The Seattle Weekly
Seattle, WA, June 8-14

Grammy nominated singer songwriter Annie Rapid has been compared to such luminaries as Joni Mitchell and Judy Colins. Born in Germany and raised in Africa, this contemporary folkie has also logged time in Amsterdam, New York and Los Angeles - she's also worked as an architect and studied improvisational acting..The combination of intelligence, experience, soul and depth Rapid brings is rare - and utterly captivating.

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"Rapid Flexing Mussels"
Mercer Island Reporter
Mercer Island, WA, March 2, 2005

Local songstress Annie Rapid will play her music and sing her own songs at the Penn Cove Mussel Festival March 5 and 6 in Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island.

Born in Germany to diplomatic parents, Rapid originally earned a bachelor's degree in architecture and a masters from the Architectural Association in England.

"My vision of the ideal job was to work with the United Nations in developing countries on their housing problem," Rapid said. "What I ended up doing was going to L.A. and working on high-end celebrity homes, which was the opposite of what I'd planned to do."

Though Rapid wrote music and played guitar as a teenager, she'd never considered it as a career. "But I was not happy in architecture", she said. "I knew in my gut that if I was doing what I wanted to be doing, I'd be a musician."

Rapid spent a year revamping her guitar skills and learning to play the sophisticated songs she'd written. She moved to New York City to develop her career, and then moved back to L.A. in 1996 because she wanted to start touring on the college circuit. She recorded her first album, "Roses And Ash", in 1998. Her second album, "Flood", was released in 2001.

Rapid lived on Whidbey Island for a year. After discovering that touring the county was more cost effective from here she moved to Mercer Island in January.

"I played the Mercer Island Summer Celebration last summer, and felt like Mercer Island was a nice compromise, in that you get nature and quite, yet it's also close to everything," she said. "It's not too suburban and the rents are affordable compared to Los Angeles.

Rapid has been playing the festival and fair circuit for years and was delighted to be contacted by the Penn Cove Mussel Festival. "I'm looking forward to it," she said. "it will be great fun to go back to Whidbey Island."

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"Annie Rapid Sings Musical Stories"
The Appeal-Democrat
Marysville, CA, January 2003
by J. Hudson

Folk singer songwriter Annie Rapid might have some interesting tales to tell when she takes the stage at the Lee Burrows Art Center Saturday night. With the help of a well tuned guitar, she has spent the past five years of her life telling stories at hundreds of college campuses, tv and radio shows, music festivals and clubs.

"I would call myself a contemporary folk singer songwriter, " Rapid said in a telephone interview. "Folk music like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, the root of my music comes from that. My audience is from 15 to 80. My music just cuts across."

Her music has been described as lyrically poetic and her voice as both warm and crisp.

"I don't stick with one subject," she said. "I run the gamut. My songs are story songs that paint a picture. I've written songs about childhood, places I have traveled to , relationships and the more spiritual side of myself. I sing a little bit of everything."

Rapid has been touring all over the west coast making appearances at music and art festivals, folk clubs and college campuses. She has played venues in Sacramento and Modesto, but this event marks her first appearance in Marysville.

Beyond the music, Rapid is also an interesting story unto herself. She was born in Germany to diplomatic service parents and lived in Africa as a young child before moving to Los Angeles.

After moving to Los Angeles she set up her own architectural practice. However, she did not stick with her first choice of career.
"I wasn't feeling creatively satisfied with architecture. I didn't really love it. It was not what was really doing it for me" Rapid said.

She pulled up her roots in Southern California and moved to New York to pursue her dream of making music. Her 1998 debut CD "Roses And Ash" became the 55th most played CD on singer songwriter radio formats. Her follow up effort, "Flood", became the 167th most played CD on singer songwriter radio in 2001.

Saturday night it will just be Rapid with guitar in hand taking the stage, and she likes it that way.

Opening for Rapid will be local singer-songwriter Jeannie Howell. She describes her sound as folk and alternative country.

The show begins at 8PM in the Lee Burrows Arts Center located at 630 E Steet in Marysville and is sponsored by the Yuba Sutter Regional Arts Council. Tickets are $6 and are available at the Yuba Sutter Regional Arts Council Office or at the door on the show night.

