FabricationsHQ - Putting the Words to the Music
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    • John Verity (September 2020)
    • Steve Hackett (July 2020)
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    • Rebecca Downes (May 2019)
    • Ben Poole & Wayne Proctor (January 2019)
    • Dan Reed (November 2018)
    • Del Bromham (October 2018)
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    • Chris Norman (September 2015)
    • Joanne Shaw Taylor (August 2015)
    • Fee Waybill (July 2015)
    • Ian Anderson (June 2015)
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    • John Lawton (May 2015)
    • Steve Hackett (May 2015)
    • Manny Charlton (April 2015)
    • Ben Poole (April 2015)
    • Alan Nimmo (February 2015)
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    • Lee Kerslake (December 2013)
    • Pat Travers (September 2013)
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Joyful Synergy
Muirsical Conversation With Sari Schorr
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This has been a very good year for New York blues rock singer and songstress Sari Schorr – a continued touring presence on the UK & European blues-rock circuit, broader and different fan base exposure as special guest on Kiefer Sutherland's UK tour, and a dream studio gig as the voice of Robin Trower’s new album, Joyful Sky.

The album is not just an exceptionally strong work, it showcases a special simpatico between Sari Schorr and Robin Trower who, through his songs and arrangements (many written with Schorr in mind) has provided the acclaimed vocalist with a perfect platform to showcase her blues and R&B credentials, thus adding another colour to her more blues-rock orientated solo career.

Sari Schorr sat in with FabricationsHQ to discuss the album and her approach to putting voice to someone else’s songs, and the evident synergy between guitarist and singer.
We also discussed her own "self-imposed lockdown" approach to writing, a pressurised process she undertook for songs that will form part of her next solo album.

Ross Muir: I know the idea of you and Robin working together started with a conversation between Robin and Alan Robinson, who manages you both, but how did it develop from there to a fully-fledged album?

Sari Schorr: I honestly don’t know what the exact conversation was between Robin and Alan, but I think Robin had the idea to put a couple of songs forward for my next solo album, which I had been working away on, because the next thing I know I get a phone call from Robin, who said "I have written a couple of songs for your upcoming album; I’d love to hear your voice on them."
He sent me an acoustic demo version of the first song over to give me an idea – Robin was playing guitar and singing on it, but it was really only half the song – verse, chorus and a bridge.

But, when that demo first came through, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it, because I was so afraid!
I wanted so desperately to work with Robin, and have done for a long time, but I was afraid that this song might not resonate with me, that I might not fall in love with it; because I have to be honest
 – if it isn’t right for me it’s not respectful not to be completely honest with someone like Robin.

So, instead of listening to it I thought "maybe I’ll just go out and gets some lunch first" [laughs], and then later, "I think I’ll clean the apartment" [laughter]
I found all these other things to do instead of listening to it until, finally, Alan sent me a message saying "we were wondering what you thought of the song?"
I thought "OK, now I really do need to listen to it", otherwise it would seem like I’m really not interested!
So I played it and… I loved it! I couldn’t believe it, I was so overjoyed, and what was really weird about it was the lyrics were exactly what I wanted to sing.

As you know, the songs that I sing are the songs that I write, with only a few exceptions, but somehow Robin had got into my head and knew exactly what I wanted to sing about.
From there it became really easy, because I just had to become a storyteller.

RM: That’s really interesting, because you are the Mistress of your own musical fate and lyrical destiny, especially in terms of how much time you take over words and lyrical arrangements; so singing and recording a whole album’s worth of someone else’s songs is quite the juxtaposition.
But it all works exceptionally well and also, for me, sounds like you were getting in character for the songs.
In other words the lyrics were as important to you as how you delivered them.

SS: Absolutely. The freedom of having Robin write the songs made for a wonderful, and different, creative space for me to step into; that was very liberating.
I still don’t know how he did that [laughs]; I don’t know how he was able to instinctively, and exactly know, what I would be inspired to sing.
But that’s the beauty of these songs
 – because they feel so personal to me, maybe they will feel just as personal to other people, too. I think that’s the sign of a great lyric.

RM: I agree, but there’s also a synergy at play here – this is a singer who gets what Robin is all about, and a guitarist who gets what Sari Schorr is all about, and capable of.
The fact Robin thought very carefully about what keys would suit you and how the songs should be arranged also tells a story. This collaboration has brought out the best in both of you. 

SS: Thank you. We are both very proud of this work and I am in awe of how prolific and consistently good Robin is; that’s incredibly difficult to maintain.
And, when you are with him, he can create an environment that feels so inspired and creative – but I had to overcome a tremendous amount of fear [laughs].
Every day, going into the studio with Robin, I put so much pressure on myself, thinking about when he said "we’re going to make a world class record."
So I was focussed at being at my best – in fact having to be better than I know how to be! [laughs]

That pressure was initially debilitating because, with fear, it’s very hard to be creative.
But as soon as Robin came in, he was so supportive and generous with his compliments
 – and the fact he allowed me to pick the first song I wanted to do was great.
So, of course, I picked the song that had been the most difficult for me when I was learning all the songs on my own [laughs].
I was really struggling to find the right place with the song, because it was such a blend of blues, soul, R&B and rock ballad; I wasn’t quite sure where the emphasis should be, or how I should approach it. 

