Rachael & Vilray Live in Studio

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It – Rachael & Vilray Live in Studio

Podcast Information:

• Title: All Of It
• Host: Alison Stewart, WNYC
• Description: ALL OF IT is a show about culture and its consumers, aiming to engage thinkers, doers, makers, and creators in discussions about the what and why of their work. The show fosters a diverse community, reflecting the rich tapestry of New York City culture.

Episode Details:

• Title: Rachael & Vilray Live in Studio
• Release Date: August 6, 2025
• Guests: Rachel Price (Lead singer of Lake Street Dive) and Vilre (Guitarist, Singer, and Songwriter)

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1. Introduction to Rachel & Vilre

Alison Stewart opens the episode by introducing Rachel Price and Vilre, highlighting their collaborative effort in producing a fresh album titled "West of Broadway." The duo is celebrated for their original tunes that blend a retro aesthetic with modern flair, drawing comparisons to legendary composers like Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart.

• Quote:
  Alison Stewart [00:08]:
  “Rachel Price, the lead singer of Lake Street Dive, but with guitarist, singer and songwriter Vilre. The two of them put out songs that could fit right alongside the best of Cole Porter or Rodgers and Hart.”

2. Performance: "Love Comes Around"

The episode features a live performance of their song "Love Comes Around." The audience is captivated by the nostalgic yet fresh sound, seamlessly blending elements of jazz and Broadway-inspired melodies.

• Transcript Excerpt:
  Audience Member [01:04]:
  “I never thought that love would come around again... I have found when the love comes around.”

3. The Art of Scatting

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around Rachel's proficiency in scatting. Rachel shares her journey of learning scatting from Ella Fitzgerald, emphasizing the importance of memorizing solos to understand jazz vocabulary. She also recounts her studies at the New England Conservatory under trumpet player John McNeil, which honed her improvisational skills.

• Quotes:
  Rachel Price [04:04]:
  “I started learning how to scat from Ella Fitzgerald... It’s like still, I still feel like a little kid when I’m scatting.”
  Alison Stewart [05:38]:
  “It’s so interesting to watch you do it because you have great hand movements and this great motion and, like, you’re not saying anything, but I know what you’re saying.”

4. Musical Influences and Styles

Vilre delves into the inspirations behind "West of Broadway," explaining the fusion of Broadway melodies with West Coast cool jazz. He cites "Birth of the Cool" as a pivotal influence, highlighting its dense melodic approach and emotional depth.

• Quotes:
  Vilre [06:22]:
  “Broadway music is just music. So it can be rock and roll, or it can be jazz inflected or even opera inflected... If you listen to the Birth of the Cool and you’ll hear a big chunk of what inspired me for this record.”
  Vilre [08:12]:
  “I’ve really gotten into Sondheim. That’s sort of been my principal influence... It’s really a rich, rich world.”

5. Character-Driven Songwriting

Rachel explains that each song on the album serves as a character study, requiring her to embody diverse personas. This approach adds depth and variety to their music, ensuring each track tells a unique story.

• Quotes:
  Rachel Price [09:36]:
  “All of the songs are like a character study. You really have to embody the person who’s singing them in a really particular way.”
  Rachel Price [10:48]:
  “I was thinking a lot about Sarah Vaughn, specifically when I was singing these songs, because I feel like that’s who I really think about when I think about that time.”

6. Collaboration and Chemistry

The chemistry between Rachel and Vilre is palpable. They discuss their arranger, Jacob Zimmerman, who masterfully captures the essence of their influences. The duo also touches on their intimate working relationship, likening it to an "actor, director" dynamic that enriches their creative process.

• Quotes:
  Rachel Price [21:20]:
  “We have such a close working relationship right now... It’s a very intimate experience.”
  Rachel Price [22:41]:
  “There’s like this kind of like actor, director relationship that I really enjoy.”