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"Rapid Really Rocks!"
The Collegian, Salem of April 5, 2001
by Carmen Peters, Staff Writer
Peaceful, serene, beautifully simple, Annie Rapid's latest CD can be described with any of these words.

Her calming voice flows harmoniously with the tune of her finger style acoustic guitar.

She plays in a slow relaxed style as if she were meandering through each song. The music is refreshingly simple, and yet it has a considerable impact upon the listener.

The easy flow of the melody reminds me of unwinding in the garden with ice tea and the smell of flowers in the air.

There is nothing profound about her voice, but the lyrics play so perfectly with her low, almost spoken style, that I adore her overall sound.

Rapid's beautifully poetic lyrics could be read aloud, and still sound fantastic. She is obviously a multi-talented person.

Her background can attest to her depth of talent. She was born in Germany and then lived in Africa for several years until she moved to Los Angeles.

Like so many others with a dream, she put music on hold for the more practical aspects of life.

She graduated from UC Berkley, and then got her masters of Architecture in London. Although she began a very successful architecture firm, (Rapid worked on projects for Steven Spielberg among others), she decided it was "time to start pursuing (her) true passion: music."

She moved to New York and soon became a strong presence on the music scene.

She performed regularly at well-known venues such as CBGB, The Bitter End and Tramps. Now she is on tour after releasing two CDs with a Grammy nomination under her belt.

Willamette will have a chance to hear her unique style on April 5, from 12 to 2 p.m. in the Bistro. I recommend stopping by, even if you are in a hurry; because her music has a way of washing over you and making everything clam and peaceful.

For a preview check out her website at www.annierapid.com. There are some sound bites on there, as well as a lot more information.

But most of all I suggest that everyone take the time to take in her music. It is well worth the time.

PICTURE: The multitalented Rapid will play the Bistro at noon, April 5.

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"Rapid to Perform at Old Post Office Pavilion"
Imperial Valley Weekly
El Centro, CA, March 8, 2001
All those who say there's never anything to do or see in the Imperial Valley evidently haven't been to the many events put on at the Old Post Office Pavilion in El Centro. Whether it's a display showcasing the work of a local artist or the musical talents of a group or individual, the site is the place to be if you want to keep up on arts and entertainment in the county.

March 30 will be a case in point. Singer/songwriter Annie Rapid will be performing an evening concert that evening, with the public invited to enjoy the show.

Her distinctive voice has been described as a cross between Natalie Merchant and Joan Baez and has been compared to such 1960's artists as Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins.

"She could probably sing the phone book and you'd be mesmerized," said Lynn Carey Saylor, co-owner of the Skip Sayalor Recording studio in Los Angeles where singers like Elton John, Boys II Men, Michael Jackson, Santana and k.d. Lang have worked.

The El Centro show is set to begin at 7:00 P.M. and should last until about 9. It will include a number of songs from Rapid's latest CD, Flood, which was released in January and is ranked number 36 on the list of most played CDs on singer/songwriter radio formats in the U.S.

Her debut album, Roses and Ash, was released three years ago and was also well-received.

"Annie Rapid's Roses and Ash has 14 brilliant songs," said one reviewer. "I found myself listening to her songs over and over again and the more I listened the more I liked her music."

The Imperial County Arts Council is sponsoring the Friday night performance.

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"Coming Soon"
The Independent
Vancouver, WA, April 6, 2001
by October Pruett
Annie Rapid will be the featured guest musician of Clark's ASCC April 11, 2001 between 11:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. on the Gaiser Hall stage. The once architect turned singer/songwriter's first CD to reach the college, AAA and American markets. "Roses and Ash," earned her a finalist seat in the renowned "Long Island Music Festival," already having over 100 colleges on her West Coast tour.

Contrary to the traditional bands that the ASCC has picked to entertain us on the Gaiser stage over the last couple of months, Rapid promises listeners a refreshing breath of down-to-earth lyrics that will appeal to the mature taste.

