Michael Rault

A perfect symbiosis of scrappy, low-fi reckless abandon and smooth, drawling ’50s charm, Michael Rault sounds as if he’s stuck in cyclical motion, robbing the past to conceive of and explain his present.

Rault’s latest EP, Whirlpool, a free digital download on his Bandcamp page (you can listen below), is a luscious and languid landscape of romance, longing and regret. Since releasing his first full-length, the critically lauded Ma-Me-O, on Pirates Press in 2010, the dashing, dreamboat troubadour has pursued a Pandora’s box of bitterness, longing and revery, running himself ragged on tour.

After the insanity and agitation of life on the road, Rault settled down to delve into some self-reflection and hammer out ideas for a new album, culminating in the rough and tumble slab of songs on Whirlpool that were admittedly never meant for a wider audience – at least initially.

“I was just demoing,” says Rault. “I definitely wasn’t planning on an EP, but it kind of turned into an EP. I sent the tracks to a few friends and they all suggested I release them as is. When I thought about it, they did all seem to work as an EP.”

The EP was done predominantly on a laptop with Rault manning the helm and playing almost all of the instruments, a first for him.

“The only track where I didn’t play everything was the hi-fi version of ‘I Wanna Love You,’ ” he says. “My friend, Renny, produced that and played drums and sang some harmonies. Other than that, it’s all me for the first time.”

Rault is a seer of sonic temperance and temptations and Whirlpool christens the digital age with slick, shimmery sacrifices to nostalgia: he’s got just the right amount of fervour and guile to sidestep being pigeonholed for pastiche. His woozy ’50s croon and grimy, clunking drums hearken back to a simple, serene time, but Rault admits his sound is not without its hangups.

“I think sometimes people are overly quick to chuck that ‘throwback’ label on me,” he says. “I’m very influenced by that birth of rock and roll kinda stuff, but it’s not like you can compare my records and a Buddy Holly record and not tell the difference. I don’t worry about it because there’s not much you can do about how people perceive you.”

The EP is bookended by low- and high-fidelity versions of “I Wanna Love You,” a bizarre track choice that Rault says was born out of his frustration of trying to record a slicker version of the song. “I demoed it on my laptop, like most of the other stuff, but I thought it could be a single, so I wanted to get a good recording of it. We ended up messing around with the arrangement and came out with an almost completely different song. I couldn’t choose which arrangement I liked better, so they both ended up going on the EP.”

The grinding, grating slash of savage, shimmering guitar in “He Don’t Care About You” compliments the frankness of Rault’s vocal delivery with an idling anger, whereas the gritty, manic take on the obscure Staple Singers’ song, “Two Wings,” sees him giving the finger to convention and carving his own niche with the track.

Rault started out about five years ago as a wild-eyed, trampy solo performer, playing an acoustic guitar through a gritty practice amp and tapping along on a tambourine with his foot. “Sometimes I still play solo,” he says. “It depends on the aesthetic. I recently had this low-key gig in Toronto and if I didn’t have the ability to play solo, I couldn’t take a lot of show offers.”

He now plays with a full band but admits that trudging through all of those gigs solo prepared him for the recent onslaught of tour dates, which are now winding down.

“Our last show is Pop Montreal in September and then I hope to take winter mostly off to get back to writing the full-length. But, you know, you make plans and life throws you different opportunities, so we’ll see what happens.”

Catch Michael Rault at the University of Alberta (Edmonton) on September 5 and at the SAIT Gateway on September 6.

By Nick Laugher - Beatroute

Stitching together roots, rock 'n roll with some punk and garage stylings, Michael Rault has created a monster with lots of heart.

Since moving to Toronto in January, the 23-year-old Edmonton musician will be back out West in support of his new EP Whirlpool.

"It’s pretty fun to get out on the road and play those arrangements with a real live band and have that come to life like my own personal Frankenstein,” says Rault, who recorded the EP playing most of the instruments himself.

"I think there's an opportunity to develop a really unique style when you're playing everything yourself," he explains. "It's really easy to be uniform in your direction."

Often described as vintage, Rault's music harkens back to a time of playful rhymes, toe-tapping beats and a fifties feel.

