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Hilary McRae
Profile of
Hilary McRae
Type(s) of Music: "Something different"
Full name: Hilary McRae
Place of Birth: Boynton Beach, Florida
Year the Act Began: 2002
Musical Influences: (from her MySpace.com site) Chicago, Earth, Wind and
Fire, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Hornsby,
Donny Hathaway, The Carpenters, Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, The Police,
Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, Ray Charles,
Sly and the Family Stone, George Benson, Al Green, Bill Withers, Don
Henley, Billy Joel, Paul Simon,
John Mayer, Fiona Apple,
Maroon 5,
Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, Angie Stone, Anita Baker,
Norah Jones, Tori Amos, Janis Joplin,
Heart, TOTO, The Doobie Brothers, Jimmy Eat World, D'Angelo, Goo Goo
Dolls, Dave Matthews Band,
India Arie, Frank Sinatra, Ella
Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Herbie
Hancock, Keith Jarret, Bill Evans, Pat Metheny, Chuck Mangione,
Ebenezer, Fernando Perdomo, DC-3, Zach Ziskin
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Biography/History of
Hilary McRae
At
only 21 years old, Hilary McRae
is wise beyond her years. The writer/singer/pianist evokes the youth of
a vibrant pop star yet her label mates include the likes of
Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell.
As the first developing artist on Hear Music, McRae holds a very special
spot on the label launched by Starbucks and Concord Music Group.
McRae began crafting much
of the material on her debut album, Through These Walls,
while attending Berklee School of Music on a songwriting scholarship.
She soon realized she wanted to fuse her love for songwriting with
performing and decided it was time to make a record.
While McRae’s stadium
sized voice can well stand on its own, it is complemented by her own
piano skills as well as an impressive backdrop of colorful horns. She
has finally found her home on Hear
Music and explains, “As an artist, I pour my heart out in
every note I compose and sing. It is amazing to have the support of a
label who works with that same passion.”
The
first developing artist to be signed to Hear Music, Hilary McRae is a
21-year-old writer/singer/pianist who seems to have time traveled to
this decade from the 1970s. Her debut album ‘Through These Walls’ thrums
with the vibrant rhythms and textures of old-school, horn-drenched,
uptown R&B, a dynamic setting for the timelessly bittersweet songs and
rich, dusky alto of this stunningly accomplished newcomer. McRae’s vocal
instrument is capable of withering intensity one moment, hushed intimacy
the next—a perfect match for these songs of uncommon candor and
humanity—songs could only have emanated from an old soul.
The album also introduces another remarkably gifted newcomer in
producer/guitarist Zach Ziskin, McRae’s longtime musical collaborator.
It was Ziskin who had the crucial idea of enlisting the legendary
Charlie Calello, who has arranged music for legends such as
Frank Sinatra and Bruce
Springsteen, to create the horn parts. “I’ve loved horns since I was a
kid listening to Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire,” she confirms, “but I
never thought of my own music in that way until we started making the
record. Charlie came up with stellar horn parts; I was blown away by his
ideas and let him do his thing. I was amazed at how much they added to
the feel of the songs and the overall recording.”
At once vibrant and deftly nuanced, the horns serve as a sort of
wordless Greek chorus behind McRae’s vocals, providing a texturally rich
counterpoint to her songs of romantic anguish—laden with missed
opportunities, what ifs and lingering heartache. “I definitely got my
heart stomped on, more than once,” she acknowledges. “That’s probably
why these songs are so raw.”
The opening “Everyday (When Will You Be Mine?),” is suffused with
yearning, while the following “Consider Me Gone” is delivered with a
mixture of hurt and defiance, as a deftly manicured guitar solo from
Ziskin redolent of vintage Steely Dan takes over in the extended outro.
