Rachel Flotard :: photo by Kristy
Cameron
If Rachel Flotard were a fruit she wouldn’t be a jicama,
especially if her tastebuds have any say in the matter. The
animated singer for Visqueen jokingly almost gagged after her first
bite of the bland, nearly tasteless root fruit and bland and
tasteless are definitely not words to use when describing the
vivacious Visqueener and her band’s latest record Message to
Garcia.
Flotard wrote the album while she was caring for her father who
died of cancer and although death loomed over the creation of what
turned out to be one of the best local releases of the year,
Message to Garcia isn’t a downer of a record.
Garcia’s message is as far removed from depression and sadness as
the fiery red color of Flotard’s hair is from the pasty white hue
of a jicama. It’s an inspiring and uplifting album that packs a
mighty musical punch in the form of 11 songs that are as fun and
spirited as they are emotional and heartfelt.
Flotard will end her 2009 in Seattle at the WaMu Theatre Tuesday
night when Visqueen opens the sold-out Deck The Hall
Ball, the annual holiday concert hosted by 107.7 The
End (KNDD). Visqueen is the only local band on the six-act bill
that features a crop of buzzed groups (Vampire Weekend, Phoenix,
Metric, 30 Seconds to Mars) and one big-name headliner in U.K. trio
Muse. Previous Decks have seen the likes of Death
Cab For Cutie, Modest
Mouse and other notable locals grace its holiday stage
so playing the commercial radio event could be a pivotal point in
the band’s 10-year career.
The concert will be Visqueen’s last of many high-profile local
shows this year. The band debuted almost all of Message To
Garcia live at Bumbershoot one day before the record was
released, played a benefit show for The Service Board at the
Crocodile last month and packed The
Tractor Tavern opening for Shonen Knife in October.
While the exposure from Deck will likely help raise the profile of
Visqueen, the band will have to wait until next year to see whether
it will find a national audience. This is not due to the concert
happening so close to the new year. Ten hours after Visqueen
finishes its set Tuesday Flotard will be boarding a plane making
its way to Asia. She’s spending two weeks abroad where she will
spend time helping install a floor
at an elementary school in Laos.
I caught up with Flotard last week and we discussed her band,
Message to Garcia, her upcoming tip to Laos and shared our
first encounters with jicama. Here’s a snippet of the conversation
we had over a lunch that included granola, yogurt and, you guessed
it, some jicama.
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