Rebecca Frazier began performing professionally in Telluride, Colorado, in the late 90’s. Frazier came to national attention in 2006 as the first woman on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, and after moving to Nashville in 2007, she was recognized as “a genuine triple threat as a singer, songwriter, and flatpicking guitarist” by The Nashville Scene. The Virginia native was later picked up by Compass Records for her flatpicking/songwriting solo showcase When We Fall, which was called “the best bluegrass album of 2013” by Henry Carrigan of The Bluegrass Situation. The album received heavy airplay on SiriusXM Radio and peaked at #3 on the national Roots Music Report Chart.
Frazier is a founding member of Hit & Run, the first and only band to win all three high-profile bluegrass band contests—Telluride (2003), Rockygrass (2002), and SPBGMA (2005) Festival Competitions. Dubbed “East Nashville real deal bluegrass” by journalist Craig Havighurst, the band has toured throughout 41 states and Canada since 2002 and has performed as Rebecca Frazier and Hit & Run since 2013. Frazier earned a B.A. in Music from the University of Michigan and studied guitar at Berklee College of Music. She has taught workshops across the U.S. and Canada since 2005, and was on staff at Nashville Music Academy from 2008 to 2021.
Today Glide is excited to premiere Frazier’s new track “Available.” Hitting right out of the gate with slide guitar, vibrant banjo and mandolin, and of course some damn find harmonies, this tune finds Frazier marring traditional bluegrass with a classic country sound to make for a sound that has plenty of crossover appeal. It also touches on themes that are relevant and resonant to listeners while inserting a little dose of humor, all the while injecting flourishes of serious instrumental chops to balance strong songwriting and even stronger picking.
Listen to the track and read Frazier’s explanation of the tune’s inspiration and process below…
May is wedding month, and spring is in high bloom with love in the air. “Available” recalls a memory of promising nuptials and the ensuing disbanded dreams of the bride, who sings a tongue-in-cheek ode to her philandering man as he galivants about town without his wedding band in order to tout his fabricated availability.
“My mother unwittingly set up this song when she teased my dad for never wearing his wedding ring. They’ve been married for 51 years, but she joked, ‘He’s just trying to look available.’ I started laughing and then realized—Hey, that’s actually a very real issue in a lot of marriages. It’s fun to joke about, but it’s not so funny when you’re living it and it really is your spouse’s intent.
“So just like a lot of country songs, as the saying goes, ‘Sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying.’ We’re playing it and singing it in a lighthearted way, and even laughing throughout, but there’s still an element of calling out the spouse for mistreating his lady.
“I wrote this song while sitting on a piano bench at Nashville Music Academy, where I was teaching piano at the time. As a student was departing, this song just came into my head in one piece, both melody and lyrics. That rarely happens for me.
“Bill Wolf is a masterful producer. He made it a point to highlight the irreverent but fun nature of the song. This tongue-in-cheek attitude spills over into every aspect, from my singing and bantering with guest artist Trey Hensley to the instrumental solos and fills of Stuart Duncan, Josh Swift, Ron Block and Sam Bush. There’s a playful feeling, as though I’m teasing the guy but still contemptuous. At the end, we are all laughing in the studio as Trey Hensley insists ‘It’s too tight!’ and Bill Wolf even chimes in ‘No kidding.’ It came down like an old fashioned, romping country song.”
The post SONG PREMIERE: Rebecca Frazier Straddles Bluegrass and Country with Fine Picking and Lyricism on “Available” appeared first on Glide Magazine.
