Checking in with Rachael Yamagata and Lenka on the Hotel Cafe Tour, and Enter to Win a CD! - Page 3

Lenka said the experience on the late-night TV circuit was “nerve-wracking, but it’s actually sort of like an adrenaline rush.” And by the time the Ferguson show rolled around, it was like “old hat.”

Yamagata also has had brushes with late-night greatness, twice performing on Leno. Of her October appearance, where she played “Faster” off Teeth Sinking Into Heart, she said, “It was great; TV is always kind of weird; you can’t really see anybody; the audience is further away; it’s like a 'Don’t Feed the Bears' type of situation.

“You never know how it’s going to go, but I had fun that night; we added drums and percussion (to her regular band), so musically it was kind of a fresh new inspiration of a take on that song, which kept me excited. ... Jay Leno, he remembered me, which was cool; he was very, very sweet.”

And what about being one of the girls on the bus? A smooth ride or hell on wheels? Yamagata was asked if friendships or rivalries were more likely to be formed.

“Just friendships,” she said. “Once you’ve been on such an intense schedule and seen each other in their pajamas, you become a family fairly quickly.”

Rachael Yamagata's MySpace blog take on the tour: "I’m not sure if I was expecting an all female round to be a more tidy experience. It is very much the opposite, although there is something sweet about piles of pink tutus, bunny ears and curling irons, sexy shoes and Betsy Johnson bags. It was of course Halloween last night so don’t read this and think we’re having underwear clad pillow fights in the lounge (although, maybe we will, it’s still the early days).”

The lineup for the Hotel Cafe Tour’s final week also includes:

Meiko Born in Georgia, the folk-pop artist is the only performer playing every date on the fall tour that began October 9 and ends November 18 in Los Angeles. Her debut album, released in 2007, was re-released in 2008 and she contributes "Maybe Next Year (X-Mas Song)" on The Hotel Cafe Presents: Winter Songs.

Article Author: Michael Bialas

A newspaper editor and former college football player, Michael Bialas makes sports his business but exploring and reviewing music, movies, TV and other forms of pop culture are among the games he enjoys playing now.
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