She first realized she was bisexual in college although she had earlier crushes on girls she just couldn't put a name to. “I needed to see it in the world, to know someone who was, before I could really say I was too.” That was in her early twenties, toward the end of college when a variety of female friends happened to “share that part of their nature with me, both socially as well as through their music. At that point I had a pretty clear idea that even though I'd never acted upon it, I was probably bi.”

After college she “happened to meet someone and connect very quickly. She was my best friend first and then we dated.” But coming out wasn't easy. “What made it most difficult was my sense that I would be disappointing particular friends and family-members, that was just painful all around and definitely affected the relationship also, because I was not ‘out' and that was inherently stressful.”

Over the next year or so she worked through her fears and came out to all the family members and friends she felt needed to know, explaining that she was not aiming to shock or disappoint anyone but that this was who she is. It was messy and painful for a while but relationships healed with time and understanding won out more often than not.

“Once I really had those conversations with the people who initially didn't accept my choices, I felt empowered and less at the mercy of secrets being uncovered and a sense of possible rejection. I felt more like who I wanted to be in terms of not being ashamed and even, celebrating that side of myself.”

Most of her songs are gender pronoun-free, using the word “you,” instead. However, Cyanide and Cinnamon (from her third album Painting of a Painting) is clearly a song about the giddiness of new love and lust for a woman. It “relates to the euphoria that comes with loving someone you're not supposed to be with… I think at the time I wrote the song
I was conflicted, I wanted what I wanted but I also felt guilty it would hurt or disappoint certain people if they knew because of their own hang-ups or prejudices.”

How does someone who constantly tours stay in touch with life enough to write about it?  “I think there's plenty of life on tour – perhaps more than when I'm home,” she explains. “Every day brings surprises…every new town new friends and certainly new scenery that ignites the imagination.”

Sage can observe a poignant situation or interaction between people while on the road, imagine how they are feeling and then sit down and write a song about it. “But I don't always like to spell out which are my stories and which are the stories of others; I think it's more important they just be able to stand on their own,” she states.

Surprisingly, “I actually feel more stressed, underslept and overworked when I'm NOT touring,” she complains, because of the work that piles up in her absence, related to running her label MPress Records, that is waiting for her when she gets home.

As for relationships, touring isn't the only obstacle: “It's not easy to make someone feel they are your number one priority when you barely have time to do your laundry while you're staying up half the night promoting your records on the internet and running your record company.”

Hopefully, her laundry is done because she's back on tour supporting her new album. If you'd like to catch her act, check out her website for tour dates at her official website.

Get The Blistering Sun on RachaelSage.com or Amazon.com

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