“There’s something very eternal about the roots of North American music, I think it still resonates with people, even with people in our generation,” he says.

"I think there’s something really familiar about it, that when it’s done right it can still be fresh."

Punk flavour

But unlike 2010's Ma Me O, Whirlpool has more grit underneath the twangy guitar and his smooth yet bratty voice, pointing to Rault's first love: Punk.

"I think that that sort of rougher edge and attitude is more prevalent in Suckcess and the lo-fi version of I Want To Love You," he says, adding those tracks stand out as perhaps signs of things to come with his second album expected next spring. (And some Calgarians might have had a taste of Suckcess already; the tongue-in-cheek track backs CIFF's online trailer.)

Yet even as Rault moves forward, there are elements of the past he's eager to tackle. He says he's hopeful to record his second album on tape and move it onto vinyl and muses about double harmonies.

“That's something that me and my sister Emily actually do really well together," he says.

"I’m always kind of thinking about it, at some point, trying to use that further and add that to our palette of sounds that we can create."

Rault and his sibling work together often despite Emily still living in Edmonton, and he says she’s expected to join the band on their tour. - The Calgary Sun

ROCK: Whirlpool
Michael Rault
Pirates Blend
Three and a half stars

This here is something for the Mod, and for the Rocker. It’s retro-rock, as seen through the lens of the Black Keys. It snaps, it twangs, it’s a surefire seven-song black-and-white beauty. Yeah. Dude’s a romantic. Fall in Love With Every Girl I See is a strutting, commanding song for the summer. A cover of the Staple Singers’ Two Wings is slinky and bluesy, from the church that never was. Edmonton’s Michael Rault is young, fly and fit for big things. So, make way. Brad Wheeler
- The Globe and Mail

Michael Rault is back home after spending the last week in Calgary, south of where his previous home was in Edmonton.

The vintage garage rocker described the past two days as a whirlwind, having arrived in Toronto hours before his gig at the Rivoli on Queen West. The heavy black bags underneath his eyes spoke for themselves, but there was not a sign of wear and tear when he stepped onto the stage.

Michael Rault is adulated for his simple and catchy 1950s pop-rock sensibility, but you haven’t had the full experience until you watch him live.

He kicked off the evening with “Let Me Go Out” and “Things You Said,” the opening tracks from his first LP, Ma-Me-O.

Rault’s performance was quirky and laid-back, as he rhythmically tiptoed up and down, singing in his cool, nasal voice with ease and comfort. The packed crowd at the intimate venue of the Rivoli grooved with him, as he switched up his sound to a southern blues number in “Sidewinder,” off his first EP, Crash, Boom, Bang.

This was followed up by the gospel cover of the Staple Singers’ “Two Wings” and a funky, groovalicious, bass-heavy “I Don’t Need No Help Getting Down.”

After returning to his trademark 1950s rock ’n’ roll inspired “He Don’t Care About You” (off of his recent and second LP, Whirlpool), the exhausted Rault announced his time was probably up, but that he’d keep going until he is kicked off the stage.

Rault ended the night with a cover of one of his favourite songs, Bo Diddley’s “Pretty Thing.” Rault performed with an extra oomph, gripping the mic stand tightly as he sang, and attempting the splits as he broke out into a solo.

To hear music like Rault’s is nothing short of refreshing, and to see him perform it with such a natural comfort is inspiring.

Whether you love his music or not, it would be ignorant to at least not appreciate what Michael Rault brings to the Canadian indie music scene.
- Cadence Canada

We weren’t sure what to expect when we decided to catch Michael Rault at the Rivoli opening for the “desert rock” jams of Tuareg guitarist, Bombino. I’ll admit, it was a slightly bizarre feeling walking in to find the venue near full, primarily with an older audience all seated.

It can be a difficult task to win over a crowd who is really only there for the main event still to come. But Rault was up for the challenge. Despite his eyes giving away his tiredness – having just come into the city from Calgary earlier that day – his performance was anything but. The audience may have remained seated throughout it, but their expressions marked their pure enjoyment of his rough-around-the-edges vintage 50’s rock sound.

