Photo by Jonno Rattman

If just two people could encompass big band sound, it would be Rachael & Vilray. The duo, comprised of Lake Street Dive’s Rachael Price and jazz composer Vilray, released their self-titled debut album last month. Between Rachael’s voice and Vilray’s guitar, the tracks will transport you to the era of capital “R” Romance (and capital “H” Heartbreak). Allston Pudding had a chance to chat with Vilray over the phone about how his background in jazz led to this partnership.

ALLSTON PUDDING: Did you have an interest in jazz prior to attending the New England Conservatory of Music?

VILRAY: I listened to classic rock and folk until I was a high school sophomore, then I listened to jazz out of necessity because I was at a music arts high school. I got in as a guitar player, but there was no rock program. Once I got into [jazz], I tumbled. The first couple albums I fell in love with were by Stan Getz and João Gilberto, “Take Five,” [John] Coltrane…then I fell backwards into the big band era. By the end of high school, I was into free jazz. I was lost at that time. The one thing I was passionate about was music, so I auditioned [for the New England Conservatory of Music] as a composer.

AP: Did anything about your education at the Conservatory surprise you?

VILRAY: It was what I expected because it had the reputation for being avant garde. It was kind of surprising that Rachael ended up there. But I guess what’s really surprising is how many kids my age, these 18-year-olds, wanted to perform noisy, unlistenable jazz [laughs]. I lived on the same floor as Mike “McDuck” Olson and Michael Calabrese, who are now in Lake Street Dive. We were actually in musical trio together and played weird, terrible music. But I didn’t meet Rachael through them. At school, everyone knew everybody. I knew Rachael enough to say “hello.” I was only there a year and a half. It was very expensive, so I went back to New York with good amount of loans, got a job in lighting factory, and did that for 12 years.

AP: What kind of composing were you doing in between school and before you picked up guitar again?

VILRAY: I was writing music all along, just music for me. My 2 friends McDuck and Mike and I had a band for a few years, but we didn’t gig very much since I was in New York and they were in Boston. I really enjoyed writing, but I was not performing. Then towards the end of my 20s, I broke my hand. A friend encouraged me to make music again. After going so long of not making music not because of a broken hand, it was tough to suddenly have the option taken away from me. I learned music by ear to get ready for a gig I set up for when the cast came off. Rachael came to that show, and she told me she missed singing jazz. We bonded over not quite jazz standards, but jazz obscurities… so many artists, and so many things, from Billie Holiday to Peggy Lee.

AP: When did you start writing songs specifically for this duo? 

VILRAY: Within a couple of gigs. This group is 4 years old now, but it was a slow process taking over set with original songs. The first couple songs I wrote were “I Can’t Say for Certain What Makes Me Certain about You,” and “Tears Are All I Have for You,” which didn’t make it on the album.

Photo by Jonno Rattman

AP: Can you talk about how you first started playing together? Did you always intend to make an album together, or was this project just for fun, at first?

VILRAY: We played at this bar in Williamsburg called Bar Below Rye. (Rye was the name of the restaurant upstairs.) It had this beautiful all-wood interior, very moody, and the place was mostly taken up by the bar, but they couldn’t get people to come in. These free jazz guys were running it and it felt like speakeasy, but they had a variety of acts. That’s actually where Rachael first saw me. There wasn’t much of a sound system, but it scratched that itch for her to play a small venue with a crappy sound system. She insisted that should be the only place we ever played [laughs].

This is a little bit of vacation band for her. We play these smaller rooms she finds charming, and I’m trying to get back into the world of making music, so we meet in the middle of the road. You can’t not play music for fun.

AP: Can you walk me through the storytelling process for these songs? The lyrics sound like capital R “Romance.” Was that an intentional theme? 

VILRAY: What charms me about this genre is its theatrical tradition. A romantic song is 100% a romantic song. A heartbreak song is 100% a heartbreak song. Its efficient storytelling about emotion. I think our song “There’s No True Love,” is actually kind of funny. At face value it’s a depressing song, it’s weary of repeated heartbreak, but there’s this humor about it. It reminds me of German jazz songs, Kurt Vile, Marlene Dietrich. We occupy a different space for each song, whether that’s a singer of that period, or a particular mood. The best jazz has no context. It’s coming from theatrical space.

AP: You mentioned taking guitar back up, but did you know you wanted to try singing too?

VILRAY: When I went to college I didn’t think of myself as a singer, but you quickly get assignments with writing lyrics and songs. Some people got singers to perform their songs, but I just used to sing myself. Before high school, I would hold court at camp, singing Eagles and Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was writing songs no one was hearing, singing and recording in my room. 

AP: What have you gotten to explore creatively with Rachael that you might not have done solo? 

VILRAY: Guitar playing is pretty different when you’re accompanying a vocalist. There are aspects of shows that change from solo to a duet. Solo, in between songs you’re telling a story or a joke. Duet is more vaudevillian. I’m asking her questions, talking to her, talking at the room rather than each other. We follow the tradition of the rat pack, with riffing and jokes. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a weird set up with the microphones facing each other. Through the course of the song, we’re looking at each other, and the room looking at us. Rachael is no longer an isolated front woman.

Listen Rachael & Vilray’s most recent album below, and don’t miss them at Somerville Theatre on Friday, November 8th. Tickets here.