7. Overcoming Initial Challenges

The hosts recount the duo's initial attempts to collaborate, which were met with challenges due to Vilre's hiatus from music. However, a pivotal moment at one of Vilre's solo shows reignited their partnership, leading to the successful creation of their current body of work.

• Quotes:
  Vilre [16:13]:
  “I had one sort of embarrassing afternoon in which I tried to read charts and didn’t really succeed.”
  Rachel Price [17:38]:
  “She’s the best friend... What Vilre didn’t mention is that he did the grunt work in the subway.”

8. Diversifying Musical Genres

Vilre discusses his exploration of various musical genres, including country music, and how these influences inform his songwriting. He appreciates the structure and conventions of different styles, which allows him to experiment while maintaining a unique sound.

• Quotes:
  Vilre [20:00]:
  “I write country songs every once in a while... It’d be interesting to experiment in a world that was a little less easy to identify.”

9. Special Feature: "Off Broadway" with Stephen Colbert

One of the highlights of the episode is the performance of "Off Broadway," featuring Stephen Colbert. The collaboration originated from a casual interaction at Colbert’s birthday party, demonstrating the duo's creative spontaneity and camaraderie.

• Quotes:
  Vilre [22:55]:
  “We were at his birthday party... He was very generous to say yes a second time and come in and spend a few hours with us and record it with us.”
  Alison Stewart [24:33]:
  “He might be a little grumpier next time when you come back to town.”

• Performance Excerpt:
  "Off Broadway":
  “Broadway is the dream of a lifetime for kids of every age... Off off Broadway is best.”

10. Upcoming Events and Closing Remarks

Alison announces an upcoming show by Rachel and Vilre scheduled for November at Town Hall, encouraging listeners to attend and experience their intimate performances live.

• Quotes:
  Alison Stewart [28:00]:
  “They’ll have a show in November at the Town Hall. Thank you so much for joining us.”

---

Conclusion:

This episode of All Of It offers an in-depth look into the creative journey of Rachel Price and Vilre as they navigate their collaboration to produce "West of Broadway." From exploring the intricacies of scatting and character-driven songwriting to overcoming early collaboration challenges and engaging in unique musical partnerships, the duo exemplifies the vibrant and dynamic cultural scene celebrated by WNYC. Their blend of Broadway influences with cool jazz elements not only pays homage to classic sounds but also carves out a fresh niche in contemporary music. Listeners are left with an anticipation for their upcoming performances and a deeper appreciation for the artistry behind their work.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Duo Rachel and Vilre are back with another album of fresh, original tunes with a retro sheen to them. You know Rachel Price, the lead singer of Lake Street Dive, but with guitarist, singer and songwriter Vilre. The two of them put out songs that could fit right alongside the best of Cole Porter or Rogers and Hart. Their new album, west of Broadway draws from music associated with that famous street as well as jazz music from the opposite coast. The album just came out on Friday and now we've got them in studio for a few stripped back songs. Rachel and Vilre, welcome back to all of it.

[Vilre]

Thanks so much.

[Rachel Price]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

We're gonna hear. What are we gonna hear?

[Vilre]

Love Comes Around.

[Alison Stewart]

Love Comes around from Rachel and Vilre.

[Audience Member]

I never thought that love would come around again Rode with it once then life stole it away but in his eyes there's some beckoning thing that I recognize and all right where it drives do you believe the joys of life can multiply? Because with him each day is the most sublime and he's so kind when he sings me a song in the morning time I resign to that sound of the love love coming round I've heard each Joe gets just one go at paradise and when it's gone move on and say good night but that's not right if a heart falls once it can do it twice and it's nice I have found when the love comes around.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, that was great. Rachel and Vilre, I have to ask you, Rachel, when did you learn to scat?

