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All that jazz
finally pays off
for Rachel Gonzales
Quitting her day job
By John Berger
was a turning point
Special to the Star-BulletinRachel Gonzales believes in taking the world on her terms.
"I've been singing over 20 years and it seems that if you know who I am, it's like a cult thing, but I'm 40, 4 feet (tall), Filipino and feisty," she says.
"If someone gives me reason why I can't do something, I take it as something that is going to make me stand out. I won't give up until I try."
After 20-plus years of working a "day job," singing nights, and becoming one of the most respected "unknown" vocalists in Hawaii, Gonzales has made music her top priority. She quit her last day job last year and has been making a living as a singer ever since.
"I've learned so much since I did this. The lifestyle is hard but it makes it easier for me to approach people and I'm doing so much better with the public. It's a risk I had to take ... I don't have kids and a spouse but I'm blessed because of that I can still continue on with what I want to do. It's opening up now."
Gonzales will be the featured vocalist as the 2nd Annual Honolulu Downtown Jazz Festival presents a tribute to Stan Getz 3 p.m. Saturday. She'll return to sit in with Aaron Aranita at 5. Other festival artists are Gabe Baltazar, Azure McCall, Noel Okimoto, Betty Loo Taylor, Hula Joe & The Hut Jumpers, and the Marine Forces Pacific Jazz Orchestra.
In concert
What: 2nd Annual Honolulu Downtown Jazz Festival
Also
Most people who know Gonzales probably label her as a "jazz singer." No offense to the jazz crowd, but she prefers to be described as "contemporary."
"I do all kinds of music and when you say 'jazz singer,' people think that's all you do. Musicians can shift around, but when you become a solo person and you're given that label, people will say 'We can't hire you because this isn't a jazz club.' I think music is music, so be musical."
"I study every style and get into it and I like all kinds of music. I love R&B, I love rock 'n' roll, I love to dance, and I groove in all those styles. All the things I like I will integrate into my music. If I'm going to do a standard I want to do it my way, not just copy someone else's arrangement."
In the past year, Gonzales has created a parallel career for herself as a soloist singing and playing guitar at Duc's Bistro and Kakaako Kitchen. She opens a Friday evening gig downtown at Che Pasta next Friday.
"With the guitar and myself I can do everything. The people who have seen Four-Part-Inventions have seen that it's possible for a singer to do everything in one sitting."
Four-Part-Inventions -- Gonzales, Les Peetz (piano), Ernie Provencher (bass) and Lew Maddox (drums) -- plays a free spring concert at the Honolulu Academy of Arts at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25.
"We're going to try to make this more of a production. It still can be jazz, but well put together. I'm into integration of things now. If I write a song I write it so somebody else would like to hear it -- not just me."
Going out looking for work, introducing herself to club owners and risking rejection didn't come easy. Time was when she was a typical shy local girl who took people seriously when they told her she was too short or too this or that. She remembers bursting into tears when a columnist trashed her debut album.
That was almost 20 years ago. Now she schedules time to go out and pound the pavement looking for places that could use good live music.
"I just keep going. I used to feel alone but now I don't mind it. It's like my own business and I treat it like that. If somebody tells me 'We only hire name people' I ask them 'What is a 'name person?' "
She now thrives on the challenge of surviving as a musician and says that the freedom of being able to play what she enjoys playing makes even working for food or tips an enjoyable part of her schedule.
"It is so nice to groove by yourself. The time goes by so fast they gotta tell me to stop. I'm tempted every day to go to sing at Waikiki as a street musician. People say I'm supposed to be 'established,' but I bet I'd make money!"
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