Talking of love, loss, hate, heartache, and relationship issues this sob story that is L.A.'s Dead Sara has been hard at work writing and recording for their full-length album. With that the band will also be performing in a handful of shows between now and the rest of the year will really get the word out.
1. So why the name Dead Sara and does the name "Sara" refer to somebody?
Emily: No. Well, maybe...not anybody I know of personally. It's from a Fleetwood Mac song "Sara" and in it she says "...said Sara", or "...dead Sara", and Sioux and I thought that it sounded cool. It was also the only name we could both agree on.
2. Do you write your own songs and what are they about?
Emily: Yes and most of what you will hear on this record is about heartache, loss and longing, love hate relationship with LA, hope, and sticking up for yourself.
3. Who are your musical influences?
Emily: It changes from time to time but I seem to always fall back into the heart and soul of the 60's and 70's. I could never escape that. That was the music that changed my life - it opened my eyes to the world as a musician and a performer.
4. How do you describe your music to people?
Emily: Raw, rock, with some folk but could get heavy at times...
5. Why don't you describe the making of self-titled debut album from writing and pre-production to the recording?
Emily: After we had talked Sean into helping us out as a drummer, Chris being a mutual friend said he would help us out too on bass but is a guitar player first and foremost and never played bass in a band before. Our first rehearsal we started writing "Weatherman" and from that we continued writing every night we got together. Not too long after that and a handful of shows, we asked our friend Noah Shain to produce. Then into pre-production, we had a tight schedule from 9am to early evening and before we knew it we were on our way to record at Sonic Ranch in Texas for about 11 days. Then back home to L.A. we did over-dubs and vocals at Noah's studio in Hollywood.6. Its being released on the band's own label, Pocket Kid Records via Universal/Fontana, how did you make your own label and why did you want to release your album this way?
Emily: It’s funny, growing up it was a big deal and important to sign with a major label, get a huge record deal - or at least from the books and magazines I read from artists in their time. Then fast forward to the World Wide Web and the DIY age, it’s not really like that anymore for the most part. You can do it on your own and still get somewhere with the right people. It's actually really exciting and knowing that everything we create comes from us and goes straight to our fans - there is no via, and that is important to us. And we believe we found the right group of people for its release.
7. You worked with producer Noah Shain, have you worked with him before?
Emily: Sioux and I had not but Sean and Chris have on previous projects.
8. When you recorded did you all use your own gear?
Emily: Yes and more. Most studios everywhere have a plethora of amazing gear especially vintage equipment as Sonic Ranch did have, it's hard not to try it all...like kids in a candy shop.
9. How much time did you spend in the studio?
Emily: That’s kind of hard thing to remember as you kinda forget about time in those moments, as a full band maybe a month? Vocals I did after that and took my time...finishing up lyrics really. I didn't want to force anything by any means. And Noah really supported that, understanding where we were coming from with this record.
10. Your first single is called “Weatherman”, why did you want this song to be the first out of all the others available?
Emily: You know that song was an option among a couple others off the record, but it wasn't until Mike Karolyi from WCCC in Hartford, CT started playing it and got a great reaction from his listeners. So, he basically chose the single for us and we are happy with that. Thanks again, Mike!
11. You played some shows last month but do you plan on doing anymore shows or a tour?
Emily: Yes. We have a couple shows here in L.A. before heading to SXSW again, then a spring tour (TBA) and of course playing the full Vans Warped Tour this summer as one of the feature bands.
12. Are there any other things you'd like to add or say?
Emily: For more info, announcements, and tour dates in your city and such you can go to our website. Of course Facebook applies too, Dead Sara [Official]. We will be out and about this year!
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