[Rachel Price]

Well, I mean, I feel like I, well, lifelong learner of scatting. I started learning how to scat from Ella Fitzgerald, but that was more of a memorization process. But I do think that memorizing solos can be the first step to learning how to scat, because you're getting a feel for the vocabulary of certain changes which you're going to come across over and over again. And, and then when I was at the New England Conservatory, I studied with a trumpet player named John McNeil. And he was really the person who taught me how to actually improvise with, like some element of, you know, understanding the changes. And. But that was like 20 years ago. And then I stopped doing it entirely until Valerie and I started playing. So it's like still, I still, I feel like a little kid when I'm scatting. Every time I'm like, wow, I can't believe I'm doing this. It's ridiculous.

[Alison Stewart]

Bill Reed was The song written with the scatting in there or did just happen naturally?

[Vilre]

You know, when we play duo, it's a little bit. We don't have that many choices as far as soloists go. It's either Rachel or myself. And that could be a guitar solo, or it could be a whistle solo, or it could be a scat solo. Sometimes it's a scat solo on my end, but pretty infrequently. And so, I mean, I love the timbre and the effect of a scat solo, but it's, you know, it sort of depends on what the tune is calling for. I don't think I was particularly writing a scatting tune, but certainly it's served by that.

[Alison Stewart]

It's so interesting to watch you do it because you have great hand movements and this great motion and, like, you're not saying anything, but I know what you're saying.

[Rachel Price]

Yeah, well, usually I actually keep the whole lyric in my mind, so it's kind of like that's how I try and guide it, because otherwise I think I would just get kind of lost emotionally during it. So I kind of think of myself as, like, expounding upon the lyric in my mind. So it's like a weird meditation when I'm doing it.

[Alison Stewart]

Very cool. Rachel and Vilre. Their new album is called west of Broadway. So west coast cool jazz and a little bit of Broadway. That's the way the music has been described. Vilre, what are those two sounds like?

[Vilre]

Well, they're. I mean, Broadway music is just music. So it's sort of. It can be rock and roll, or it can be, you know, jazz inflected or even opera inflected. I just sort of recently got into listening to original cast recordings of classic musicals. And it's strange because I've been writing in this style of evoking the jazz catalog and the great American songbook. But I just sort of started steeping myself in this beautiful world of musicals. And there are things that call to me from the musical catalog as far as lyricism and melodicism and humor. And then as far as the west coast cool jazz goes, it's very specific, and it's a very dense melodic approach with many horns sort of sitting right next to each other. And if you listen to the Birth of the Cool, that's kind of sort of the gold standard, I would say, of it was made in New York, but it very much evokes this west coast cool thing. It's spooky and it's fluid, and it just got so it evokes in me so much, so many different emotions. And I've been listening to it since I was 15 years old. And it kind of doesn't sound like anything else as far as jazz is concerned. I'm not sure I can fully describe it, like all good music, but people should sit down and listen to the Birth of the Cool and you'll hear a big chunk of what inspired me for this record.

[Alison Stewart]

Valeria, what were you listening to? What Broadway albums were you listening to?

[Vilre]

Oh, my gosh. Well, I've really gotten into Sondheim. That's sort of been my principal influence. A lot of the songs that I wrote for this were indirectly, maybe inspired by a little night music. This music, this album doesn't sound like a little night music at all. But there's a lot in terms of sort of the literacy of the lyric that I think is that I found in A Little Night music. I also really like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Just so much brilliant lyricism and fun melodies and just a great collection of styles and completely original. Of course, there's a million things that I've been listening to My Fair lady and I got into Gypsy. I went and saw Audra and Gypsy, and it was a religious experience for me. I'd never heard any of the music from Gypsy before. And then I was listening to Audra do it, and I just bought this Teddy Wilson Trio record where he plays all the music from Gypsy. And that's been a totally different experience. And it's just. It's really a rich, rich world.

[Alison Stewart]

Rachel, how does the album blend and combine the two, Everything that Vil Reese just talked about?

[Rachel Price]

Well, all of the songs are like a character study. You really have to embody the person who's singing them in a really particular way, like this. You know, there's a song that's from the perspective of a lady who is, you know, wooing a man back to her place because she likes the lighting there. And she's, like, a little bit kooky and she's very funny. And, you know, gotta get into that character. There's a song from the perspective of somebody who thinks that the tortoise that they woke up next to in their.