Nominated for a Grammy-related award and well known throughout New York and Los Angeles club venues, Clark College should be honored to host such a decorated artist. If you would like to find out more about Annie Rapid, or how to get a hold of her latest CD "Ash," you can visit her website at www.annierapid.com.

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"Annie Rapid Floods Corbett Center's Club"
The Round Up
Las Cruses, NM, February 5, 2001
by Catherine Huffman, Entertainment Reporter
Contemporary singer/songwriter Annie Rapid is set to perform for students at the New Mexico State University Student Corbett Center Club, Feb. 8 from 6 to 8 P.M.

The Club, located on the first floor of Corbett Center, will feature Annie Rapid, free-of-charge as part of the Coffeehouse entertainment series sponsored by the Union Program Council.

Annie Rapid, a native of Los Angeles, has been touring the country for the past five years performing for a variety of audiences at hundreds of college campuses.

Rapid is open to questions and comments about her performance, background and experiences. She said she feels "communication is vital to a musician's performance. This communication can be accomplished by verbal communication as well as the unspoken energy created as the music reaches the listener."

After working as a master of architecture, Rapid quit her job and took on music as a full time aspiration.

After the release of her first CD, Roses and Ash, in 1998, Rapid gained national recognition for her ethereal style and mellow poetic lyrics. Roses and Ash became the 55th most played CD on singer/songwriter formats throughout the United States in 1998.

Rapid's most recent release, Flood, has made quite a mark on the soul of the music industry. Her very distinct Sarah McLachlan/James Taylor style is very soothing and relaxing to listen to.

Her sound penetrates more than the ears, but also reaches into the very being of the listener.

Rapid is a gifted guitar player with a natural knack for connecting words and music. She uses a style of playing known as opening tuning, where the strings are tuned for each individual song to create different pitches.

Open tuning is used frequently by musicians without formal training in reading music, but is a very effective way of creating the particular sound one is looking for.

Though Rapid has never formally studied music composition and theory, she has taken voice lessons.

"Although formal training would be quite beneficial in many ways, the trick to being a successful singer/songwriter is to find the emotional content of the music, to really get a feel for what you are doing," Rapid said.

As Rapid has become more experienced and comfortable with creating music, she has moved away from the technical and self-conscious side of being a musician.

"Now things feel very natural. I don't need to think about the music so much --- it just happens."

Rapid said Joni Mitchell had a profound effect on her style of performance. "She's an amazing guitar player and lyricist, plus she plays with open tuning, like me. I have learned so much from her music. Musicians like Courtney Love and many others would agree."

In addition to acoustic guitar, Flood features Rapid playing the dulcimer on her son "True Green."

In creating Flood, Rapid worked with renown producer/recorder David Vaught (the recording, genius behind groups such as The Counting Crows and Toad the Wet Sprocket).

Rapid wanted to take a traditional, old-fashioned approach to recording by staying away from digital recording. Instead, she and Vaught used regular 2-inch tape analog.

They were very pleased with the end result because "what you see is what you get."

"It's great to listen to the final product and realize that it's all real and that a computer didn't create it," Rapid said.

PICTURE: Annie Rapid will be promoting her new release "Flood" Feb. 8 in the Corbett Center Club from 6 to 8 P.M.

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"Annie Rapid Builds New Career Brick by Brick"
Imperial Valley Weekly
El Centro, CA, April 5, 2001
by Ana Lillia Barraza
Los Angeles-based singer Annie Rapid is on the flip side of the overnight success story. She says she's building her musical career brick by brick.

What else would you expect from a former architect, educated at the University of California, Berkeley, as ell as universities in London and Madrid.

After her debut album Roses and Ash, Annie was nominated for the Grammy related award, Best Unsigned Artist of the Year in 1998. And, although she's looking for a new record label, Rapid just released her second CD, Flood, which she will follow up with an extensive US tour of colleges, universities, and other venues.

Rapid's music is folk-based, but in the same category as Sarah McLachlan and Joni Mitchell. She combines beautiful acoustic guitar melodies with heartfelt lyrics. Recently, Annie Rapid performed for an intimate audience at the Imperial County Arts Council's Friday Night at the OPOP.

Question: How did you go from being an Architect to becoming a musician?

