PART 2 of 3 for a special photo diary series from photographer Kelsey Bennett.
A diary of words and photos by Kelsey Bennett
Before I head to Brooklyn to photograph Rachel, she calls to let me know that it’s International Daisy Day. So, of course, we will need Daisies in the photos. I pick up a bouquet on my way and she has one waiting as well; she also has daisies painted on her nails and dried roses hanging from the walls. As we begin, we share stories and common interests while two parakeets housed in a white heart-shaped cage chirp melodically outside her bedroom door.
Rachel Trachtenburg is young – she just turned 20 – but she has experienced more than most her age. When Rachel was 6 years old, her parents, both musicians, were looking for a new drummer, and her father elected her. Ever since, she’s been playing in bands and touring the world. She tells me about the other kid musicians she’s befriended along the way, and it makes me happy thinking about a sensitive tribe of children, filling the air with music.
While she weaves daisy chains on her bed, we listen to McCartney’s album ‘Ram’ and chat about Manson girls, the X-Files, and why she has two copies of Valley of the Dolls on her bookshelf. Her room feels like a treehouse filled with inspiration and nostalgia. It might be the only place on earth that, in some fantasy scenario, feels like Jack Torrence from The Shining and Willie Wonka could befriend each other.
Rachel makes her own music and designs her own clothes. Intrinsically inventive and imaginative, she looks out at the world with big dreamy doll eyes. By the time I leave her apartment, she has played me every instrument in sight. So now, with an impromptu performance from a one-woman-band, I stroll home singing the catchy lines to one of her most recent recordings under my breath. “I like to be alone…” And then, with a drawn out upbeat, “…but I, I, I, I, I get lonely!”
Rachel’s solo EP, ‘Daydream Time Machine,’ is set to release soon. She drums for garage rock band Larry and The Babes, and girl-pop band The Prettiots. Rachel also hosts a radio podcast on PRN.FM Pure Imagination, a weekly show about animal rights, food, music, mediation, and UFOs.
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