While his material off of Ma-Me-O (2010) and latest EP Whirlpool, including “I Don’t Need No Help Getting Down” and “He Don’t Care About You” were seriously grooving, it was his two covers that were really something special. Rault added his own flair to the “gospel-soul” of the Staple Singers’ “Two Wings,” as well as to “Pretty Thing” by Blues-inspired rock and roll legend Bo Diddley. Do I even have to mention that his set ended with some pretty impressive near-splits? I didn’t think so.

We were already fans of Rault’s prior to this show, and our enthusiasm for this young performer has only increased exponentially after this one. Whirlpool is available for free download on his Bandcamp. We can’t stress enough how much we recommend you picking it up – especially for that price! - Buying Shots For Bands

Fish Griwkowsky wrote this in his column in Edmonton's SEE Magazine Aug 21 '08 Issue:

If you want to see the whole article check it out here: http://www.seemagazine.com/article/music/music-column/look-out-blues-its-michael-rault/

Look Out, Blues: It’s Michael Rault
It’s been a week of Fringe flops and freakshows, but a young blues prodigy really stole the show

Lastly, I’ve got some shit in an art show called, awkwardly, Rock City/Dirt City at Latitude 53 this month, along with Penny Buckner, Blair Brennan, Paul Coutts, Andrea Lefebvre, and Ray Biesinger (creator of the brilliant Edmonton music history chart). The show runs till Sept. 6 Objectively, the art’s pretty awesome, but holy shit, did we all get our asses kicked by Michael Rault, whom the gallery surprise-booked. Living proof that the blues has to sound nothing like predictable, corpse-raped Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rault is so close to the beating heart you can smell the phosphorus.

I threw his version of the Police’s “The Bed’s Too Big Without You” up on Facebook, though any YouTube search will delver you the candy. Fuck, that guy’s good.

Here's the video:
http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=68799165045


- SEE Magazine

Reviews:: Michael Rault CRASH! BOOM! BANG!

With all of the bastardization of the blues/garage rawk, hearing someone play those simple chords and spurt out emotional, rapid fire vocals has become eerily similar to falling snow. If you'd never seen it before, you'd stand looking up in amazement, instead of cursing the all too oft-occurring event. Much in the same way, hearing another young, white dude want to channel the greats is about as high on my list as the last few steps of my annual physical. So many bands have tried to replicate the amazing power and honesty, sadly, little succeed.

But the thing is, Edmonton's Michael Rault grew up with the blues. His father was a regular on the scene and the tradition of the spirited songs is not lost on Michael and his new EP - CRASH! BOOM! BANG! - shows that from the first song. Normally, your average 20-year old wouldn't have the balls to open his debut EP with a spirited take on a Bo Diddley classic (Pretty Things) and certainly wouldn't have the chops to pull it off. But Rault bangs it out, opting to strip out the harmonica and adding just enough sneer to the vocals to make it his own, and the two-minute song sets the tone for the rest of the record.

Clearly Rault is a young man who appreciates the past (one listen to Can't Hold On Much Longer is all you need to hear), but he isn't limited by it. His songs are steeped in tradition; for the most part this is just Rault, his guitar and a foot tambourine and his stripped down take on the blues, but he manages to avoid the "sounds like" pitfall, side stepping classical arrangements and progressions by adding a bit of sloppiness to the mix (his spirited take on The Police's The Bed's Too Big Without You is a perfect example of the energy he brings).

Rault's songs aren’t play by the numbers blues/garage arrangements and that's why they don't sound tired or derivative. He keeps the songs fun (Honey Bee sounds like on of those 50's jams you'd see people shaking their poodle skirts and hand-jiving to), but when needed they sear with a white-hot intensity (Side Winder) and sway with a gospel like feel (Who Will the Next Fool Be). He knows when to bulk it up, like beautiful Hammond and harmonica that complete the stomp heavy I Want You For Mine and most importantly, he knows how to make his songs stand out.

Not to simplify the equation too much, but hearing his take on bluesy, garage rock makes me wonder how so many people are missing the boat. In a only 19-minutes Rault proves that piss & vinegar, fun loving rhythm and blues ain't an artifact that should be forgotten or a style that can't be appreciated in today's day in age. More importantly, he shows that he's one of the few that can put some welcomed pep in your step.