Answer: "It was actually really easy. I just felt like I needed to do what I really felt passionate about and it wasn't architecture. The decision to become a musician came very quickly to me and I didn't go through a lot of agony or debate about it. It was as it unfolded and making the big transition and everything that came after that. Getting started there were a lot of challenges.

Q: How did you go about producing your first CD?

A: My first album Is really about my time in New York. In the East Village in New York there was this club called the Chameleon, which is where the whole music scene was kind of revolving around and I became very good friends with the bartenders who were great musicians. They ended up producing and recording the album.

Q: How long did your new CD, Flood, take to produce?

A: This last album I recorded last year in 2000. I started recording in March and I ended up finishing it in mid-August. I was touring, so it wasn't everyday, but it took about six months. That album took a lot longer to record than I though. We recorded analog, which means we had no computers, which means you don't fix things. What you hear is what actually happened in the studio. It's a very meticulous process.

Q: Is there a theme to your new CD?

A: I think it deals with a lot of relationship stuff, which isn't so strong on my first album. And, I think there is spiritual journey theme going on there. I think those are the two main themes. And then there's a couple story songs thrown in, and one or two songs that are kind of their own thing. And certainly, I think the way it was actually produced gives a vibe to the album and a theme in the sense that we used a lot of strings and cellos. It gives it this kind of emotional vibe, because the cello is such and emotive instrument. And I think that even the way it was produced it wove a thread through the album. But we did that very deliberately.

In addition to touring, Annie Rapid ahs been working on getting her songs on television and film projects. She says this is another way to get her music better known.

Already, she has a song in a movie soundtrack that is due out in the summer of 2002.

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"The Flood of Annie Rapid"
The Challenge
Tacoma, WA, April 12, 2001
by Courtney Griffin, Staff Writer
While Celine Dion poses for Vanity Fair with her newly born child and Madonna searches for the next big fad to exploit, humble Annie Rapid sits at her desk and meticulously plans out her promising future. Her upcoming tour will bring her gentle folk sound to Tacoma Community College on April 12.

Annie Rapid is an award-winning singer songwriter from L.A. She finds solace in her acoustic guitar amidst all the post-Lilith Fair debris and modern rock explosions.

Rapid writes songs about her own experiences, as opposed to other people's stories. "Truth can sometimes be more interesting than fiction," Rapid says in defense of her autobiographical songs. "You write what you know, that is easier for me. When you write from your own life, you can get into a depth of intensity that you can't get f it isn't from personal experience. You'll create a much more intense performance and delivery if what you are singing about really happened to you."

Rapid believes that all people are born with a purpose and that it is up to the individual to discover that purpose. "If you are doing what you are meant to be doing, what you need will come to you. All sorts of things will fall into place, I have seen it happen too often in my life."

What wasn't meant to be for Rapid was a normal life as an architect. Although she spent years studying and working in the field, she wasn't passionate about her career. When Rapid started writing her own promotional biography pieces, she left out the vital fact that she had studied and worked in the field of architecture before becoming a full-time musician. "I didn't tell anybody I was an architect because I was afraid of what people would think," she said, looking back. She got her bachelor's degree in Berkeley and her graduate degree in London. She doesn't regret the meander in her life's path because she is the kind of person who takes everything that happens in her life and learns from them.

"It is one of the worst things in the world to hate your job," Rapid says, relating to her experiences as an architect. "There are so many people stuck in that rut. But you really don't have to be." When Rapid realized this, she quit her job and began to work dead end jobs while pursuing a music career.

She also took improvisational acting classes in New York to overcome her stage fright. "There is an element of being an actress in a performance. When you're recording an album, you are capturing on tape a performance; it's the ability to deliver a certain feeling. You're not acting in the sense of becoming an actress, but you are still putting on a performance."

Rapid was born in Germany and lived in Africa for some time before her parents, in the diplomatic service, moved to Los Angeles where she stayed for the majority of her childhood. When Rapid decided to ditch architecture, she left California and moved to New York City. She was soon playing shows in well-known venues, and before she knew it she was making an album. Annie Rapid released her first album, "Roses and Ash," in 1998. "Flood" followed two years later.

