Photo: Elle Muliarchyk/ Russh
Rachel on how she started playing in her dad’s band:
“I remember my dad’s drummer didn’t make it to a show and he was like ‘OK this isn’t working’ and just thought that I should join the band. My mum was like ‘No way, that’s ridiculous, she’s six years old!’ but then I took lessons and I really loved it and it just continued from there.”
On childhood touring with her family band, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players:
“I remember we had a lot of crazy tour managers. Like one of our earlier tour managers, we missed a couple of shows because he would want to pull over and climb a mountain and I was 10 years old and would be like ‘Yeah, let’s climb that mountain and jump into this river!’ That was always so fun. We met so many amazing people on the road. And some of my closest friends I met on tour.”
Photo: Elle Muliarchyk/ Russh
On style:
“I really love Michelle Phillips‘ style from The Mamas & The Papas… She’s like just an ‘all American girl’ but at the same time since it was all super druggy in the 60s and 70s (right when she was around my age) it morphed into a really cool style. I love her super clean face and really fun, flowing dresses. I grab a lot of style inspiration from old movies and TV shows, and even songs sometimes. I think what was so magical about other decades was that the style had to do with the sound, so if you saw an outfit you could probably hear a song to it, and that’s not really happening now it seems.”
On her previous involvement in indie pop girl group Supercute!:
“We (Supercute!) did the first theme song for Rookie when it first launched, which was really cool. I remember when it wasn’t anything and now it’s real – like there’s ads on it and it’s an official thing and people work full time for it, which is one of the most amazing things. It’s so impressive. It’s always cool to see what everyone’s up to and watch them carve their own creative path.”
Photo: Elle Muliarchyk/ Russh
On writing:
“I’m very focused on writing songs for myself. I write songs that I want to listen to and draw drawings that I want to look at. If other people like it, that’s really special, but it’s more about making art and music you want to see in the world.”
The Russh August/September issue hit newsstands this week. So, if you want to rip out Rachel’s doe-eyed shots and pin them to your inspiration boards, there’s really nothing stopping you.