Check it out from the source:
http://www.herohill.com/2008/08/reviews-michael-rault-crash-boom-bang.htm
- Hero Blog - Halifax, CAN

New Year's resolution - Michael Rault
Michael Rault's just might be 'relax'
Bryan Birtles

Some days it must seem to Michael Rault as though he doesn't even have a moment to think. In addition to putting together a new solo album over the past year—which he was in the process of mixing when I reached him—the young singer-songwriter is also busy planning a tour opening for Bedouin Soundclash singer and guitarist Jay Malinkowsi for March, preparing to open for Mudhoney in January, spent October in Toronto playing lead guitar on expat Ben Stevenson's forthcoming album and, finally, preparing to play with and open for Stevenson on New Year's Eve.

While it might seem overwhelming to anyone else—and Rault admits that sometimes it can feel that way sometimes for him too—he says it's the music that keeps him going.

"There's occasional times when you wish things might have spaced out a little more conveniently, but it's great—this is what I wanna do with my time," he says. "Even though I might get a little overwhelmed at times it's all really good when you're actually in the studio or at the show. Sometimes it's just when you're sitting down with your calender going, 'How the hell can I schedule all this so that I don't screw one or more of these projects up.' I'm getting close to the end of the tunnel now and I feel like I managed to pull it off."

As for the new stuff, Rault is excited to not only be nearing finishing the project, but also to show off a more encompassing side of his music. Though Rault explains that it's got more of an R&B feel than some of his previous work, it still has an edge to it.

"I guess it's still got a little bit of a '60s-esque vibe to it, though it's not really a throwback. It's got a lot of songs that sound like '60s girl-group songs and a song that sounds like a New Orleans funk song a bit. It's branched out a bit—I think it's consolidated. This is the record that shows the most of my influences at the same time I'd say. It isn't just focusing on one thing," he explains. "[It's] a little more restrained than the stuff I did in the Mixed Signals days but I still think it qualifies as a garage record. Most of the records I listen to are all recorded with a certain amount of rough-around-the-edges style, so if it doesn't have that it kind of doesn't really appeal to me because it doesn't fit in with any of the records I like."
Fans of Rault may get a chance to hear some of the new material on New Year's Eve, but the young musician can't say for certain.
"I don't really plan things too far ahead," he says, saying that while some of the songs on the new record might work in a solo show, some definitely wouldn't. "I guess it's always a mixed bag: you never know what you're gonna get when you come out to one of my shows." V

Thu, Dec 31 (9 pm)
Michael Rault
With Ben Stevenson and
the Wondertones
Black Dog, $15 - Vue Weekly

(Check out the video podcast of Michael Rault playing the song "Can't Hold On Much Longer" live in the Vue studio, at: http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=10095)

Michael Rault: No more Mixed Signals
Michael Rault focuses with a new solo record

EDEN MUNRO / eden@vueweekly.com
It’s been a busy year full of gigs for Michael Rault—the busiest he says that he’s ever had—and he’s done most of them without his band the Mixed Signals, eschewing the group format in favour of taking the stage by himself. The transition to performing solo came after the Mixed Signals wound down and Rault took a couple of months off from playing shows. After repeated requests from the now-defunct Blackspot Café to put on a show, he duct taped a tambourine to his shoe, ran his acoustic guitar through an amp and started singing again.

“It became not only necessary to play solo because I couldn’t find people to play with at that point in time, but it also was ideal—I really liked the way it sounded and I really liked the space you get in by going up on stage by yourself,” Rault admits. “It seems to have changed the dynamic of all the shows. You get up on stage and I find that I’m playing with my eyes closed most of the time, which just gets me in a completely different space because I’m not interacting with all the band and stuff.”

After what Rault calls a really, really long recording period by his standards—somewhere around six months—the young songwriter is set to release his first recording without the Mixed Signals following his name. Despite the credit at the top, though, the Eric Cheng-produced Crash! Boom! Bang! features more than just Rault on its eight tracks—including a couple of the Mixed Signals. Rault explains that, while he’s playing a lot on his own these days, he didn’t want to simply capture the live show on the disc.