Conducting all of her business in her home office, Rapid is currently in charge of all of her own affairs. "I'm between agents," she says, her sigh tainted with all the responsibilities of handling her own college campus tour. "I am so busy with my tour and selling my house, I haven't been writing songs. This month I am trying to get down to realty." She plans to sit down at the end of April to sit down and write. Rapid writes in spurts, writing around ten songs in a short time period and then not writing for weeks or even months. "I need to be inspired, and I never know when it will hit me."

Rapid's songs reflect the constant change in her life. She believes that change is what drives humans. No one self-written song could describe her fully. "The songs I wrote five years ago reflect where I was at five years ago. I hope that I've grown a little bit." Rapid has written three times as many songs as she's recorded. "You have to write the mediocre stuff before you can get to what you like."

Speaking of mediocre stuff, Rapid holds a little grudge against recent American music. "I think there's a real lack of vision. There is certainly some good music out there, there are people being artists … but they aren't getting the attention …. The big machine, the big labels are just look for the next Britney Spears." Annie Rapid has no time to be a music consumer, but her album collection includes Sarah McLachlan, Loreena Mckennitt, Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, and Patty Griffin among others. She also admits to liking U2 and the 1990's grunge scene.

"I would like to see more emphasis placed on what is good, not what will sell," Rapid request. "We should stop dumbing down the country. We've gotten to a point where we just don't care about art anymore." She finds it completely gratifying when people find her after a show to compliment her music, and it makes her realize that people are dying for something real. In a climate where the big stars tend to be good-looking with no talent, Rapid assures herself that the constant change in the world will bring the good music back around again.

"I'm not in touch with any potential underground scene, but anybody will tell you there's nothing going on in L.A.," she says, commenting that where she lives is probably the least likely location for musical improvement. "It is going to be very interesting to see what will go down in the next few years, with the Internet and MP3s. It is encouraging to know that a few people are looking for alternatives."

PICTURE: Annie Rapid, who comes to TCC on April 12, is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles.

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"Annie Rapid Set to "Flood" Campus"
The Beacon
Portland, OR, April 5, 2001
by Jessica Bailey, Culture Editor
Next week students will have a chance to hear free music without even looking past The Cove. Singer-songwriter Annie Rapid will give students a taste of her mellow rock next Wednesday from noon to 1 P.M. in UP's favorite lunch spot.

The accomplished guitarist was nominated for a Grammy in 1998 for best unsigned artist of the year. Over the past five years, Rapid has performed a non-stop tour --- hundreds of colleges, various festivals, big-city clubs and numerous TV and radio personalities played host for her performances.

Rapid just released her new CD "Flood, " which rose quickly on singer-songwriter radio play lists around the U.S. "Flood" bears her signature open guitar tunings and features an array of musicians like cellist Martin Tillman (who most recently worked on the M12 soundtrack). Rapid continues to explore themes of love, loss and personal spiritual issues on her second release, according to her website.

Rapid was born in Germany and spent her early childhood in Africa before moving to Los Angeles, CA. She received a B.A. of Architecture from U.C. Berkeley and pursued architecture in Amsterdam before undertaking graduate studies in London and Madrid. Rapid returned to L.A., where she set up an architecture practice (her projects included one for Steven Spielberg).

As Rapid said in her online biography, after her travels and experiences she decided it was time to pursue her real passion --- music. She relocated to New York and spent the next several years immersing herself in the city's scene and reinventing herself. Eventually Rapid returned to L.A. and now performs regularly at clubs. She also spearheaded the Women on Top showcase series, which featured local female musicians.

Rapid's first nationally distributed CD, "Roses and Ash,' was released in 1998. In 2000 the California Arts Council selected her as one of around 100 musicians on the council's Artist Roster.

After her Portland performance, Rapid will continue touring up to Washington, playing at Clark College and Tacoma Community College before heading back through California.

