How would you describe your music to any person who may have never heard it before?
Sarah: Alternative Americana with a garage rock grit. A bit quirky and fun but with a healthy dose of rock 'n' roll and some classic folk vibes.
What are your musical influences?
Sarah: I think everything I listen to influences me and the artists who stand at the forefront of that influence tend to rotate with the seasons and the times. When I was writing and recording this album I was listening to a lot of Fruit Bats, Chuck Prophet, Jenny Lewis and Middle Kids. What are your musical inspirations?
Sarah: Most of my songs are stories made up of my own personal experiences, combined with the experiences of the people around me. The sounds are often inspired by the landscape - I write differently depending on the weather, the terrain and the climate. I guess the weather sets the mood.
If given the chance, what musician(s) would you like to collaborate with? Rather this is to either write a song or be featured on a track.
Sarah: There are so many - too many to name. But off the top of my head, Butch Walker, Jenny Lewis, Beck, and Sharon Van Etten.
Are you releasing any new music soon?
Sarah: I released an album, 64 Magic Queens, and it came out in June. What’s something you hope people take away from the new music?
Sarah: I just hope people love the music and connect to it in some way. I think I’m writing about things that most people go through at some point in their life and I’m just trying to work through those thoughts and emotions. Which songs on the album were the most fun to write and which were the most challenging to write?
Sarah: I wouldn’t say that any of them were challenging to write. I would say, I was going through challenges and I wrote these songs inspired by the moment and the time. Some songs were more fun than others to record - probably the most fun song to record was “I thought that we were having fun.” We wanted to create the illusion of a big party in the background at the end of the song, but it was just three of us sitting in a basement during the Canadian winter lockdown. We mimicked different voices and clinked our glasses, over and over again while the tape rolled, and eventually, our tiny party sounded huge. Do you have any favourite song/songs off the new album?
Sarah: My current favorite is "Ursa Minor." I actually wrote this song years ago, but thematically it really fits with this collection of songs. I wrote it after realizing that the stars and the constellations look different depending on where on earth you’re looking at them. So since 64 Magic Queens is kind of a star-crossed lover turns star-crossed breakup album, "Ursa Minor" really belongs here.
What’s the new album about?
Sarah: The album tells the story of a long-distance relationship and all the complications and confusion that come with its circumstances - namely, the pandemic.
Do you have any favourite songs to perform live? Could be your own music or even a cover. Any reason why?
Sarah: Some songs just feel good to play - "Ursa Minor" and "Why You Gotta Kill My Dreams" from this album are two of those for me. "Ursa Minor" does it for me because it gets really intense really quickly. but still, managers to keep an intimacy to it. "Why You Gotta Kill My Dreams" is just good ol’ rock 'n' roll and feels so easy and fun. If you could perform a show this very second anywhere in the world, where would it be? Is there any particular venues or cities that comes to mind?
Sarah: Maybe because I’m just coming off a run of US Western shows, the first two places that come to mind right now are Red Rock Amphitheater in Colorado and the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State. Both are just beautiful outdoor venues I’ve grown up fantasizing about and seeing on film.
What do you currently have planned for the remainder of the year?
Sarah: I’m on tour in Canada right now and heading back to Texas in September, where I’ll stay the rest of the year, playing shows locally and putting together next year’s plans.
Thanks for the time today. Is there anything else you may want to add before you go?
Sarah: Thanks for having me! I hope everyone will check out the new album, and the new video for “I Hate Goodbyes.”