A Conversation with Sara Bareilles
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A Conversation with Sara Bareilles "Love Song" made this down-to-earth singer-songwriter an iTunes goddess. So why can't she program her damn cell phone? Matt Hendricksen I used to sing songs from musicals all the time as a kid," says Sara Bareilles as she stares dreamily at the Broadway theater lights twinkling through the windows of a New York hotel bar. Wearing an oversize black sweater and a pageboy cap and nursing a cup of tea ("I'm getting on- the-road flu," she says--she's on tour), the 28-year-old has turned that childhood love of show tunes into a white-hot career, fueled by "Love Song," the hyper-catchy single from her most recent album, Little Voice. Though Bareilles records for a major label (Epic), her success is very much a result of the kind of DIY methods indie artists use to snag new listeners. The story goes like this: Fan uploads to YouTube cell-phone footage of Bareilles performing "Love Song" at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Clip becomes so popular that Apple decides to make the song a free download for a week. Music download site Rhapsody features the song in a commercial. "Love Song" explodes (to date, it has sold more than two million copies). It's an unconventional breakthrough for the California native, who got her start in a very old-fashioned way: playing open-mic nights in L.A. while waitressing during the day. "I can sling hash with the best of them," says Bareilles, who's touring with Counting Crows this summer. "But this is my dream." We have a feeling that from this point on, she'll be giving orders, not taking them. Your songwriting is really confessional, so let's get the obvious question out of the way first: What's the story behind "Love Song"? The label just wasn't excited about the songs I was turning in, and I'd really started questioning my ability. One day, on the way to my rehearsal space, I said a little prayer asking for help in writing. No one was telling me to write a hit--no one was telling me to write a love song--but I knew that's what they wanted. Have you ever gotten busted by someone you've written about? No--I might be a shit talker in real life, but I'm not out to bash people in my songs. I'm writing about emotions. But you can't date a songwriter and not expect to end up in there somewhere. How have you dealt with the success? Everything has been slow and steady, which is perfect. It's not too overwhelming. If I had been an overnight success, I probably would have pulled a Britney and ended up in the loony bin. The focus is still on the music, not me. Do you ever worry about being able to stay down to earth? Yes, to a certain extent. I put myself in other people's shoes; I get really sad for people. Sometimes it takes me to a place that emotionally I don't need to go. The women in my family are all super-emotional. The catchphrase in our family is "Listen to my words, not my tears." We had a cousins' weekend where you might as well have turned on a faucet. It was just hilarious. There's so much scrutiny today of young women's appearance--have you felt pressure to look a certain way? I was a fat girl growing up and had to change schools because kids were so mean. Even after my appearance changed, the nickname "Fat Girl" stuck. Now when I get feedback on my appearance, I start to feel those same insecurities. I've had to put my foot down. I'm not up for people critiquing me, dressing me, or telling me how I look. Do you still struggle with weight? I'm comfortable, but I'm careful with what I eat. I'm still the pizza and hamburger girl, but I don't do it a lot. It's tough on the road when you pull off at the 97th truck stop of the day and have to choose between Wendy's and McDonald's again. It's challenging. Speaking of food, you used to be a waitress, right? Any advice for us customers? Yeah: Never piss off your waitress. Some of them will mess with your food. I never did, though. I grew up Catholic. Too much guilt. Technology has really helped launch your career. Do you consider yourself a geek? You couldn't find a less technologically inclined person. I don't have a BlackBerry. I don't know how to program my phone. I don't have TiVo. I don't know how to work anything. But things are changing... People compare you to Norah Jones and Fiona Apple. Do you have any inspirations? Chicago with Peter Cetera--such great songs. Paul Simon, I still love. I get drawn to melody and words I can understand. Storytelling is so important. That's what I listen to. I love Death Cab for Cutie and Ben Gibbard [the band's lead singer], and Adam Duritz and Counting Crows. I do love Fiona, too. Have you ever crossed paths with Fiona in L.A.? I saw her once. I was drunk; she seemed like she was drinking too. But I got up the courage to introduce myself. Then the next morning I was like, "uh-oh." Maybe I was hoping for a moment of connection, but really, how can you explain what you're about in 10 seconds? She was kind of blasé, and at the time I was a little crushed. But now I understand. Sara's Songwriting 101 Find a spark "I don't choose a theme and then write a song about it. For me it's more about picking an emotion and then extrapolating: the time, the place, what the feelings are, what things look like. Most of the time, I draw from real-life experiences. If it isn't something that's happened to me, it's something I can imagine happening to me. For example, my sister was in a tumultuous relationship--one that everyone wanted to work but didn't. So I wrote a song called 'Bittersweet.' It was easy for me to go there, because I was so close to the situation." Slip on the headphones "Sometimes you can get down on yourself by dissecting what other musicians have written. If it's someone like Ben Gibbard, I might think, 'He's saying it way better than I could.' It's better to just be a fan than to pick songs apart." Chill, OK? It'll come "If I've written a melody that seems fun, it's usually easy to finish, but figuring out what I want to say takes more time. Sometimes lyrics can feel like homework. If it's not coming, I step away for a while. I've heard of artists who lock themselves in a room and don't come out until a song is finished, but that's not my style. I've got songs I've been working on for years; then there are others, like 'Love Song,' that come in a heartbeat." Get it on paper "I like to write at home, during the day. I have a little piano in my bedroom where I work. I try to write every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes. When I'm touring, I bring a tape recorder and put everything down on a yellow legal pad. But it's rare that I can write on the road. There are too many other things going on." Five albums every woman should own Fiona Apple When the Pawn "It was unique for a female to do something that dark and gritty yet maintain a sense of fragility at the same time." Sting Mercury Falling "I still find something new each time I listen to it. Sting is totally different as a solo artist than he is when he performs with the Police." Robin Thicke A Beautiful World "Such a feel-good record. It's a neat marriage of a lot of styles. He has ragtime piano, crazy string sections, hip-hop beats." Counting Crows August and Everything After "The perfect album. It shows that songwriting is the most important element." Van Morrison Astral Weeks "That's one I can put on and tune out, in a good way. There are a lot of romantic, sentimental reasons I love it, too." .