[tabs tab1=”Intro” tab2=”Background” tab3=”The Band” tab4=”Message” count=”4″]
[tab_first]
Some will be surprised to hear that Minneapolis-based band Sick of Sarah has been around for a while – in fact, they formed in 2005. Since then, they have generated a loyal following, pumped out 2 albums and replaced a drummer, namely Brooke Svanes. Welcome to Sick of Sarah, AKA Abisha Uhl (vocals), Jessie Farmer (guitar), Katie Murphy (guitar), Jamie Holm (bass) and Jessica Forsythe (drums).
The band have been working hard to build a Brit fanbase, catapulting themselves towards UK venues. This year, with some dates supporting Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey’s LA band Uh Huh Her, SoS is finally receiving some well-deserved UK attention. They even went on to blow UHH off the stage at the Shepherds Bush Empire London – memorable not only for singer Uhl pulling up her shirt over her head, driving the mostly female crowds wild, but also for SoS’ blistering live performance. In short, these guys deliver high-energy shows with Uhl ruling the stage and loving the direct crowd contact. Oh, and their music happens to rock – big time.
So, to get to know this band a bit better, here’s some interesting trivia: Lead singer Abisha Uhl grew up in Okinawa, Japan, where she lived until she was 18. They recorded their last album 2205 in a Texas studio where Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs left them behind a piece of paper with the number of a therapist and masseuse. The band’s house and rehearsal space 2205 Grand Ave has served both as a rotating home for each member of the band over the last few years and as a central creative hub – this location has become such an important symbol to the band’s identity that every member has a tattoo “2205” on their inner wrist (watch Jamie getting hers here). They’re in the middle of shooting a feature-length documentary about the band.
We caught up with 4 out of 5 of them backstage at the Shepherds Bush Empire London. After speaking to Jessie and Jamie backstage in the cosy confines of their dressing room, we picked up lead singer Abisha and guitarist Katie from the merch desk and headed outside for a very entertaining chat. Here’s Part 2 of our exclusive Sick Of Sarah interview, where Abisha and Katie talk Japanese pop stars, and how to stand tough against sexism in the music industry.
[next]
[/tab_first]
[tab]
So, Katie you grew up in Minneapolis…
KATIE: Yeah!
…but Abisha you grew up in Okinawa, Japan?
ABISHA: Yeah, I moved from Japan to the States when I was 18 and I met Katie a few years after that.
It’s cool that you spent time in Japan, because as you know we are SHATTERJAPAN!
ABISHA: Yes! I was super pumped when I heard the word SHATTERJAPAN… I was like, “We HAVE to do this interview – it’s SHATTERJAPAN! Japan! Japan!” I have serious pride…
Serious pride in Japan? That’s cool. I conceived the project in Japan actually because I felt visibility for female artists over there wasn’t good enough…
ABISHA: Yeah, it’s hard…
So did you spend most of your time on military bases? I guess you didn’t spend much time say in Tokyo…
KATIE: You’ve got a military brat over here!
ABISHA: We’d stay round Narita airport area, but I hung out in Yokosuka a bunch of times, then Yokota, Misawa, Osaka… Tokyo is huge – it’s crazy. Okinawa is very villagey – I mean, Naha (capital of Okinawa) is a big area, but where I lived was all military bases. So I was a little sheltered…
And you stayed there until…
ABISHA: …until I was 18 years old.
Wow, Japan must have had a massive influence on you? Moving from Japan to the US must have been like entering another world…
ABISHA: For sure. I mean, my parents are for the most part American so we would go stateside every summer and I would spend a few months in Washington State – so I had the American experience there. And on the base, I had my American experience but also got the Okinawan.
And what about culture – were you also quite shut off from music when you were in Japan?
ABISHA: Absolutely. I was definitely sheltered from a lot of music. But, what I was influenced by was my siblings, for the most part. My brothers were in bands and they played out in Naha, so I would go. From a very young age, my brothers would be playing in shows, they played guitar and sang – and they’re really good, instrumentally-wise…
KATIE: Her brothers are really good!