That leads into “Why Can’t Now Be Our Time,” burnished by brass accents
that recall the Chicago of “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Subtly yet vividly, the track evokes an ill-timed romance in the Boston
winter, as the horns suggest bare limbs standing vigil over a
snow-covered expanse. It closes out with McRae scatting in the manner of
Ella Fitzgerald, a hint of hopefulness in the gesture. It’s rare to find
such a juxtaposition of raw emotion and refined musicality in
contemporary music—but then, McRae is not your everyday contemporary
artist.
She began writing these songs during the two years she spent at Boston’s
prestigious Berklee School of Music, which had awarded her a scholarship
to study songwriting after an audition during which she sang one of her
originals and Don Henley’s “Heart of the Matter.” Additional song ideas
came to her during the summer of 2006, while she toured Central and
South America as the keyboardist and backing vocalist for Latin
superstar Christian Castro. By the time she returned home to Boca Raton,
Fla., where she lives with her father, Hilary possessed the material and
the self-belief to take the next step.
“I got to a point of deciding whether I was going to focus on
songwriting or performing,” she recalls, “so I went to my dad and said,
‘Listen, I really want to try to do something with these songs, and I
want to do it as an artist.’ He was very generous in his response, and
what started out as a Christmas present got a little out of hand.
Because of his support, it turned into something really great—something
beyond my wildest dreams.”
She then called on her friend Ziskin. They’d met when Hilary, then 16,
was preparing to record her first set of demos as half of a duo, and
Ziskin, a skilled guitarist and aspiring producer, recognized the
immensity of her raw talent and eagerly took on the project. “Zach has
been such an inspiration to me over the years.” When they reunited on
the album project, Ziskin’s overarching vision brought another dimension
to the material, but retaining the girl-at-the-piano torchiness that is
the album’s heart and soul. “Zach saw what it could be from the
beginning and knew how to convey it musically,” she says.
McRae describes the players—starting with the ace of rhythm section,
handpicked by Ziskin, of bassist Fernando Perdomo and drummer Derek
Cintron—as “musical gurus who know everything about everything. Fernando
and Derek are two of the most talented and genuine people I know,” she
says. “I’ve learned so much from playing music with these guys and from
working with Zach; together, they really brought this record to life.”
When Ziskin played the finished album for his cousin, industry veteran
Bruce Berman, it started a fortuitous chain of events. Blown away by
what he’d heard, Berman in turn played the record for his friend and
fellow vet Larry Frazin, who was hooked as well.
After agreeing that this was the most impressive new artist they’d heard
in ages, the two came up with the concept of launching a new label
venture, with McRae as their partner and her album as the first release.
Hilary happily agreed, leading to the formation of Stone Road Records.
While Stone Road was setting up the album release, Frazin was visited in
his office by longtime friend Alan Mintz, the head of music for
Starbucks Entertainment. Mintz was there on other business, but after
hearing McRae’s album, an excited Mintz told Frazin it was just what
he’d been looking for, and a deal was made on the spot to release the
record through Hear Music—a label launched by Starbucks and Concord
Music Group whose roster includes Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and
James Taylor. It appears to be a marriage made in heaven, uniting a
young artist with a truly adult sensibility and a label that prides
itself on committing only to artists of quality and distinctiveness.
Asked about her aspirations, McRae considers the question for a moment
before offering her answer. “I really hope to have a long career,” she
says, a Mona Lisa smile briefly flashing across her classic features,
framed by blonde tresses. “And I hope to keep getting my heart broken so
that I’ll have something to write about.”
The line mirrors one of McRae’s memorable choruses: “This is my love
song for you,” she sings. “I know it’s sad, but it’ll do.”
1. Every Day (When Will You Be Mine)
2. Consider Me Gone
3. Why Can't Now
4. Love Song For You
5. Hostage
6. Like You Never Loved Me
7. Better Off Alone
8. Let's Stop
9. Only Light
10. Waiting
11. Somethin's Come Over Me
12. Where Will We Be
Filmography
FilmographyGoesHere
Pictures
of Hilary McRae (click on any
image below to enlarge)
At
only 21 years old, 