“I wanted to be able to bring in what was right for each song, but it did start at a more minimal point for every song, so everything that was put on was put on because I thought it was right for the song,” he says. “Nothing was put in habitually, it was all put in because I thought that after we put down the bare minimal of the song, theses extra parts would sound really good with it.”

At a brisk 22 minutes in length, Crash! Boom! Bang! leaves the listener practically begging for more. Rault says that he had originally planned the record to be a full-length album, but changed his mind as time kept turning and he still had a few things unfinished. The lack of a full-length in his recorded output is not something that hangs heavy on Rault’s mind, though.

“I think in some ways I lean towards shorter releases—I really like singles even, I might even put out a few two-song CDs or seven-inches if I can get together the dough to put those out at some point in time, because I really do just like focusing really closely on the songs that I put out and not worrying too much about putting out a bunch at the same time—just making sure that the two or three that you put out at a time are really good.”

A series of EPs has seen Rault’s sound remain remarkably focused—even the new, stripped-down solo record sounds very much like the same singer/guitarist/songwriter who was at the heart of the Mixed Signals. For Rault, that’s not a bad problem to have, even when he occasionally wouldn’t mind stepping outside of himself for a song or two.

“I find that, for good or for bad, everything I do ends up sounding like myself, despite my best efforts—even if I’m getting really sick of myself and I want to try to do something that sounds completely different, once it’s all said and done it’ll still end up sounding like me,” he laughs. “I have no idea if the next thing I do will be out of left field or not, but I have a feeling that generally most of the stuff I do will end up nonetheless sounding like myself, even if I try to do something drastically different.” V - Vue Weekly

Local Bands To Watch in 2009:

Michael Rault: Rault’s trad R&B covers and originals sound great on his debut EP, Crash! Boom! Bang! but to fully appreciate his dedication and energy you have to see him live. Watching 19-year-old Rault stomping away alone on stage will make your jaw drop. He’s already conquered the Canadian college radio charts, but something tells me this is just the beginning. - See Magazine

Michael Rault
Crash! Boom! Bang - Chikadee
By Adam Kamis

Edmonton’s teenage phenom, Michael Rault is a total disciple of rock and roll. His reference points are the same figures that the Pretty Things and the Rolling Stones cited when they began their careers 45 years ago. What makes Crash! Boom! Bang! so special is that Rault displays the sincerity and substance to bill himself equally as a singer/songwriter in addition to the grit and energy to come off as the leader of a fire-breathing rock ‘n’ roll band. Three of the eight tracks are covers, good ones too. However, it’s Rault’s original compositions that set one’s jaw to drop. Oh yeah, he also co-produced and played almost everything on this record. Keep an eye on this guy.

BeatRoute: How long have you been playing music and in what incarnations?

Michael Rault: I come from a family of musicians, so I have been involved in music my entire life, but I started playing guitar dedicatedly about nine years ago. My first band was The Nightshades, which I started in grade nine with three friends. We did a rockabilly/punk thing. Then, I did a stint as a guitar player with a punk band called The Morellos. Then, I quit both of those bands and recorded the first Michael Rault and The Mixed Signals EP in grade ten. I recorded two more EPs over the next two years under The Mixed Signals moniker with an ever evolving line-up. I was the only constant member. Now, I’m working on my second year out of high school and my second year being of age. I’ve been playing solo shows for almost an exact year. I have my learner’s license, so in less than a year, I won’t be dependent on finding drivers for touring.

BR: What has inspired you as a young musician to delve into such traditional rock and roll?

MR: This is the music I grew up on, really. This is the kind of music that was on the stereo all through my childhood. My parents used to bring me and my little sister to their shows and let us skip the first half of elementary school the next day. This is the kind of music I’d see them play. At the age of seven or eight, I branched out and started listening to different music. I eventually got into punk which got me into rockabilly and garage. After listening to that stuff a bit, it lead me back to the same music I grew up on. >From there, I got into country, blues, gospel, primitive early rock and roll and all the different subgenres that lie within. Some people think I’m playing old music, but I never set out to do that. I think that when you get down to the roots of American music and the bare essentials in the production and presentation, you’re not playing old music, you’re playing eternal music.


