Sarah Fimm Interview

Sarah Fimm Interview

Sarah Fimm is an American born singer-songwriter who lives outside of Woodstock, NY on a mountain looking over a lake. She was born to Jewish parents in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and her grandmother is a survivor of the holocaust. After studying and sewing her musical oats at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Sarah went on to independently record and release seven studio albums, the seventh of which is due out in May, 2011.

Completing her first album at the tender age of 17, Sarah's music has a dark, ethereal, chaotic mixture of rock and pop with alternative influences. Her sound is colored with smooth, melodic rock fused with thick electronic grooves. A prolific artist who draws influences as varied as Bach, Chopin, Leonard Cohen, Bjork, Tori Amos, and Alice In Chains and the writings of both Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson, she has often been touted as the "female version of Peter Gabriel."

As a strong, female independent artist, Sarah has successfully forged her way through the music world and has toured with electronica giants Bauhaus and Delirium. She has recorded with Iggy Pop on a yet to be released cover of a Serge Gainsbourg track, Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle), Earl Slick (David Bowie), Danny Blume (Jill Sobule), Paul Bushnell (Tracy Chapman), Sara Lee (the B-52's), Sterling Campbell (Eric Clapton, David Byrne) and more.

Her songs have received airplay on hundreds of college and commercial radio stations, and been licensed to MTV, Lifetime, and several major motion pictures.

Interview with Sarah Fimm

Question: How would you describe Near Infinite Possibility?

Sarah Fimm: I would try to describe it, but I'd fail. Music is for listening. Listen to it. See if it does anything for you.


Question: What was the inspiration behind Yellow?

Sarah Fimm: David Baron, who produced this music continues to be an inspiration beyond words in musical ways and in human ones. I certainly wouldn't have felt comfortable enough to write what was on my mind, if he wasn't a brilliant enough producer to convince me that it was all my idea. John Andrews, a genius guitar player and dear friend who is all over this project, inspired me to start learning that instrument. Josh Freese. I could not explain the feeling I felt, when Josh said he was going to come and play on this record. I knew at that point it was going to be something I would remember for the rest of my life. It was a serious turning point in the way I looked at creating records. I started believing in the power of action, what we are capable of and how much our own self doubt impacts the path. Suddenly, after that anything seemed possible. I just called the most amazing musicians I could think of, one at a time.


Question: What inspired the video for Yellow?

Sarah Fimm: I have a friend who suffered from chronic depression and paranoid delusions for a long time. Mental illness is tragically misunderstood in society right now, and it has been as long as human beings have been around. I spoke with Eric Montovano, who directed the videos for "Yellow" and "White Birds." I love working with him. He has an indescribable unique talent for creating timeless visual worlds. Our conversations became more frequent on the topic. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' began to enter the conversation. It was the perfect literary piece to draw upon. We gathered together 10 of the greatest young artists we know on a mountain, and put it down on camera. It was an unforgettable time.


Question: How did it feel to hear your song played all over the airwaves?

Sarah Fimm: I'm not sure which airwaves you are referring to. In general, it's agonising, because we spend all this time trying to make the audio sound as good as it possibly can, and now nearly all music is listened to on computers in low resolution platforms. So, it's a little like a kick in the face with a golf shoe. However, when I hear the music has done something to alleviate pain, or bring meaning to a difficult moment in time, it's easy to let those other things go. Attachments are a strange thing.


Question: Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry?

Sarah Fimm: Yes, but they are long gone. Now it's about creating new roads that do not exist yet.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Sarah Fimm: It changes all the time, and I have a crazy library. Lately....Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson, Puscifer, Brian Eno, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, Jefferson Airplane, Eva Cassidy, Bach, Chopin, Franko Richmond, The Byrds, Nico, Thomas Newman, Leonard Cohen, Roy Orbison, Clutch, Dave Matthews, A Perfect Circle, Metallica....that kind of thing.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Sarah Fimm: There is no towel. If I thought for a second there was a towel, I would burn it.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Sarah Fimm: I love both with deep passion. They require different talents, mindsets and resources, and this has always been a struggle to balance. Although, I have always enjoyed a good challenge. I am planning to do both as much as I possibly can even if it means taking my guitar for a long 3-month ramble, and telling fans to meet me in the park or on a street corner where we can sit on a yellow curbside. That is the new artist's venue.


Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Sarah Fimm: Jim Morrison, Trent Reznor, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Layne Staley, Josh Freese, Chris Cornell, Maynard James Keenan, Grace Slick, James Hetfield, Maya Angelou, Jane's Addiction.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Sarah Fimm: Figuring out what 'success' is.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Sarah Fimm: I wake up on a mountain. I roll to one side, and try to get up. Usually, this is followed by being happy I'm breathing. I work from dawn until dusk then I prepare for the next day.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Sarah Fimm: You can change someone's outlook on life in an instant without even being there. That's really something to me.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Sarah Fimm: Maynard James Keenan.


Question: Are you single? What do you look for in a partner?

Sarah Fimm: I wouldn't even know how to begin to answer this question.


Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Sarah Fimm: www.sarahfimm.com


Question: Can you tell us 5 things required for a happy healthy & enjoyable life?

Sarah Fimm: Oxygen, Food, Water, Music, Gratitude, Patience.


Question: What message would you like to say to your fans?

Sarah Fimm: Get involved in music. Use your imagination to share it and help the artists you love. Write them. Show them care and buy their music. It may be the difference you wouldn't expect.




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