About Rachel:
Rachel Toalson, singer, bass player and keyboard player
Q & A session
Q. How long have you played the bass guitar.
A. I guess it’s been about three years now. I’ve been playing keys for about a year, but I played piano off and on when I was little.
Q. What got you started in music?
A. I don’t really know. My grandmother played piano. My great-grandmother played the fiddle, and her husband played the guitar. My mom plays piano and used to sing. I guess I’ve just been around it all my life.
Q. Why Progeny?
A. I married Ben, and we just really felt like we were supposed to be doing music together. We had both grown up around music and were part of a band in college, so it was kind of a no brainer for us to start doing music together. So we started Progeny.
Q. We’ll do some favorites here. What’s your favorite food?
A. That would have to be spaghetti, but without the meatballs.
Q. Favorite movie?
A. I’d have to say The Goonies. It’s the best movie of all time.
Q. Favorite song ever?
A. I think I’d have to say “Hero,” by Mariah Carey. It’s a great song.
Q. Favorite band ever?
A. I’m gonna go with One Republic. I don’t know if that’s my favorite band ever, but I really like them now.
Q. What’s your favorite candy?
A. The York peppermint patty. Anything Jelly Belly is a close second, though.
Q. Do you have any other hobbies?
A. I enjoy reading and writing. I’m working on a novel. That’s kind of a hobby that will hopefully turn into a job. I like biking, especially over rough terrain. I enjoy running, for the most part. I like going for walks. I like to crochet baby blankets, even though I hardly ever have time to.
Q. Any siblings?
A. One older brother and one younger sister.
Q. Alright, what’s your favorite memory?
A. That would have to be sitting with my Memaw at her kitchen table and talking about life and love and God. She died this year. I miss her a lot.
Q. I’m sorry. Sounds like you have good memories, though.
A. I do.
Q. OK, we’re moving to the random portion of our interview.
A. OK.
Q. If you could be any superhero, who would you be?
A. There aren’t a whole lot of women superheroes, but I think I’d have to be Elastigirl, or Mrs. Incredible. She has, like, Inspector Gadget arms, and I need that to grab Jadon [son] when he’s in places he shouldn’t be.
Q. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? So if you were an animal, which one would you be?
A. I think I’d be a monkey because they get to swing on trees, and people don’t think they’re as smart as they really are. And they get to fling poo. I mean, how cool is that?
Q. Alright. That’s nice. If you could visit any planet, which one would it be?
A. I’m gonna say Saturn. I’d really like to see Saturn’s rings.
Q. OK, finish the sentence. Lifetime supply of…blank.
A. Toilet paper because I don’t really want to use leaves, and I always wonder, like, the people on Lost, what do they do?
Q. That’s a good question. So is this one. If you could be any invention, what would you be?
A. The Internet because it’s, like, the power of today. Like, if I were the Internet, everybody would know who I was, pretty much.
Q. What is your favorite holiday and why?
A. I’d have to say Christmas. People seem to have a different attitude that time of year. I don’t know if it’s the weather or just the season, but Christmas makes them happy. People are kinder. I always say I wish we could have Christmas all year so we could see that.
Q. Alright, if you were something to sit on, what would you be?
A. That’s easy. A rocking chair because I rock. No, I’m kidding. I would be a rocking chair because it’s, like, a chair that makes you happy, you know? Moms sit on it to rock their babies to sleep. Grandmothers sit on it with their grandchildren.
Q. That’s a good point. So, if you could relive any decade, which decade would you choose?
A. I’d have to say the ‘70s. They just had really cool clothes back then. I love ‘70s clothes. It seemed like back then, aside from the drugs and stuff, people just had this love thing figured out. Maybe that’s just what I see and it wasn’t really what happened. I don’t know because I didn’t live it. But they didn’t seem to put as much emphasis on work as we do now. And, you know, it all really boils down to the clothes for me.
Q. How would you react if you were honked at by an impatient driver?
A. [laughs] Well, my typical response is to hang out the window and throw up a gang sign, you know, ask them what’s up, why they’re honking. And then they’re pretty scared because they don’t really want me to get out of the car, so they never do it again. Ever. This nose ring catches the sun and then they see these guns, and they’re, like, “Whoa. She’s gangsta.”
