Written by: Blake Larsen
Mary and Blake had the pleasure of speaking with Outlander vocalist Raya Yarbrough on Outlander Cast recently. You can find the audio interview here. But this article is completely separate as we explore nine personal questions with Raya that were not included in the original interview. Click “read more” to find out more about the person Raya Yarbrough – including her favorite movie, her latest Netflix binge, celebrity crush, her little known guilty pleasure, favorite music to perform, and much more.
OC: Team Jamie or Team Frank?
RY: I’m team Jamie – I like Frank – but Jamie is great.
OC: What’s an interesting fact that no one knows about you?
RY: Gosh – what’s interesting about me!? I know there is something interesting about me. Oh! When I was a little girl, my step father was a space architect, he still is, his name is John Spencer, head of the Space Tourism Society – like he literally designs things for space . Things for space tourism – orbital hotels and stuff like that, he’s currently working on a Mars themed theme park – so he was all involved with NASA and everything, and when I was little, Buzz Aldrin used to hang out at my house all the time. I’d come home from school, “Hi Buzz.”
OC: What was the last Netflix movie you watched?
RY: It was actually a documentary about the life of H.R. Geiger. I love his work. He’s very dark and German. Apparently he had a cool cat. That wasn’t the best part of the documentary, but I like knowing that the man who created THE ALIEN loved fuzzy kitties.
OC: First album?
RY: It might have been, Like A Prayer. Wait, was that the album or was it just the song? That was definitely the first cassette I bought. That’s been lost in the mist of my childhood. I remember going to a store and buying a few records – 2 by Steely Dan and one by Frank Zappa. Cause that’s what I was listening to in High School. I had nobody to relate to on that haha!
OC: What’s your guilty pleasure?
RY: Project Runway.
OC: Favorite television show of all time?
RY: When I think of favorite of all time I think of something I can watch forever and never get sick of. So, I’m going to cheat. I’m going to give you three answers. Tied for first place is the original Star Trek and the original Twilight Zone. But, ohhhh Star TNG and the Batman Animated Series was really good – I could watch them forever too.
Oh and I dig this show called Outlander.
OC: Favorite Movie of all time?
RY: Wow, these are tough! It’s hard to pick just one. I’m gonna say The Dark Crystal and Julie Taymor’s “Titus.”
OC: Celebrity crush?
(laughs) Like I’m gonna tell you! Bear McCreary is my celebrity crush, how’s that.
OC: What is your favorite genre to listen to and/or perform?
Hmm those aren’t the same thing. This is my existential conundrum right now. I majored in Jazz studies in music school, but as an artist, you realize “I’m good at doing this, but I enjoy doing that.” So I know I’m good at singing jazz – it feels good- but I also love listening to artists like Bjork, and P.J. Harvey and Frank Zappa, Nina Simone, Zap Mama, Gillian Welch… but favorite to listen to in general? I can always be happy listening to a New Orleans Brass band.
Bear was in marching band in high school, and he played the trumpet – and I’m sure he is mad I told you that. I have seen some great marching band pictures though! (laughs)
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