How is the new year treating you honey bees? We have had an amazing start to 2024 and are already here to bring you one of our newest obsessions: Raye Zaragoza! The Tiger Lily of our hearts and the TL our inner children always needed! Not only does Raye reinvent Tiger Lily in a way that she always deserved to be portrayed but Raye is also an amazing singer-songwriter that made our playlist much more cozy.
Would you like to find out more? Then keep on reading!
Hi there Raye, it is a pleasure to get to talk with you today. First of all, we would like to congratulate you on your role as Tiger Lily in Peter Pan! Has playing a Disney character always been your dream? Which was your favorite Disney movie growing up?
Thank you so much! Although our Peter Pan is not based on Disney’s Peter Pan – it’s a newly imagined version of J.M. Barrie’s original Peter Pan story – it is really exciting to get to re-create a character that was definitely in need of updating. Tiger Lily for so many years was perpetuating a stereotype, and I’m so excited to be playing Larissa Fasthorse’s new and empowered TL. I definitely always dreamt of playing a character that is recognizable and getting to do my own spin on it. Growing up, my favorite Disney movie was A Goofy Movie! I always thought it had the best music, haha.
How do you feel about this reimagined version of the story being on tour? Do you think fans of the classic will enjoy it just as much as people who get to see it for the first time?
I think that Larissa Fasthorse and Lonny Price have done an amazing job preserving the magic of the classic Peter Pan, while giving it the contemporary updates it needed. I think folks will find it both nostalgic and new. It’s really exciting that so many kids will be introduced to the story of Peter Pan through our show first.
If you were to write your own theme song for Tiger Lily what would it sound like? What colors do you associate with your character?
I love this question! I am actually writing a song for Tiger Lily. Not for any other reason than for a fun songwriting activity for myself. Tiger Lily doesn’t have a solo song of her own in the show – so it is really fun to imagine what her song would sound like if she did. I think her song would be uptempo and exciting – a song about dodging the lost boys and the pirates, and finally being taken seriously as the bad*ss warrior she is! I associate red/orange with Tiger Lily. Sarafina Bush did such an amazing job on the Tiger Lily costume using beautiful reds, oranges, and browns.
Regarding theme songs, you wrote the Spirit Rangers one! A bop if you ask us and a hit not only with our nephews and nieces! How did this opportunity come about? What was your writing process like for this song compared to your own music?
Yes! I wrote the Spirit Rangers theme song along with songwriters Dimond and Kooman. I also wrote another 40 + songs for the show over the course of three seasons (third season is coming soon!). I am so happy to hear that your nieces and nephews love the song! I owe getting the Spirit Rangers writing gig to one of the staff writers, Joey Clift. We used to be next door neighbors in North Hollywood, CA. I always thought I was an annoying noisy musician neighbor but luckily he thought of me for this and suggested my name to their team. The rest is history!
Speaking of writing music we have fallen in love with yours! Your pen is very unique and we can’t stop listening to songs like ‘Lost With You’ or your most recent single ‘On Your Way Home.’ Which song or lyric are you especially proud of so far in your career that you have written?
Thank you so much! I’ve been so lucky that both of those songs have been featured on network TV shows – it’s always a dream come true having my music as the backdrop to an emotional scene in film or TV! Hmmm, I think one of my favorite lyrics is from ‘Lost With You’ – “When the lights go down and we’re the only sound. No one will find us now, I get lost with you.” I love the intimacy that Viv Parker and I were able to create with that chorus while still having the lyric build to a climactic hook. I feel like as a songwriter, finding those moments that are both intimate and epic are big wins.
Tell us more about the inspirations and messages behind your new studio album Hold That Spirit?
In a lot of ways Hold That Spirit is a breakup album. But really, it’s an album about reuniting with yourself. When I felt like I was losing myself to a difficult relationship – these songs were what reminded me of who I am. This record is about holding on to your truth when the waves are hitting you hard, and never letting anyone separate you from yourself.
Your songs seem to be a hit when it comes to songs for shows for the young. If you had to pick a show, you enjoyed as a child yourself, you could write a song for which one would it be and why?
That’s a great question! I think the music on Phineas and Ferb is amazing – and it’s inspired my own writing for children’s TV. Phineas and Ferb came out in 2007, when I was already a teenager – but I always really appreciated the music when it was on, haha. It would be a dream to write for Disney movies or work with Lin Manuel Miranda or Pasek and Paul. My recent favorite is the music for Lyle Lyle Crocodile. Those songs rock!
When you are not making theme songs your strength lies in folk music that has dominated our playlists. What other genres would you like to explore in the future?
I would love to write more in the pop realm. I would love to write a song for a pop artist. I remember going to a panel at the ASCAP expo and a writer was talking about how Kelly Clarkson cut two of her songs – that would be a dream come true! But my first love will always be acoustic folk music!
If you had to curate a playlist surrounding your newest single, which other songs would be on it?
My latest single was ‘On Your Way Home’ – I think a playlist would include some MUNA vibey ballads, Lord Huron, and Emily King.
You aren’t the only talented human in your family but also your brother is an actor in a TV series. If you had to write a song with your brother or team up with him for any kind of other collab what would you guys be doing and why?
The first song I ever wrote was actually with Román! When I was 16 and he was 13 we wrote a pretty sappy breakup song called ‘Why’d You Leave?’ Haha, I remember my Dad sent it to one of his friends who was “in the music industry” and he said that it wasn’t very good. It was our first song after all! I’ve dreamt about co-writing a record for my brother when he’s ready to write an album. We talk about it all the time. Also, we talk about starting a podcast together interviewing mixed-race folks in the entertainment industry. We both have lots of ideas but not much free time!
And last but not least, if your music had to be associated with a color and a smell what would it be and why?
Love that! Well, I feel like every album cycle has a new color and a new scent. Hold That Spirit is blue. And the scent would be vanilla and tobacco – I actually teamed up with Yuzu Leaf Co to make that scent into a candle called ‘Bittersweet,’ inspired by my song. I love thinking of records as being more than music, and being an experience that encompasses all of the senses!
Wah, sign us up for that candle! We loved talking to Raye so much and picking her brain about all of these topics! Let us know what you think about ‘On Your Way Home’ and Raye’s latest record! Did you get to see her perform as Tiger Lily in Peter Pan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by buzzing with us over on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
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