Rachel Chaiya Blumberg (born February 10, 1969) is an American musician, artist, and filmmaker, best known for her tenure as the drummer for the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

the Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

Early life

Blumberg was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in 1969. She is the daughter of Naomi Blumberg, a Portland cellist and President Emerita of the Oregon Cello Society, and Bernie Blumberg, a professional musician and a public school music teacher, supervisor and principal.

Music career

In addition to drumming for

, Blumberg was a member of many Portland-based indie bands, including Sissyface, Boycrazy,

Norfolk & Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

the Minders The Minders are an American band closely associated with the Elephant Six Collective. Started by Martyn Leaper in Denver, Colorado, in 1996, the band's original members included Leaper on guitars and vocals, Rebecca Cole on drums, Jeff Almond ...

(briefly) and

M. Ward Matthew Stephen "M." Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, Grammy nominated producer and guitarist from Glendale, California. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings. He has r ...

's backing band. She spent most of 2007 lending her drumming and singing talents to the touring Omaha indie band Bright Eyes on the Four Winds and Cassadaga tour. In 2007 and early 2008, she recorded new records with Norfolk & Western, M. Ward, and

Jolie Holland Jolie Holland (born September 11, 1975) is an American singer and performer who combines elements of folk, traditional, experimental, and rock. Career Growing up in her birthplace of Houston, Texas, Holland left in 1994, moving to Austin, Ne ...

. Blumberg has recorded with Providence, Rhode Island, band

the Low Anthem The Low Anthem is a band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 2006 by friends Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky. The current lineup consists of Knox Miller (vocals, guitars, trumpets, saws), Prystowsky (vocals, drums, double basses, synths ...

and performed with

Califone Califone is an experimental rock band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, an audio equipment manufacturer. Their work has been critically acclaimed. Roots & Crowns review AllMusic Califone has released an album and f ...

, Death Vessel, and Honeybunch. She has performed her own music under the monikers Manzanita and Arch Cape. In addition to drums and singing, she plays

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

, banjo, accordion, piano, and other various stringed, electronic and percussion instruments. Blumberg has taught for many years at Portland, Oregon's

Rock and Roll Camp for Girls The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls is both the original Rock n Roll Camp for Girls non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, and the common name associated with the Girls Rock Camp movement of youth organizations for girls in ...

and its Girls Rock! Rhode Island offshoot.

Filmmaking and art

Blumberg makes music videos using

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

animation and a variety of other techniques including painting, collage, and puppetry. Notable videos she has directed include "Dry Town (Demo)" by

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

, and "Jules and Jim" by

Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...

; others include songs by Musee Mechanique, Dramady, and Tom Hagerman. Blumberg says her animation style was influenced by the work of the

Brothers Quay Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for t ...

and

Jan Svankmajer Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Nu ...

. As a visual artist, she has shown her work in Portland, Oregon, and Omaha, Nebraska. Notable musicians who own her work include

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic an ...

Matthew Caws Matthew Rorison Caws (born August 5, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Caws is also a member of the indie rock duo Minor Alps, alon ...

Jenny Conlee Jennifer Lynn Conlee-Drizos (born December 12, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the accordionist, pianist, organist, keyboardist, melodica player, and occasional backup singer and harmonica, harmonicist for the indie rock quintet The D ...

, and

Laura Veirs Laura Pauline Veirs (born October 24, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk and alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang o ...

Performing discography

Norfolk & Western

* '' Centralia'' (LP, FILMguerrero, 2000) * '' Winter Farewell'' (LP, FILMguerrero, 2002) * '' Dusk in Cold Parlours'' (LP,

Hush Records Hush Records is a Portland, Oregon based record label founded by Chad Crouch. Background Crouch, frontman of the band Blanket Music, organized Hush Records in 1997, when he self-released a solo record called ''Portland, Or''. The following year, C ...

, 2003) * '' If You Were Born Overseas'' (LP, self-released, 2005) * '' The Unsung Colony'' (LP, Hush Records, 2006)

Otterpop a.k.a. Bunny Summer

* ''

Pollen Count A pollen count is a measurement of the number of pollen grains in a given volume of air. Pollen counts, and forecasts of pollen conditions, are routinely produced and reported to the public because high aerial pollen concentration is associated ...

