Check out Rachel Raymond’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Raymond.

Rachel, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My story begins as it has for a lot of other artists who have experienced some degree of mental illness. Dealing with symptoms of anxiety and depression beginning in high school, I channeled it into music and writing. Music was the answer to everything and served as my social and solo outlets. Countless of my hours spent listening to music and attending shows with friends, but also retreating into my own head space to write. It’s a constant in my life and helps balance me out.

I played music with several friends over the years, but never properly recorded any of it. It was not until I met Dave Raymond, my partner, that I got the push and support I needed to make it happen. Still + Storm (our project) began with Dave collaborating on my demos to ready them to be heard by Nashville producer J Hall. Dave had already been working with J Hall for his project Hidden Hospitals and thought we might be a good fit. Still + Storm then morphed into what it is today, thanks to those two! We recorded the first EP, “Found”, in Nashville in the summer of 2014. We took our time creating a live set and began our first set of shows on short tour in February of 2016. It gave the songs life and gave me much needed experience with performing. We have since recorded our second EP, “Break Away”, and recently released a single/video called “All of These Things”.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Primarily, I am a songwriter. I write the ideas and lyrics for Still + Storm with Dave finalizing all of the music and song structure. The inspiration is usually love or loss, or some result of the two. Things that keep me up at night and warrant further processing in my psyche. I am not sure there is a clear message, but my hope is that listeners feel some comfort in the solidarity of sadness.

I also have created all of the merchandise we use for Still + Storm (except for the vinyl). Dave and I have hand drawn and screen printed all of the shirts and tote bags. I create small wall hangings out of yarn that are part of the decor at our shows. Dave is a designer and photographer and has curated all of the Still + Storm aesthetic for the EPs. We are fortunate to have worked with so many talented friends throughout this process, as well. Sara + Daniel directed and produced our latest music video (All of These Things) in Seattle. They brought such a unique vision to the song while maintaining a sense of longing and isolation. We have also worked with the amazing photographers Chris Strong and Jaret Ferratusco.

Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
The “starving artist” now has the additional challenge of reimbursement for their work. In this digital age, many feel entitled to unlimited free music and video streams. I am not opposed to people listening and sampling music, by any means but there is little to no reimbursement for the artist. I don’t have the solution, but it is definitely a challenge to take consumers across the bridge from listening to purchasing. At some point, it starts to feel like you are berating your friends and fans, which no one benefits from. Treading those waters has been difficult for me.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
We are on all of the social media sites and our music is available to stream/buy at Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud. We have two music videos on YouTube. You can always check out our website at: stillandstorm.com.

The best way to support any artist is to purchase their music. Ours is available digitally and on vinyl. Secondly, telling your friends that you think would really dig it to help keep it alive!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stillandstorm.com
• Email: rachel@stillandstorm.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/stillxstorm
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stillandstorm
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/stillxstorm
• Other: https://stillandstorm.bandcamp.com/

Image Credit:
Dave + Rachel (candid) and Still + Storm vinyl shots by Dave Raymond
Still + Storm live shot by Becky Yarmuth
Sun in Rachel’s hair + face shots by Jaret Ferratusco (Corpse on Pumpkin)
All of These Things cover shot by Daniel Fickle
Still + Storm promo shot by Chris Strong

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