[Alison Stewart]

Home is a gym.

[Rachel Price]

Yeah, it's a gym. Exactly. Must be her lover who has now disappeared. So they haven't left her, They've become a tortoise. So it's like you really gotta get into that person's. The character of that person. And obviously, there's no musical actually behind these songs. So I've had to sort of invent who they are. And sometimes it even changes by the day. You know, I'm like, oh, today she's sad, but tomorrow she's just kooky.

[Vilre]

Confident.

[Rachel Price]

Yeah, Confident. Yeah.

[Audience Member]

Yeah.

[Rachel Price]

But, you know, melodically and, you know, the instrumentation that Valerie was mentioning that's on the record is very much. Yeah, it's like. It's like a late 50s jazz sound. So I was thinking a lot about Sarah Vaughn, specifically when I was singing these songs, because I feel like that's who I really think about when I think about that time.

[Vilre]

And we should mention our arranger, Jacob Zimmerman, who evoked a lot of this. You know, I'm just handing him tunes and saying, make it like the birth of the cool, you know, request. But. But he knew just what I meant, and he does a beautiful job.

[Alison Stewart]

I wanted to ask you about the song, the Stuff. Okay. Is it a vibraphone? Is it a xylophone?

[Vilre]

That one is a xylophone. Warren Wolfe is on the vibraphone for most of the record on that tune. He's on the xylophone. And, yeah, the instrumentation on this record was also extremely inspired by this great Blossom Deery record called the Hits of Broadway, or something like that. And it's. She's singing kind of obscurities. I mean, anyway, they're not huge, the main hits of Broadway shows in the 50s. But she's singing and that's got a lot of xylophone on it. And I loved it. Brings a cartoony element to things.

[Audience Member]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Rachel, what does that instrument do to that song?

[Rachel Price]

It highlights that. It's a very silly song.

[Alison Stewart]

Will you play it for us?

[Rachel Price]

The Stuff? Yeah, sure.

[Alison Stewart]

This is Rachel and Filre.

[Audience Member]

They're young, they're beaming they think a teeming spot is fit to kiss in saloons and stoops and shops and exhibitions Too ardent to be stopped by inhibitions they need love now in other words But I can't wait at home I got the stuff the stuff I need for love Conditions are conducive Back at home Five records on the hi fi set to drop and a sequence I've devised To really stir me up at home I've got a wine A potent little hock the shops can't keep in stock this wine I've got It lingers on my tongue I hope it ain't the only one at home I got the stuff I need for love at home I've got a cat don't not a cat, a cot Cuss twixt the door and bed A lady ought to have a place to put him to take the measure of a man out of the stuff I need for love let's talk about lighting perils this bar is half fluorescent, half obscure why do we endure it, girls? We miss the the twinkles in the eyes but get the wrinkles that's for sure at home each lamp has got a bulb of 60 watt it's joining 20 others in a plot to light me like I like it and stress the beauty of me and all the stuff I need for love including you among the stuff I need for love Us and all the stuff Stuff I need for love.

[Alison Stewart]

We'Ll have more with Rachel and Vilre after a quick break. This is all of it. You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm speaking with the duo of Rachel and Ville about their new album, West I of Broadway. They're here with me live in the studio to play some songs. They'll have a show here in November at Town hall, by the way. All right. I couldn't believe this when I read this. You told Spectrum News that you and Rachel tried playing together early on, but it wasn't the right time. This is the quote. We tried once. It didn't work. And then I played a show and Rachel came to that and she was like, I think it would work now. And she was right. So, Ville Ray, what wasn't working at the time?