'' (Compilation Cassette, Amacha Productions, 1992) (as Otterpop) * '' Slaughter on 13th Street'' (Compilation Cassette, Disgraceland Productions, 1993) (as Bunny Summer) * '' The One About Las Vegas'' (7" single,

spinART Records SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Black Francis, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART ...

, 1994) (recorded 1991) (as Bunny Summer)

Sissyface

* '' A Night at the x-Ray'' (Cassette, Cravedog Records, 1994) * '' Damn Everything but the Circus'' (7", Cravedog Records, 1994) * '' 4X4 Monster Truck Series'' (Compilation 7", Cravedog Records, 1995) * '' Can't Stand the Smell'' (Compilation Cassette, Cravedog Records, 1995) * ''Muscle Car'' (Split 7" with Scribble, Cravedog Records, 1995) * '' With a Shower of Sparks'' (Compilation 7",

Cavity Search Records Cavity Search Records is a record label in Portland, Oregon, which was formed in 1992 by Christopher Cooper and Denny Swofford. Pete Krebs' debut solo record "Brigadier" released on CSR in 1995. Elliott Smith's debut record "Roman Candle" releas ...

, 1995) * '' Tiger Stripes Forever'' (Compilation 10", Undercover Records, 1996) * '' King Lighter Stealer'' (CD, Cravedog Records, 1996) * '' Can't Stand the Smell, Vol. 2'' (Compilation CD, Cravedog Records, 1996)

Boycrazy

* '' Last Thursday +2'' (7", Magic Marker Records, 2000) * ''Foreign Words'' (LP, Magic Marker Records, 2001)

The Decemberists

* ''

Castaways and Cutouts ''Castaways and Cutouts'' is the first full-length album by The Decemberists, originally released on May 21, 2002, on Hush Records and reissued on May 6, 2003, on Kill Rock Stars. The album's title is taken from a lyric of the song "California On ...

'' (LP,

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...

, 2002) * ''

Her Majesty the Decemberists ''Her Majesty the Decemberists'' is the second full-length album by The Decemberists, released on September 9, 2003, by Kill Rock Stars. The song "Song for Myla Goldberg" was written years earlier, after Colin Meloy had been a media escort for ...

'' (LP, Kill Rock Stars, 2003) * '' The Tain'' (EP, Acuarela Discos, 2004) * ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...

'' (Single,

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

, 2004) * ''

Picaresque The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt ...

'' (LP, Kill Rock Stars, 2005) * '' 16 Military Wives'' (Single, Rough Trade, 2005) * '' Picaresqueties'' (EP, Kill Rock Stars, 2005)

M Ward

* ''

Transistor Radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Previous portable radios used vacuum tubes, which were bulky, fragile, had a limited lifetime, consumed excessive power and required large heavy batteri ...

'' (LP,

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...

, 2005) * ''

Post-War A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

'' (LP, Merge Records, 2006)

Robert Deeble

* '' This Bar Has No One Left '' (EP, Fractured Discs, 2005)

Douglas Shepherd

* '' Type Foundry Sessions EP'' (EP, self-released, 2001)

Corrina Repp

* '' The Absent and the Distant '' (LP,

Caldo Verde Records Caldo Verde Records is a San Francisco–based indie rock and folk record label founded by Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek in 2005. The label primarily features releases by Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon, but has also releas ...

, 2006)

She and Him

* ''

Volume One Volume One, Volume 1, Volume I or Vol. 1 may refer to: Albums * ''Volume One'' (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album), 1966 * ''Volume One'' (Sleep album) * ''Volume One'' (Fluff album) * ''Volume One'' (She & Him album), 2008 * ''Volum ...

'' (LP,

, 2008)

Jolie Holland

* '' The Living and the Dead '' (LP, Anti, 2008)

Notes and references

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumberg, Rachel 1969 births American rock drummers American women drummers Singers from Oregon Living people The Decemberists members American percussionists American women percussionists American women rock singers American banjoists American women accordionists American rock pianists Musicians from Portland, Oregon 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American pianists She & Him members 21st-century American accordionists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American women musicians Women banjoists American ukulele players Drummers from Oregon