Rachel Brandsness Interview: Bringing Rock to the Music City

By: Matt Warnock

Nashville has long been known for helping to define the Country music landscape, both traditionally and on the modern scene. Just about every major Country artist has either recorded or spent time in the city, helping to coin its nickname as the “Music City.” But, if you look a little deeper, beyond the Country façade, you can find some amazingly talented Rock bands that are making a name for themselves in Nashville and beyond. Bands such as Fools for Rowan, who, with their high-energy Rock, screaming leads and poignant lyrics, are proving that Nashville isn’t all about Stetsons, acoustic guitars and Country ballads. These guys and gals can really rock, regardless of what city they’re from.

Guitar International recently sat down with Fools for Rowan’s Rachel Brandsness to talk about the Nashville music scene, her love of Gibson guitars and where the band got its unique name.

Rachel Brandsness Photo by: Curt Ridall WallFli Productions

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Matt Warnock: You and the band are located in Nashville, which is known for its long history of Country music. What’s it like being a Rock band in a city that’s famous for its Country roots?

Rachel Brandsness: It’s interesting. I grew up in Oregon and moved to Nashville when I was 18, so I wasn’t infused by the whole Country thing like some people who grew up here. I always knew that I wanted to play Rock music, so when I came to Nashville, I had that perception as well, that everyone here plays Country and that’s what you have to assimilate to. But, I came out here before I moved to Nashville, just to see what the city is like, and behold, there are all these underground Rock clubs, there’s Hip-Hop, even Metal bands, if you know where to look you can find this very diverse scene here in Nashville.

We always knew that we wanted to be a Rock band, and it’s almost been a blessing in that it’s helped us stand out. We’ll get people who think we’re going to be a Country band, coming from Nashville, but when they hear us they go, “Oh, that’s cool, I wasn’t expecting that.” So it’s worked to our advantage in certain instances.

Matt: Did you check out other scenes, like L.A. or New York, before deciding on moving to Nashville, or did you always kind of know that this city was going to be for you?

Rachel: My decision to move away from Oregon was based on two things, the first being me finding a College to go to, and the second was me finding a music scene to be a part of, because ultimately I wanted to play guitar. I had been to Southern California a couple of times, and I did check out New York and Boston. Then, just kind of at random we heard about Belmont University, which is in Nashville. So my mom and I decided to come and check it out and I ended up liking Nashville more than the other cities that I had visited. It just kind of happened that way.

Matt: What did you study as far as your degree when you got to Belmont?

Rachel: I studied Music Business and Music Production. I thought about being a Commercial Guitar major, but it seemed more valuable for me to come out of my degree being well-rounded. I had been playing guitar for years, so I wanted to come out of there knowing the inside of the business and not just saying I can play every scale known to mankind. [Laughs]

Rachel Brandsness

Matt: The field of lead guitar in Rock has long been dominated by men. Do you think that there are more women coming into the genre today and have you ever had negative experiences with people because you are a woman who plays lead guitar?

Rachel: It’s still kind of interesting. A lot of times when we’re loading in our gear and getting ready for soundcheck, and it’s a venue where they use their own sound person and they’re not used to us, they’ll always assume that I’m the rhythm player, that the girl can’t be the lead player. [Laughs] A lot of times before a show somebody will come up to us and I’ll be mistaken for the singer before they see us. But, after they see us they’ll come up to us and say, “Whoa, I knew you played guitar but I didn’t know that you played like that!”

I think you have to prove yourself more when you’re a woman. There are a lot of woman who play really well, but their focus is singing and they play to accompany themselves. But, singing is definitely not my forte, so I’m more into lead playing, which brings me into some interesting conversations from time to time.

Matt: Which guitars are you using right now, live and in the studio?

Rachel: I have two favorites that I play both in the studio and live. I have a Gibson 2009 Studio, the Silverburst model, it’s pretty sweet. I love that, because I love how big the tone is. You can just roll the tone forever. I also have a ’67 SG Junior. I bring that on the road, but sometimes I think that’s the dumbest idea ever. [Laughs] Those are definitely my two favorites. I also have a Fender Strat that I’ve played a couple times. I like that tone for calmer stuff, then I like my P-90 pickups for the Rock stuff.

Matt: Fools for Rowan has recently opened up for some big acts such as Sick Puppies, who are all over the radio right now. What’s that like, getting to open for a huge name like that?

Rachel: It’s really cool. It’s almost kind of hard to put that feeling into words. It’s a big rush to go out there and play, then go to the side of the stage and watch these big-name bands just kill it. It’s a humbling experience to be a part of what they’re doing.

Matt: The band, Fools for Rowan, has a very unique name. Where’d the band’s name come from?

Rachel: Erin, our lead singer, she took her Mom’s name, which is Robin, and her Grampa’s name, which is Darwin, and meshed those two together to make Rowan. When she was growing up, those were the two people in her family who encouraged her to follow her dreams and be a singer. She’s our fearless leader, she formed the band. So that’s where the Rowan part comes from, and then the Fools For part just fell into place after that.