So, did you jam with them sometimes?
KATIE: Oh they’ve done stuff, I’ve seen it…
ABISHA: Yeah we’ve done some stuff… but I had my own kind of route that I wanted to go down: I was very poppy. I grew up listening to a lot of Utada Hikaru…
Oh wow! Yeah, she’s really poppy…
ABISHA: … and Puffy!
Oh yeah, Puffy! They were so much fun, but also edgy – poppy and edgy…
ABISHA: And Amuro…?
Amuro Namie!!
ABISHA: Yeah, yeah – you got it!! So, I grew up with [sings] “It’s automatic!” [everyone laughs]
KATIE: I’m laughing, just because I like hearing about stuff she did before I knew her, you know?!
Amuro Namie: Body Feels Exit (1995)
PUFFY: Ajia-no-junshin “True Asia” (1996)
We’re talking about the cheesiest of Japanese pop music! But, these women were fierce – I mean, Amuro was a trendsetter and so was Utada Hikaru…
ABISHA: Utada Hikaru was a trendsetter for sure: she was the Britney Spears of Japan! She was awesome – like, her hair was awesome! And her vibe! When “Automatic” came out… yeah, it was kind of cheesy, looking back at it now, but at that point I was influenced – I was like, “Dude, this chick’s cool!” [sings] “It’s automatic!” And that one song by Utada Hikaru “First Love” was a beautiful love song!
Maybe you related to her a bit because she had that Japanese-American vibe… She was born in the States, right?
ABISHA: Yeah. She grew up in the states – she’s bilingual…
Have you made Katie watch Utada Hikaru? Her videos are quite stunning…
ABISHA: I think you might’ve seen a video…
KATIE: A long time ago when we met Abisha showed me some Japanese artists… If she was really into something, I’d have probably heard about it…
Utada Hikaru: Automatic (1998)
Utada Hikaru: First Love (1999)
So, are you seeing a new side of Abisha, Katie?
KATIE: No, this is actually an old side of her I haven’t heard in a while! From when I first met her…
ABISHA: Actually, do you know my friend Olivia Lufkin? I went to school with her – she did Kanebo (= a huge Japanese cosmetics company) and the theme song for the France soccer cup. So, there was Olivia Lufkin, and then I went to school with her sister Caroline Lufkin…
KATIE: Ok, I DID hear about this! She did “Where’s my love?” See, I remember!
ABISHA: Oh god, Caroline Lufkin! So good…! Both of those girls are amazing. So I grew up in a very musically influenced environment for sure with my siblings and my school…
Olivia Lufkin: Kanebo commercial (1999)
Caroline Lufkin: Where’s My Love (2005)
What about you, Katie?
KATIE: Honestly, I’m pretty much the only musician in my family. I didn’t really grow up listening to anything besides what was on the radio…
ABISHA: John Fogerty!
KATIE: When I turned 16, I started listening to Jewel and that’s when I started playing guitar – fingerpicking and stuff like that. I liked the melodic feel of it… I liked the singer-songwriter thing. And then I started listening to classic rock like John Fogerty, The Eagles… We all have completely different influences.
[previous] [next]
[/tab]
[tab]
So how did you guys meet?
KATIE: I met Abisha through a mutual friend… I was in college and I did coffee shop gigs playing cover songs, that kind of thing: Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, anything… I met Abisha, and the day I met her she brought her guitar to a friend’s house. She started playing some of her original songs and that was the first time I’d ever written music to anything – I’d never written anything before besides random stuff on the piano. We sat and we played guitar together for like 3 hours, so I was like, “Wow.” I’d never thought about being in a band – I just liked to play – but then she was like, “Let’s start a band.” I was like, “She’s fun! I want to hang out with her!” So we went to this party and she started saying, “Oh, me and my band are playing at this party…” I was like, “Who’s your band?” and she said “It’s you!” She had 3 songs and I wrote stuff to them, then we played a show. And then Jessie showed up and said, “If you actually want to be a band, I’ll play bass for you” and we just started!
