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California-based Americana singer-songwriter Rags Rosenberg is a man with something to say. His lyrics are deep, profound even, with stories of change and reflection that mirror both the past and our times. His new album, “Song of the Bricoleur,” speaks to the flashpoint of change, on many levels, that society finds itself in. With gritty warmth and twang and a folk-forward sense of storytelling, Rosenberg’s album extolls the importance of all of us being bricoleurs – a French word for someone who creates something new from that which is damaged or broken – as a way through that which challenges us, both personally and as a society. The result is a vivid and important work of art and music. We sat down recently with Rosenberg to get the lowdown on this stunning album
Hi, Rags. Welcome to VENTS! How have you been lately?
I’ve been really energized around the release of “Song of the Bricoleur.” I’ve been working on this project for several years, and it’s gratifying to see it grow legs and make its way into the world. I’m very happy right now.
You have an amazing new album that just came out in September that you mentioned called “Song of the Bricoleur.” What can you tell us about it? What inspired you to write these songs and record this album?
Thank you for the kind words. “Song of the Bricoleur,” the song that gives the album its title, was one of the first of a batch of songs that showed up when I moved from Nashville to Joshua Tree in 2008. I needed to break loose from the constrictions that writing in Nashville placed on me and living in a small desert cabin for 14 years did that. This album is the result. I call what I do “mythopoetic folk” because I bring in a lot of archetypal characters and the narrative is not always linear.
I was initially inspired by an essay I read called “Bricoleur in the Tennis Court,” a reference to a 1789 painting titled “Tennis Court Oath,” which depicts the moment when representatives of the citizenry were kicked out of the Palace in Versailles, gathered at an indoor tennis court nearby, and planned the French Revolution. That essay called those revolutionaries “bricoleurs,” a French term for someone who creates something new from what has been broken or is no longer useful. Rule by Divine Right was no longer useful, and so these folks created a new form of government.
It feels to me that we are in a similar point of inflection, that we’re living through one of those incredible times when a fundamental change is in process, one that’s currently being driven by the digitization of our lives and the introduction of artificial intelligence. I think it actually started with the enlightenment, the French Revolution, and Nietzsche’s declaration that “God is dead.” Since then, we‘ve seen the old institutions – the family, the church, civil society – all being transformed or falling away. Something new is on the horizon, but we can’t see exactly what’s coming.
The title song says that, in today’s world, we are all bricoleurs and, “We’ll make it up as we go.”
Did you write all of the songs around the same time with the intention of gathering songs for an album, or did you write at different times? Did any of the songs take a while to come together?
The songs were all written at different times. The title song, “Song of the Bricoleur,” was begun in 2011 and went through many versions before arriving at what’s on the record. “John Doe” was started in 2019 and finished last year. When I decided it was time to do the record, I wanted the songs to connect thematically, but not in a linear way. What I ended up with was an overarching theme that asks the question, “What is it like to live in a time of great change in civil society, in the culture, and in one’s personal life?”
What were the recording sessions like? Any great stories from the studio that you can share with our readers? What was your favorite part about recording this album?
I did all the preproduction at home beginning in September of 2024. Working with the Native Instruments program to create the ethereal pads and swells that some of the songs needed was great fun, one of my favorite parts of the whole recording process. In October, I went into Jesse DeCarlo’s studio in Monterey, California to track. I was introduced to some great musicians there and awed by the unique offerings they each brought to the party.
In November, I sent “John Doe” over to a producer in Nashville with whom I’d worked in order to give the song a more indie/country feel. It was a nice contrast to what we were doing in Monterey. In January of this year, we tracked at Pat Kearn’s studio in Joshua Tree. Being back in the high desert and recording with old friends was another high point of the whole process for me. In March, Jesse completed the final mixes and sent them off to Pete Lyman at Infrasonics to be mastered.
My favorite thing about recording this album was watching 12 ideas that started as the seed of a first line or a chorus grow into a simple work tape and then, over the course of a year and a half, flower into a full-blown record. It still amazes me how this happened.
One of the most fun things happened at the session in Joshua Tree. I invited 15 or so old friends over to the studio, gathered them all in the live room, and we recorded them singing the outro chorus of “California Bound.” It was the perfect way to end that song.
Another favorite part: Charlie Wallace, who plays pedal steel and Dobro on several cuts, continually quipped great one-liners. When I asked him if he could play one of the songs in D-flat, a difficult key for those instruments, he quipped, “Every key offers its own opportunity.” Once, in rehearsals for the CD release party, he said, “You know, there’s only two kinds of music: Zipadee Doo Dah and the blues.”
What kind of sound or vibe were you trying to achieve on this album? Did it change or morph at all in the studio while you were working on it?
The album is a little bit schizophrenic in that some of the songs are wire and wood instruments and push toward modern folk music, while the other group, the darker ones, those like “Ticket to the Game,” “Eye on You,” and “These Bones,” are big, cinematic productions. Then, of course, there’s the last track which is not a song at all, but slam poetry with upright bass and brushes behind it.
I was concerned about that disparity at first but got over it. In the end, these 12 songs are the offering, and they offer different things to different people.
How do you feel about releasing the album now? What kind of emotions are coming forth as you share this collection of songs with the world?
The primary emotion is joyful astonishment. I’ve heard songwriters echo my experience of looking back at a finished song and wondering how they did it and if they’d ever be able to do that again. That’s how I feel about this record.
What aspect of the album are you most proud of?
The writing, of course, is at the top of that list. I worried the bone over every verse, every line, until I got it right. That, and the production of the more cinematic tracks, which I think was everything I could have hoped for. As I mentioned earlier, I did a deep dive into the Native Instruments library of sampled sounds and instruments and did all the preproduction before inviting in the live musicians. I’m quite proud of what I created by working in that manner.
What else do you have on tap for 2025?
I’m not planning on a national tour at this time, but I’m in the process of booking shows here in California. Those appearances will always be displayed on my home page at ragsrosenberg.com. I have new book of poetry, “Clover and Cactus,” that’s just about ready to submit to publishing, so I’ll be finishing that up this year as well.
Website & social media links:
Website: https://ragsrosenberg.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ragsandbones1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ragsrosenberg
