INTERVIEW | TALKING WITH FOLK-ROCK ARTIST Y. DAN RUBINSTEIN

Y. Dan Rubinstein

INTERVIEW | TALKING WITH FOLK-ROCK ARTIST Y. DAN RUBINSTEIN

San Francisco singer-songwriter Y. Dan Rubinstein will release his latest single, “Stolen Moments,” on August 30. “Stolen Moments,” a song about first loves, is the title track to Rubinstein’s forthcoming album, slated for release in 2020.

Y. Dan Rubinstein

In his other life, Y. Dan Rubinstein is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who rediscovered his love for music almost by accident, while attending his child’s violin lesson. His venture into songwriting began with an email, which morphed into a song. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, releasing a series of infectious folk-rock songs flavored with tints of jazz.

Performing throughout the Bay Area, along with appearing at the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival and West Coast Songwriter, Rubinstein’s acoustic-driven pop songs explore personal emotions and social issues.

Because of the delicious gentle flow of his music, along with the haunting wistfulness of his lyrics, Rawckus sat down with Y. Dan Rubinstein to find out more about his influences, his inspiration, and his songwriting process.

How would you describe yourself?

Artistically, as a musical poet, or a troubadour. In my professional life, as a serial, high-tech entrepreneur. Combining these two feels very satisfying - a complete circle of the yin and yang.

What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into musically?

I try to live a trouble free life, but sometimes trouble finds you despite your best efforts. When I was 19, I was busking in Paris in Montmartre. There were artists displaying their artwork and handicrafts, and lots of tourists but no other musicians. I was singing songs by Cat Stevens and James Taylor and lots of tourists came by to have their picture taken with me. It didn’t last long - within 20 minutes an undercover gendarme came by and told me that I couldn’t play there and he shooed my down the hill to the metro. I set up nearby, and it’s funny because they were the same tourists heading up to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica on the hill, and I was singing the same songs, but away from the plaza and away from the other artists, people paid me no heed. Context is everything.

What’s your favorite song to belt out in the car or the shower?

“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. I liked it before it became such a pop favorite.

Who is your favorite music artist?

I love Leonard Cohen - the depth of his poetry and lyrics is unmatched. I also admire his ability to sustain an audience across decades and generations - a true testament to the substance of his art.

What kind of guitar do you play?

I have several and each brings me joy in its own way. My favorites are a Taylor GS Mini Koa and a Prudencio-Saez Flamenco guitar I picked up in Barcelona, Spain this past summer.

Why did you become a musician/singer-songwriter? What’s the backstory there?

I fell into it accidentally. I organize a weekly bike ride and we were rained out one weekend so I emailed the group to cancel the ride. The email came out almost like a poem. I was studying jazz guitar at the time and a ii-V-I progression came to me and all of sudden you could sing the email and it sounded decent. Since then, I just felt inspired to write poems and set them to music. It feels like the right medium for getting a message out that will touch someone and get them to think about their life, or the world around them, if they’ll take the time to listen.

What musicians influenced you the most?

They tend to be songwriters with meaningful lyrics like Leonard Cohen, Sting, Damien Rice.

"My favorites are a Taylor GS Mini Koa and a Prudencio-Saez Flamenco guitar I picked up in Barcelona, Spain this past summer."

How, if at all, do your musical influences shape and impact your music?

Mostly through the focus on meaningful lyrics as the first step in crafting a song.

How would you describe your style of music?

Folk-rock with jazz influences.

Why make music? I mean what’s the point?

To give a voice and a tangible manifestation to a certain feeling, a memory, a path not taken; to catalyze change and build community. Is there a point to it? Is there a point to anything? If a song inspires someone to do something or to feel better and move on, then it has fulfilled its purpose.

When you decide to write a song about a particular topic, do you make the decision consciously – “I think I’ll write a song about that” – or does it just happen intuitively?

I often let a thought flow over me and dwell in the feelings. What was is like to feel this way when we first met, or when we broke up? Sometimes the thoughts are less about personal relationships and more about events or the world we live in. The tragic Sandy Hook shooting inspired me to write a song called, “So Many Guns.” It poured out of me within a few minutes of my hearing about the shooting on the news. It asks very basic questions, like how many guns do we really need, and do they actually serve their intended purpose - questions I think both sides of the polarized debate would find common ground on. Recent political events inspired “Don’t Break What You Cannot Fix.” And the superficiality of social media relationships was the seed of “Liking from Afar.”

What is your songwriting process? Do the lyrics come first, or the music?

Usually the lyrics. I’ve tried writing to a chord progression or a melody, but it feels unnatural. To me the message is the most important element of a song.

What inspired your new single, “Stolen Moments?”

“Stolen Moments” was one of the first songs I wrote. In our lives and relationships there is always the question of “what if?” The paths taken and untaken. What if we didn’t meet? What if we didn’t break up? What if we had broken up sooner? Many of my songs explore the realm of paths not taken.

“Stolen Moments” is a song about first loves. Everything is new and special and magical because like all first experiences there is nothing to compare them to. We open ourselves, and become vulnerable. Do we regret that vulnerability or does it become part of who we are? Knowing how things turned out, should we have stolen those moments, or borrowed them instead? What would we tell our younger selves if we could?

Will you be doing any touring, or playing any live shows in your area?

If I and my fans can find the time, then I’ll certainly be open to it. So much of music creation and consumption has moved online, but it’s hard to beat a live performance where both singer and audience create a shared experience.

What’s next for you musically?

I am looking forward to releasing nine singles leading up to the full launch of my debut album, Stolen Moments, in early 2020.

I’m also studying Flamenco guitar with a teacher in Spain over video chat. It’s great to keep on challenging yourself to learn new things, regardless of your field, and helps keep things fresh and inspire new ideas.