So, with you being an all-female band, do you think that you get treated differently in the music industry?
KATIE: There’s a big difference, for sure. I think just because we’re women, people expect you – for whatever reason it is – not to know how to play your instruments. You’re expected to not exactly know what you’re doing because there’s always a man to rely on in some band, somewhere – you know, a man holding it up with the bass or with the drums or someone who can play some ripping guitar licks. You know what I mean? There’s always one that holds it down and is the strong point. But with us, I think it’s all 5 of us, so I think it’s beneficial in the sense of the whole sex appeal.
You know, I’m not stupid – I know a lot of people are like, “Oh, these girls are cute – let’s see what they can do” and they don’t expect much – a lot of people don’t, I know that. That’s why it feels good when people show up – knowing that, because of what society’s said or whatever it is, their expectations are lower but then they come to the show, we play our stuff and they’re like, “Wow, you’re actually good!” They don’t realise that it’s an underhanded compliment. And I’m not going to call it like, “Well, I’m a woman, it doesn’t matter” – I say “thank you” because I do appreciate it, I appreciate the compliment. But it IS different, because for some odd reason, people have lower expectations of girls with instruments because we’re women, so we have to look sexy, blah, blah… but we very rarely wear skirts, we just like to rock… but at the same time, I can’t disregard the fact that that helps us. I’m okay with the fact that people come to our shows because of how we look…
You’ve played a lot of Prides and recently L-Beach… but do you feel you’ve been pigeonholed as a “queer band?”
KATIE: Honestly, instinctively, I think people assume that if you’re a woman and you play guitar you must be a lesbian – it’s a huge cliché, stereotype…
Kind of like women who play football…
KATIE: Right – like, “you HAVE to be a lesbian, you MUST be.” I mean, if you’ve gone as far as playing professional football or professional basketball “then you MUST be a lesbian…” The thing is, though, I don’t mind being pigeonholed personally, because I’m a very proud lesbian. So I never hid that from the beginning, because I knew that that was going to be involved when I started being in music, and people were going to ask questions because it’s assumed. We’ve had so much support from the LGBT community – we embrace it, we enjoy it, we feel good about it, honest to god, because those are my people. You know what I mean?
Yeah, and I guess it doesn’t hurt to be compared to Tegan and Sara…
ABISHA: No, absolutely, of course not! So many people are like, “Why don’t you tour with Tegan and Sara?” I don’t know! Ask them. That’d be great…
KATIE: That’d be something! Maybe the names are too similar, I don’t know. But being pigeonholed, considered cliché or stereotypical doesn’t bother me, because I believe all of those things kind of exist for a reason. You know, I kind of seem like a lesbian, and I’m not mad that you think so. You know what I mean? I’m not mad when people assume that, because I walk kind of tough and that’s how it goes. And as far as our band goes, we all have different looks, we all have different appeals. Some of us date men, some of us date women, and if a certain group of people want to embrace us, then that’s fine.
[previous] [next]
[/tab]
[tab]
What message do you have for artists out there who are trying to do what you do?
KATIE: Honestly, I didn’t learn what sacrifice was until I did this – and it’s not in a huge, epic sense because there are harder things to do than tour and be in a band – but I’m saying that when you continually sacrifice for your passion, when you want your career and your passion to coincide, the more you fight for it, the more you give to it, the better it feels – the more fulfilling it is. I used to be a hell of a lot more materialistic than I am now, but I’m happier now than I was before the band started. Honestly, record anything you’ve ever written – it doesn’t matter if you think it sounds stupid because you can use it in a different song, you can place it with anything else. And there’s always more you can give, because it’s ultimately worth it. I don’t make a million dollars a year, I don’t make shit, we’re all broke as hell, but we’re all really happy. If you wish on a star, wish for happiness. I used to wish for specific things, then my bass player told me to wish for happiness, and that’s what this is. It’s rough, but it’s totally worth it, you know?
[previous]
<< READ PART 1 OF THIS INTERVIEW HERE >>
[/tab]
[/tabs]