BR: You did much of the playing and production on Crash! Boom! Bang! How did undertaking those other roles shape your vision of the record?

MR: Well, I’ve always done a lot of the playing and production on my records, but on this one it was only me and Eric Cheng (the engineer and co-producer) in the studio a lot of the time. It was a little bit more of a solitary experience than my previous recordings. It made sense. This past year of solo performances has been pretty solitary musically, although there have been people who have helped out. The thing I liked most about approaching it this way was that working on such a minimalist soundscape (often only guitar, singing, and my stomping feet on the beds), every little part you add on becomes a prominent musical statement. When you enter a studio with a band, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’re gonna be putting down drums, bass and guitar on most songs and then work up from there. On this record, I’d bring in a kick part for a few bars (or a shaker, handclaps and so on) and that would really be a huge statement. Every little thing that’s on the record is there because we wanted it, nothing was thrown in habitually.

BR: If there was one thing on Crash! Boom! Bang! that you could change, what would it be?

MR: When I was finishing it up, I probably would have had some things that were still on my mind that I wanted to change. Now that it’s been done for a while, I just sort of see it as what it is and I’m quite happy with it. The bottom line is, it is what it is and you can’t change some of the things about it without changing the feel of it. So, there’s no point in thinking about it that way. I’m just excited to get working on some new stuff. - BeatRoute Magazine

This was posted on "i (heart) music" on Monday Nov 17th:
"...At the other end of the enjoyability spectrum, Michael Rault may not put much energy into being innovative (shoe tambourine notwithstanding), but Crash! Boom! Bang! suggests that that's about the only thing he doesn't put energy into. On his debut EP, Rault sounds like he stepped straight out of the '50s or '60s, as if one of those early garage rockers somehow found his way into a time machine. Songs like "The Flood" and "Honey Bee" are rollicking good times, with Rault demonstrating that he has the chops -- both vocal and guitar -- to pull off his retro sound without sounding dated or derivative in any way. Sure, the songs may not be all that original...but they may also be covers (since three of the eight tracks are), and the fact it's impossible to tell which are covers and which are Rault's own compositions says more about his ability as a songwriter -- and the album's quality overall -- than anything else I could say possibly will."

Check out the whole article in its original context here:
http://www.iheartmusic.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/1361-Quick-Hits-turn-up-the-radio-edition.html - i (heart) music

This was posted on Exclaim's website:

Michael Rault
Crash! Boom! Bang!
By Amanda Ash

Take a 19-year-old punk kid, stick him in the middle of a dusty farmer’s field and hand him an acoustic guitar — what you’ll end up with is Edmonton’s Michael Rault, a prairie boy rooted in rhythm and blues yet in love with rebellion. Rault’s first solo EP, Crash! Boom! Bang!, kicks up a whole lot of dust, uncovering the grit and gravel of traditional blues music as heard on Bo Diddley cover “Pretty Thing.” But when he’s not looking back at the past, he’s busy stomping the crap out of the tambourine that’s duct-taped to his left foot. Rault is a one-man-band, leaving him more than determined to capture the stripped-down, carefree ruckus of “Honey Bee” and the funky despair of “Who Will The Next Fool Be?” He accomplishes so much with so little. Who knows, maybe he’ll end up playing the cowbell with his tongue next time around. (Chickadee)

Check it out in original context here:
http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/latestsub.aspx?csid1=127&csid2=870&fid1=34845 - Exclaim

This was published in the Friday Nov 21st issue of Swerve Magazine:

Michael Rault
Mark Hamilton, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, November 21, 2008

Given the pesky detail that the release of Michael Rault's eight-song mini-album CRASH! BOOM! BANG! comes on the heels of the musician turning all of 19 years old, it's easy to make hay of his youthful talents and boundless energy. However, Rault is so much more than simply a surprising force to be reckoned with under the age of 20. With his steadfast embrace of all things early '60s (grunge-free garage rock lives on in his hands, as does Dylan, whose influence occasionally peeks out here and there), the Edmontonian overturns the listener's presuppositions about someone so young--like they say, "age ain't nothin' but a number."

