Local singer-songwriter uses her body as a drum
Songwriting is a cathartic experience for Rachel Udow.
“It’s kind of like a certain experience or emotion will crystallize … and it becomes like this tough little knot and the only way to kind of get it out or do something with it is to let it unfold itself into a song,” 23-year-old Udow said.
After graduating from Kalamazoo College in Michigan, Udow came to the Rio Grande Valley to work as a grant writer for Migrant Health Promotions in Weslaco.
She can be found performing her own brand of folk music at coffeehouses and poetry nights at Carino’s Italian restaurant in McAllen.
“I was on a train from New Mexico to Chicago and I sat next to this guy and we started talking,” Udow said. “We were on there for about 24 hours, so we were trying to figure out what to do to entertain ourselves.”
He introduced her to body drumming. He taught Udow a few things and she incorporated it in an event at college.
“I play some guitar, just to back up the songs that I write, but my skills doesn’t always keep up with the songs I want to do,” she said. “So if there’s a song I don’t know how to play I’ll come up with some sort of body rhythm.”
The reaction from the audience is often mixed, from looks of surprise to amusement to confusion, she said.
Catch Udow performing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at Carino’s. Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the event will benefit Migrant Health Promotions.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21
WHERE: Carino’s Italian, 421 E. Nolana Loop, McAllen