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Flood Review
GuitarGirls.com
Los Angeles, CA
by Lynn Carey
"Annie Rapid is the sort of artist that absolute melts you with the warmth of her voice. She could probably sing the phone book and you'd be mesmerized. Her CD, Flood, is subtle and sparse in instrumentation, but is so well played, produced and mixed, that it gives new meaning to the idea that "less is more." You won't find the sort of big, obvious hooks on the CD that you traditionally associate with hit songs, but you never seem to mind. Annie is an engaging storyteller who delivers her original and fresh lyrics with passion and conviction. Annie Rapid was born to make music. Radio programmers would be well served to embrace an artist of this caliber and quality…"

~Lynn Carey Saylor of GuitarGirls.com and co-owner of the Los Angeles based recording studio, Skip Saylor Recording, where such notable artists as k.d. lang, Santana, Boys II Men, Michael Jackson and Elton John have worked. February 6, 2001.

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"Los Angeles Recording Artist Performs Locally"
The Southwestern
Coosbay, OR, April 10, 2001
by Patrick Whitehead, Ape Editor
It's a one woman show when Los Angeles recording artist Annie Rapid is in town. There are no back up vocals, rattling cymbal crashes, distorted guitar riffs, or computerized sounds. Rapid brings her six string Taylor guitar and her autobiographical lyrics, and shows whoever is watching what true music is about.

True music is what Rapid showed when she performed for two hours at Southwestern's Empire Hall on April 4.

Rapid was born in Germany and lived in Africa with her Diplomatic Relations parents. She moved to Los Angeles, where she lived most of her childhood. Rapid obtained a BA in architecture at UC Berkeley and a Masters degree at the Architectural Associations Graduate School of Architecture in London before she traveled back to Los Angeles to kick-start her music career.

"I made decisions to go back to music," said Rapid during a break of her April 4 playing. "I had been doing music so long I didn't even remember architecture."

Rapid put out her first album in 1998 called Roses and Ash. The song Roses and Ash would become the 55th most played song on singer/song writer format throughout the United States and earn Rapid a position as one of 100 artist to be chosen as a California Arts Council Roster Artist in 2000.

"My writing is mostly autobiographical because I hope that it is very universal," said Rapid. "A lot of people write that way --- I have to have a reference point."

A reference point is what makes Rapid's music so powerful.

In Rapid's second album Flood, released in 2001, she shows the listener the life she has explored and the difficulties that come with love, faith, and our inner strengths. In Rapid's title track "Flood," the pains of loneliness are defined blatantly in her story of someone who feels empty even when another holds them in their arms.

Rapid's performance at Southwestern presented a format of music that many do not associate with, especially at young ages. The singer/songwriter forma differs from current billboard bands in that they generally feature only a solo artist who sings and plays his/her own music. In addition, singer/songwriter music takes a more in-depth look into the meaning of lyrics and not the reaction the words bring.

"I play at a lot of colleges and a lot of them are different," said Rapid. "Some are more like this where people are eating and talking, and some are like coffee houses."

"Sometimes you just want to show up and just do the music," said Rapid. "But the challenge [in playing at different settings] is that you really have to want to stay and put out the song."

Rapid will be on tour throughout the month of April, visiting the University of Portland on April 10, Clark College on April 11, and then finish her tour through Washington and California on April 29. Annie Rapid's history and music can be looked at her web site: www.annierapid.com.

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"Guitarist Rapid Took Slow Road to Musical Career"
The Arizona Star
Tucson, AZ, February 23, 2001
by Jim Purdy
There's a love in Annie Rapid's crisp singing voice.

She's having a blast singing the folk songs she wrote and buttressing them with her energetic acoustic guitar playing.

Rapid's finally following her heart by making music for a living. It came at a price. She eschewed a promising career as an architect to dive into her music full time.

"I feel very grateful that I get to do what I enjoy doing. I'm glad I do what I love to do," Rapid said Monday from her Los Angeles home.

The music bug bit Rapid 10 years ago.

"I realized that I wasn't feeling creatively satisfied in architecture. I don't know how to describe it, I said, `It sounds crazy on paper, but, you know what, I'm going to go for it,'" Rapid said. She became a closet musician.

"I played guitar when I was a teenager. I got to a certain level of proficiency, and then I put it down, but I still had that memory of how to play," she said.

