hand stitched about a hundred and fifty pages of music together. I've also made some cool stuff out of fallen Fluevogs including a corset out of a pair of derby swirls, as well as a belt and wallet out of a pair of Heidi boots.
photo by Justin Moore
Rachel plays viola in two strange ArtRock bands in the Boston area:
Jaggery has been described as "darkwave jazz" and "siren rock" but
prefer the label "torture chamber pop." The sound moves from from
trip hop to almost tribal, and features unique instrumentation ~
piano, drums, upright bass, Celtic harp, viola ~ supporting
whisper-to-scream female vocals.
photo by Noah Blumenson-Cook
Boston Music Award 2010 LIVE ARTIST of the YEAR nominee, Walter
Sickert & the Army of Broken, is a musically sophisticated Dada-esque
SteamCRUNK circus carnival run amuck. Walter's raw vocals are
accompanied by guitar, viola, clarinet, mandolin, ukulele, upright
bass, drums, and at times toy accordion, melodica, glockenspiel, tiny
harmonica, bells, cymbal clapping monkey, and slide whistle.
photo by Justin Moore
About Rachel's dreams:
I'm living it! I work for a rad company that supports my art, I'm an
orchestra director working with some of the best kids I've ever met at
Lexington High School, and I spend the rest of my time making music
in two crazy bands. All things considered, I think I'm doing alright.
photo by Gonzalo Plaza
For more information on Rachel and her ArtRock bands, feel free to contact her at – musykchyk@gmail.com