[Vilre]

Well, I quit playing music for a big chunk of time after I left college and I was working just a desk job, but Rachel was my pal and she knew that I had been a musician. And she moved to New York and she was singing with Lake Street Dive, but hadn't been doing much jazz for a few years. And I think it was like maybe a nice low pressure situation to sit with your friend and sing some standards. But I was so rusty that it was like, you know, I just didn't know what I was doing and really hadn't played for years and years and years. So we had one sort of embarrassing afternoon in which, you know, she brought over some charts and I tried to read them and didn't really succeed.

[Audience Member]

And.

[Vilre]

And then we kind of never talked about it again. And then a different friend encouraged me to play some music many years after that. And Rachel came and came to that show, which I worked out. I worked out that show for several months before I did it and did that alone, my embarrassing grunt work. And so she came and saw It. And. And it sounded okay to her, and she was like, maybe we could do it again. And. And we did.

[Alison Stewart]

That sounds like a really good friend, that. Rachel. You were a really good friend to Vilre.

[Vilre]

She's the best friend.

[Rachel Price]

Oh, that's nice. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I was just really moved by his performance. And. And what Vilre didn't mention is that he did the grunt work in the subway.

[Audience Member]

He.

[Rachel Price]

That's what he was doing all that time he was performing. He was just busking, which is actually a great way to just practice tunes, playing them over and over and over again.

[Vilre]

Totally new audience, every subway.

[Rachel Price]

Eventually, you were making enough in the subway that you were able to leave your job. Right.

[Vilre]

I think it was more that you and I were making enough. I was making so little at the desk job that we didn't have to make that much for me to say, because I was having to turn down some gigs because I couldn't take that much time off. So I was like, well, maybe. Maybe now's the moment.

[Alison Stewart]

Rachel, why did you believe in him?

[Rachel Price]

Well, I grew up singing jazz, particularly jazz from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. And my experience trying to perform jazz was that it was a difficult, like, mountain to climb because you were dealing with people's relationships with the songs, them being. Because they were so familiar. And I was also dealing with, like, my own sort of imposter syndrome, you know, trying to, like, reinvent there will never be another you. And so I, for example. So I stopped and, you know, I had. I had Lake street dive, and we were doing original music. And so I found myself, you know, doing that full time. But so when I heard Bill re Show, he just did a bunch of obscure songs that I didn't have any relationship to, but it was the music that I grew up and that I loved. And I do think that, like, the harmonies and the melodies from the. From this time are like. They're just extremely efficient for your emotions. They hit you really, really hard. And so I was so overwhelmed by how beautiful they were. And I got to have this new experience because I didn't know any of the songs. I was like, oh, God, I can't believe that song you played. And he's like, yeah, that's an old Fats Waller tune. You know, things like that. And so it was that. That feeling of, oh, this can be fresh and new, that caused me to, you know, ask him to let me sing with him. And then I think the next gig after that, Villrey had one. One new song he wrote a song for us, and then he kept going and going, and now it's almost all original tunes.

[Alison Stewart]

Vilrey, was there any chance you were gonna work in any other genre?

[Vilre]

Oh, yeah, sure. Tons of. I mean, I write country songs every once in a while.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, that's kind of interesting.

[Vilre]

I mean, it's. It's a little just like jazz. There's, like. There are forms and, you know, rules that you can conform to or break. And, I mean, I think every style of music has conventions that, if you know them, make things a little bit easier to write in that world. And I love country music, but, you know, I think in some ways it's very. It's good for business, I think, to be a little bit pigeonholed and to say, well, you know, this sounds like something that you're familiar with, but, you know, it'd be interesting to experiment in a world that was, like, a little less easy to identify, you know, with the language of the music business.

[Alison Stewart]

You know, Rachel, I went back and I looked at your albums, and the first one, I think, was in 2019. And you came in here. Hi, nice to meet you. First time I met you, came in the next time, you were very pregnant.

[Rachel Price]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

And now seeing you now in 2025, when you think about that period of time, what's changed the most about the two of you and what's different?

