Psychedelic Folk Queen

“Still a real world here,” sings Joanne Rand on the track “Real World” from her 2014 album Still a Real World. The song is a manifesto of sorts, cajoling us to disconnect from our networked lives and refocus on the material world.

But in 2015, the life of a musician — independent or otherwise — is increasingly dependent on digital space. How does the Arcata musician find balance?

“Music is my meditation, my passion and addiction,” Rand tells EW via email. “The joy of being in the music enables me to slog through whatever work it takes to get out there on the road and bring this music to you.”

Rand says for the two years leading up to the recording of Still a Real World she focused on her songwriting.

“The stories in these 12 new songs are about true life,” she says. “Story-songs about Greyhound bus characters I’ve seen, a tribute to my grandfather born in 1890, a song about Einstein (penned by my 88-year-old mother). These songs are snapshots of humanity: our potential and our foibles. They hope to uplift and inspire the listener. Through it all I remain hopeful and ‘captivated with the human race.’”

Rand’s sound is often described as psychedelic folk. “I was steeped in classical, Southern rock ‘n’ roll, gospel and the inflammatory folk of the ’70s,” Rand explains. “At 14, psychedelic rock blew my mind. I branched into my own compositions, largely due to this influence.”

Joanne Rand plays 8:30 pm Saturday, April 18, at Axe & Fiddle in Cottage Grove; $10.

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