Side A
artist profile • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Name: Rachael Lampa
• Age: 19
• Place of Birth:
Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Do you play any instrument/s? I try to play piano, but I wouldn’t say I am a
concert pianist.
• Hobbies: Playing
and watching basketball, football, writing, bowling, girly stuff
like shopping and chick flicks.
• Do you play any instrument/s? I try to play piano, but I wouldn’t say I am a
concert pianist.
• Most inspirational moment? : Rome in 2001. I did a concert in a piazza with a crowd
of 40, 000 from around 150 countries. Probably only 1/3 of the people there
could even understand what I was saying, but still everyone was worshipping
because they knew God was there. It was an amazing moment for me.
• Favourite Verse in the Bible? : I Corinthians 16:14 – “Do everything in love”
• Favourite Time Of The Year? : Just as summer turns into fall.
• What’s the best Christmas present you have ever received? : Besides my baby brother who was born on December 18, my older brother gave
me a yellow bowling ball with a Sponge Bob Square Pants face on it.
Side B
album career faith • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Tell us about your latest album?
This is by far my most personal album to date. I had the chance to write on every song and be involved in all the tracking and mixing and mastering. It was very important to me to be involved at such a level because I really wanted this record to be 100% me. It talks about some very personal things in my life from the harder times to the times of celebration. I am very excited about how God is going to communicate through these songs and can’t wait to see the outcome.
• How is this album different from your previous albums?
Well again I think this is the first time that I have actually let myself be all out there and let my heart show this much. Musically, I have really come into my own. I have taken all the music I have loved throughout my life and said, “This is what I love and this is the direction I want to take my music.” I was a very freeing thing to finally speak up and I think we built a good bridge from the last two records to this one.
• What are your favourite songs on the album? Why?
Although it is hard for me to pinpoint my favourites since everything is so new to me, I would have to say that Rubberhouse is up there on my list of favourites. I love how out of the ordinary it is and what a blast it was to experiment with putting the track together. Lyrically, I like songs that say things in a little bit of a different way than we’re used to. The theme of Rubberhouse is one of love and acceptance without condition.
• What do you hope for the people who get to listen to your songs?
I hope they will come away from listening to it feeling like they have been communicated to in a real and honest way. There is nothing like hearing a song that you just totally relate to and that was one of my goals for these songs. Honesty with others, yourself, and your God is so important for growth. It’s a good habit to have and I think we are all off when truth is involved.
• Who are your influences in terms of your music?
I have always loved the music of Stevie Wonder. I also always have to revisit my old Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston CDs every once in a while. I think that Sixpence None the Richer and Plumb have great music. I also love this new band named Keane. I am always listening to new music and sometimes I can’t even keep up!
• What have you learnt from working with Robert Randolph and T-Bone?
There is really just such a beauty to seeing different artists with different styles and vibes coming together to build something so original and new. Musically my perspective has widened so much and it is so inspiring to see how taking risks with “out there” ideas can turn into something so cool.
• Did you consider other careers before becoming an acclaimed songstress?
Well, I sort of didn’t even have enough time to think about it! I was 14 when I signed my record deal and the biggest thing on my plate at the time was finding a prom dress! I did, however, have a little desire to be my school counsellor. I guess I sort of am doing my own little rendition of it in a way.
• How did you find being a Christian as a teenager?
It was definitely not the most popular thing that I grew up around. All my life, I was aware of God and said my prayers every night, but slowly I realized that it was so much better than that. I started to talk to God throughout my day and fall in love with Him more and more every second. It took me awhile to realize that being a Christian was more than getting good grades and not sneaking out of the house, but it was allowing God to be the foundation of my life and your reason for everything I say and do.
• Your father is from the Philippines, have you ever visited or even lived there?
That is one thing that I haven’t done yet that I wish to do some day. We are actually in conversation about it at the moment, but nothing is nailed down yet.
• What have you learnt spiritually this past year?
I have learned a lot about seasons and chapters of life and how God has planned such a specific reason for all of it. I have learned that I can’t expect to find all the answers to all of life’s questions right away. Sometimes you have to overcome a season in your life to really see why it happened and in some cases I may never know the answer. But I do know that I believe in a BIG God and that He sees further than what I will ever think to see and I have to trust that every time I fall into a valley that He will scoop me back up and take me to the next mountain.