"I just practiced hours every day and got my playing up. I put a lot of effort and discipline into it. I knew that I wanted to be a musician. I knew that I wanted to write songs," she said.

To bolster her career, Rapid took a 1989 dive into New York City's music scene.

"It was so clear to me that it wasn't a tough decision."

She clung to architecture in New York, but it was getting in the way of her musical dream.

"There was a point where I had to let architecture go. You really can't live a split life. If I couldn't show up to a meeting and be there fully, it wasn't fair to the clients," she said.

She quit, and ended up paying the rent with less-than-auspicious day jobs.

"I got to do really menial, 9-to-5 work," Rapid said. She worked as a temp. She worked as a maid.

"It really was an experience, having a master's degree and cleaning people's toilets," she said.

Rapid didn't care. She really wanted to be a professional musician.

Besides, it was working. She scored a few regular gigs and polished her stage presence.

"As far as moving to New York, that was absolutely the right decision. I needed to move somewhere where nobody knew me. Had I stayed in Los Angeles, a lot of people would have said, `What do you think you're doing?'"

Rapid took a long, winding road to the stage. After completing her architecture degree at the University of California, Berkeley, Rapid got her master's degree in London.

"I went into the Architecture Association in London because I wanted to help underdeveloped countries with housing projects. When I got out, a lot of the funding and a lot of the programs fell apart. I ended up doing, ironically, the exact opposite. I ended up doing high-end projects for movie stars in Hollywood, which is funny, really."

In Rapid's opinion, it actually worked out well.

"I'm really glad I didn't do music my whole life. It would have been cool if I'd known I wanted to do it when I was 17, but I've had experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise that have enriched my life."

Her debut CD, "Roses and Ash," was released in 1998, and "Flood' came out last years.

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"Annie Rapid Former Architect Designing New Life As Singer Songwriter"
Imperial Valley Press
El Centro, CA, March 29, 2001
by Richard Montenego
An architect by training, Annie Rapid left her successful private practice in Los Angeles for the life of a musician in the coffeehouses and smoky clubs of New York City.

A decade later, Rapid's passion for music is still going strong, having recently released her second album, "Flood," to largely rave reviews and having been picked up as a California Arts County roster artist.

At 7:00 P.M. Friday in the Old Post Office Pavilion in El Centro, the 36 year old Rapid will perform what she describes as a "contemporary singer-songwriter" style of music. Admission is $5.00.

"Obviously, that's a pretty broad brush stroke, but my music's not folky enough to be folk," she said. "It's an acoustic-based thing."

Rapid, a self-produced artist who has put out two CDs on her own Dirge Records label, has performed hundreds of shows, mostly on college campuses and in coffeehouses.

"I've played for 17,000 and I've played for seven. It really varies," she said.

Rapid didn't always lead the life of a musician.

An amateur guitarist in high school who wrote a few songs here and there, Rapid pushed her music aside to attend University of California, Berkeley, where she received a bachelor's degree in architecture. She next received her master's degree from the Architectural Association's Graduate School of Architecture in London.

A private practice in Los Angeles followed, where Rapid did work for, among others, Steven Spielberg.

Then, at 26 years old, Rapid left it all behind, relearning the guitar and moving to New York City to "reinvent" herself.

"I felt what I was really meant to do was be a musician. I have absolutely no regrets about that at all," she said. "I don't think it's that uncommon for people to change their professions in this day and age."

Of architecture, Rapid added: "I did it and got into doing it, but it wasn't necessarily what I wanted to spend my life doing."

For 10 years, Rapid has made a living as a musician. She' performed regularly at such notable New York clubs as CBGB, The Bitter End and Tramps.

Rapid has been a featured artist at a past New Music Seminar, an industry showcase, and performed two years in a row at the Long Island Music Festival.

A couple years ago Rapid moved back to Los Angeles when an ever-increasing number of West Coast appearances forced her return.

Plus, she said, "I was burned out on New York and I kind of needed to get out."

In 1998, Rapid released her first CD "Rose and Ash," which received radio air play on college, adult contemporary and Americana markets.

Her latest offering, "Flood," was released in January and Rapid said the disc is already picking up where her debut left off.