With CRASH! BOOM! BANG!, Rault compiles a whip-quick rush through a back pocket of originals and little-known covers, stamping each with his distinctive voice and frantic pacing. It's not easy to place a song like Bo Diddley's "Pretty Thing" next to one's own "Honey Bee", yet it's a comfortable fit, and the covers here don't overshadow Rault's compositions. In fact, they're proven all the better for their un-hidden association with his heroes.

Best of all is "I Want You For Mine", a three-minute snap straight out of Highway 61 Revisited, sounding like a hidden treasure from your parents' stack of sock-hop 45s, an A-side so good you never bother flipping the record over. Eric Cheng's rough-around-the-edges production completes the illusion to the point where it'd be easy to convince those same parents that they'd simply forgotten about the song in the 40 years since.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/swerve/story.html?id=fa55035d-e673-4945-89d0-f68c6407d2db - Swerve Magazine (Calgary Herald)

Young blue blood
Michael Rault takes his one-man band on the road
Published December 4, 2008 by Christine Leonard in Music Previews •

DETAILS
Michael Rault
Broken Jug
Friday, December 5 - Friday, December 5

More in: Folk / Country

While some musical genres rely heavily on the youth of the artists involved, others demand a certain level of, shall we say, lifetime experience. Compared to the glossy Rolling Stone cover models that comprise the typical top-selling pop acts, your average bluesman comes off looking more like a dog-eared paperback in a secondhand bookshop. Turning this weathered cliché on its wrinkled ear, Edmonton’s Michael Rault has already dedicated himself to the blues at the tender age of 19.

“I have a strong blues background, and it has always been present in my music,” Rault says. “My dad and uncle have been playing the blues forever as The Rault Brothers. One of my first band experiences was going onstage when I was still just in Grade 9. They enjoyed terrifying me because I had only been jamming with friends, and they’re vets who never practise. I had to pick up the songs on the go, and I was really nervous. I somehow managed, and I’ve been performing ever since.”

Outside the family blues business, Rault found success rocking out with Edmonton punk bands The Nightshades and The Morellos. June of 2005 saw the release of his solo debut, Michael Rault and the Mixed Signals, which became a minor hit about town and was tapped for the third and final compilation put out by Edmonton indie record store Ruckus. Thriving on a basic garage rock sound infused with traditional blues sensibilities, the album brought Rault and company to the attention of Juno-nominated producer Nik Kozub, who worked on their three-song CDR single Sure Are Fun in December of 2006. Finding himself increasingly attracted to a stripped-down version of the blues, Rault sought out the fundamental sources behind the sounds he had come to love, eventually cutting his musical entourage down to just himself.

“I kind of took the idea from the concept of a one-man band,” the singer-songwriter says. “I’ve added a rhythm section to my guitar work — a kick-drum to accompany the tambourine I tape to my foot. I wanted to show that a solo artist can present exactly what a band can if they choose to.… The emphasis that’s put on [technical ability] is killing the blues as a genre. Too many young bluesmen get into it because they want to play Stevie Ray Vaughn licks and show off their chops. I think that whole Guitar Hero mindset is detrimental to the art. Many people my age have no interest in the blues, because they see it as a bunch of virtuosos just, pardon me, self-indulgently wanking with their instruments.”

Proving that young men can wield the world-weary style the blues demands of its practitioners, Rault continues to impress audiences with his rootsy garage-rock sound. Keeping to the acoustic side of things for his latest solo effort Crash! Boom! Bang!, his original tunes employ simple arrangements that shine a light on his intense vocals and dynamic guitar playing. Crafted with care, Rault’s latest CD breathes new life into old-school conventions, even as he seeks to preserve them in their purest form.

“When I think ‘garage,’ I think of ’60s reissues and psychedelia,” Rault says. “More often than not, my shows are high-energy and fast-paced. I go on the attack mode live, especially when I’m playing in clubs, but my albums tend to be laid back. It seems like any musician who’s rough around the edges is declared to be garage, just as the folk label is applied to anyone who goes the acoustic route. I’ve always embraced parts and try to go deep down and use building blocks from both traditions. I consider that an asset.”
- FFWD Weekly