[Rachel Price]

Well, I think what has grown not so much as changed is we have such a close working relationship right now, which. It's like, we realize that there was such an intense intimacy with playing duo, which is all we've really done for. For most of our time playing together now sometimes we play with full bands, but there's so much intimacy in it, and you really. You can only have the. This, like, you have to share the experience on stage, which was very different for me with Lake Street Dive. Sometimes I'd come off and I'd be like, oh, I had a great night. Someone would be like, oh, I had a bad night. And it's like, who cares? No one knows. You know, we're all. We're all just, like, rocking out. But Billy and I are, like, looking at each other, and we're, like, trying to sing in these close harmonies. And so, yeah, it's a very. It's a very intimate experience. And what I feel like has really gotten more enriching is, like, the notes that Bill Ray gives me. Like, I really enjoy his, like, constructive criticism, and I like him, like, telling me how to pronounce a word and how to deliver something and explaining the joke to me and talking about the nuances of the delivery, these sorts of things. Like, I just. There's like this kind of like actor, director relationship that I really enjoy. And sometimes I'm annoyed.

[Vilre]

Bill splaining?

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah. Bill splaining.

[Rachel Price]

But I like it. I'm like, okay, fine, I'll get it.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay. The last song you're gonna play for us is Off Broadway and it features Stephen Colbert.

[Rachel Price]

Yeah. Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

How did that come about?

[Vilre]

We were at his birthday party and.

[Rachel Price]

Cash.

[Vilre]

Cash. Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

As one does.

[Vilre]

As one does. And, yeah. You know, the night wore on and we put it in his ear that we were making a record and would he ever consider maybe guesting, you know, in a skit or in a song or what have you? We weren't. I didn't have a song in mind. And he said yes, you know, in a very non committal way. So, yeah, as we were preparing the record, the last song I wrote, I was like, well, I have to have a song that we could pitch to him. And so I wrote this song. That's like the idea. The joke to me is it's three people standing around saying, broadway is the worst. You know, you'll get your pocket picked. There's tourists everywhere and the theater sucks. You know, you can't listen to musicals anymore because they're bad. And so these are like grumpy people. Grumpier than I am, or Rachel is, or Steven is. But I thought it was a funny joke to me that this guy who goes into work every day on Broadway is saying, get off Broadway. His character is. And so I wrote this song thinking that it would be. It would work for the three of us to sing it. And if he didn't want to sing it, we could sing it as a duo. And he was very generous to say yes a second time and come in and spend a few hours with us and record it with us. It was such a fun afternoon.

[Alison Stewart]

And he might be a little grumpier next time when you come back to town.

[Vilre]

Yeah, exactly.

[Alison Stewart]

Reason so.

[Vilre]

Exactly.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's hear Off Broadway from Rachel and Bill. Re.

[Stephen Colbert]

Broadway is the dream of a lifetime for kids of every age. When I was little, I'd hold my fiddle and bow as if on stage. Broadway is also a street and streets have a gutter and gutters trip feet. You could say my fiddle cracked and there's no second date. Get off of Broadway that bush and Broadway go find a little reprieve where no tourist tugs at your sleeve Asking you which way is Broadway when he's standing on Broadway and Broadway's got a sign on it that he won't believe get off of Broadway that hide your walkway, go safely, show off your green, Pay for drinks where you can be seen. You'd never do that on Broadway Cause the rats on Broadway in broad daylight will pick your pocket clean Just off of Broadway. Well east of the prairie domes they do things God's way Far enough from fellas humming all the show tunes Awful Broadway the slobs applaud a mediocre melody at best can't tell Richard Rogers from the rest they oughta get off of Broadway, hear the downtown jazz play and put these words of wisdom to the test. Oh yes, young men, go west east of Broadway or east of Broadway? Off off Broadway is oh yes young man go west of Broadway or east of Broadway oh, off off Broadway is best.

[Alison Stewart]

That's Rachel and Vilre. Their new album is called west of Broadway. They'll have a show in November at the Town Hall. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Vilre]

Thank you so much.

[Rachel Price]

Thanks for having us.

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