She said the album has steadily climbed the adult contemporary charts and is on the verge of cracking the Americana charts.

"Flood" has received good reviews since its release.

Stats Chris Darling of WMPG Radio in Portland, Maine: "The whole tone of the recording is so lush and full. I love the string arrangements and that's not common on far too many recordings. They hamper rather than enhance."

George Maida of Richmond, Va.-based WCVE Radio states, "Loved everything about the `Flood' --- writing, melodies, production."

In 2000, Rapid was selected by the California Arts Council as a roster artist, meaning she has been afforded the opportunity to play in much larger venues than she has in the past, as well as get paid more than she is accustomed to.

"It helps you get into larger shows and it gets your foot in the door," Rapid said.

She added through the Arts Council she is able to reach a different audiences than those who would see her at college shows and coffeehouses.

The state Arts Council is, in part, funding Rapid's show at the Old Post Office Pavilion in El Centro. Half the fees, she said, are paid by the California council and half are paid by the hosting organization, in this case the Imperial County Arts Council.

Rapid also has a Web site where her CD's can be purchased. www.annierapid.com.

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"Annie Rapid to Play Wistful Folk at CR"
Time Standard
Eureka, CA, April 2001
by Katherine Kovacich
Contemporary singer-songwriter Annie Rapid will be performing at College of the Redwoods on April 18 and 19 as part of the Arts and Music Fair.

Although Humboldt County is filled with female folk-singers, what Rapid has to offer is beyond politically angry guitar strums and staccato melodies.

With a sensitive, wistful; attitude, she signs of miracles, disappointment, and the ever popular --- love.

Likened to Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, Rapid carries a unique voice and repertoire that is sure to inspire and awe.

Rapid held the 55th rotation position on singer-songwriter radio formats across the United States with her first release, "Roses and Ash."

Her second album, "Flood," was produced by David Vaught, who has worked with artists such as Toad the Wet Sprocket, Primitive Radio Gods, and Counting Crows.

"Flood" became the 20th most played album for February 2001 on singer-songwriter formats.

Taking time out of her busy touring schedule (she's been on the road since February), Rapid gave a phone interview from Portland after doing a show.

She asks me if I've heard of David Gray, a popular artist with honest lyrics and Dave Matthews as a fan. Listening to Gray, she says, has reminded her to "come back to the roots" of why she's a musician, why she loves writing music and the way it makes her feel. She said it's easy to lose sight of what success when involved in the music industry.

"I've let go of worrying about being successful," Rapid said. "The important thing is to love and enjoy what you're doing every day. I give it everything I have to give."

Rapid spent her educational life studying architecture. She graduated from UC Berkeley, and got her master's degree from the Architectural Association in London after which she and studied in Madrid, Spain. Rapid later realized it was "time to start pursuing (my) true passion --- music." She went on to make a name for herself in the clubs and coffeehouses of New York City, "learning how to be a musician," she said.

She then returned to Los Angeles, where she's been living for the past five years. Rapid has continued to tour the United States, jumping from college to university, making live radio appearances along the way.

What are possibly the most descriptive lyrics of her travels are featured on the title track, "Flood": "The night will hold you/like a rib cage/in a city/ that doesn't know you/ lay your head down/ on a pillow/ hope your heart holds on/ until tomorrow."

I asked her about the continual theme of God on "Flood."

She said she is "not a Christian artist," but that she used a lot of Judeo-Christian imagery on this album because she finds it interesting in a historical context.

She notes that she's "heavy into Eastern meditation" and if she practiced any organized religion, it would be Buddhism.

"Flood" is a really personal album," Rapid said. Her overall tone is nostalgic, dealing with relationships and spirituality. She says she is not political in her songwriting.

"If we want to solve our problems, it won't happen through politics. It comes from inside," she said.

Her song, "Leave the Light On," illustrates this idea: "Each passing day our lives just drift and drag/ and we look outside ourselves/ for all those things we'll never have/ I don't know how I don't know how I got here …."

Rapid will perform at 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday and at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday at the College of the Redwoods as part of the Arts and Music Fair.

For more information on the College of the Redwoods Arts and Music Fair call 476-4180.

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