RM: And the song was?

SS: I Will Always Be Your Shelter

RM: Again, that’s interesting, because I know when Robin and Alan talked initially, Robin mentioned he would love to hear you sing that song, as it’s one of his favourites 
– for those that don’t know it’s also on Robin’s last album No More Worlds To Conquer, and quite special to him.

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​SS: It's a lovely song, but I was just not clear exactly what it should sound like.
I always approach a song in terms of what I want the end result to sound like
 – what colours the song has; what is the emphasis of the story I’m trying to get across – but there were a lot of different ways to interpret that song.

As we began talking about it I began to get very serious and very deep [laughs]; Robin just smiled and said "You know what, just sing. Go in there and just sing it without worrying about anything else."
So I did, and as soon as I put my headphones on and heard Robin’s guitar, that was it!
I just felt incredible freedom; I wasn’t worrying about the outcome anymore, I was just in the moment.
​
And that’s what Robin wanted – "just sing the song as best you can, in that particular moment."
And it worked. I got it in one take, which I thought was a bit of a miracle! [laughs]

RM: That is unusual, because I know you like to revisit lyrics and play around with phrasings until you have it  exactly as you want – although that’s with your own songs and lyrics.

SS: Right. But Robin’s comments, and getting it in one take, allowed me to attack all the other songs with a lot more confidence. We ended up having a lot of fun and even some extra time because I was recording the songs, one after another, so quickly.
That additional time allowed us to play around a bit more; we experimented with harmonies and background vocals, and doubled some vocals.

And when that was all done, we still had some time left, so I would say "Robin, could we just go back in so I can give you a different idea on this particular line?" And he would say "yeah, why not!"
And that would inspire and encourage Robin to look at some of his guitar parts again, based on what I was doing vocally.
It was a really great experience; it was like we were building something and raising the bar for each other.

RM: While Joyful Sky is a modern-day take on blues and R&B, back in the day Robin Trower fans are going to appreciate the throwback of a song such as Peace of Mind, which hearkens back to Robin’s 70s blues-fusion days.
And then there's the even more 70s pronounced The Circle Is Complete, where Robin shows why he is the Godfather of Tone on that long, plaintive and beautifully melancholic outro solo.

SS: I love Peace of Mind but, I have to tell you, when I first heard that closing section of music for The Circle Is Complete, Robin wasn’t entirely sure about having it on the album!
But I thought "this is just such a beautiful outro, that sits so perfectly, it has to be on the album."
And, yes, it’s great for Robin’s fans to hear a bit of Robin, on his own.

RM: Another song I want to mention is the single I’ll Be Moving On, which is akin to a smoky blues meeting film noire. For me, I’ll Be Moving On underlines and emphasises your simpatico more than any other song.

SS: I think you’re right; it really does blend our strengths, and all those musical genres, together beautifully.

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SS: All the songs on Joyful Sky also highlight the fun of working with Robin, because he’s not one dimensional at all. He’s got very diverse tastes in music and a lot of his favourite stuff comes from the nineteen thirties; that’s why he’s not a derivative guitarist.

RM: Most, if not all, guitarists who followed the original blues greats and pioneers of electric guitar carry obvious influences, but the best of them are unique, or have their own sound.
Blues, funk and soul singer-guitarist Hamilton Loomis was mentored by Bo Diddley; Hamilton will tell you the best advice he ever got from Bo was "innovate, don’t imitate!"
Innovation. That is Bo Diddley; that is Robin Trower.

SS: And that is their greatness; that’s their contribution. And that’s why artists like Robin need to be treasured.

RM:
I mentioned the modern day aspect of Joyful Sky earlier, which is most apparent on some of the real world/ current times lyricism, as heard, for example, on Flatter to Deceive.
That’s very much on topic with the art – or perhaps disease
– of celebrity and associated adulation.

SS: It’s interesting, because last month I was staying in a very trendy part of Warsaw as part of my self-imposed songwriting lockdown sessions [laughs]; there was a high density of very beautiful young women in that particular area of the city.

I felt, not sorry for them, because that’s not the right word, but a compassion for them, because I’ve never seen so many girls constantly looking in the mirror, doing selfies and admiring their reflections.
It’s fortunate that they have been given the gift of beauty but unfortunate that it has become, apparently, from what I was seeing, a burden – in that they are so focused or obsessed by it.

The reason I noticed is because in the hotel I was staying at, the lobby has mirrors everywhere. I’m in the habit of trying not to look at my reflection the mirror because it can be frightening [laughs], but these girls were using those mirrors all the time, to do selfies, to admire themselves, to get the pouty lips right.
It's just too much focus on things they think should be defining them, when really it’s the least important thing that should be defining them.
But then it’s easier for me, not being twenty-one years old, to not have that perspective.

RM:
It’s the dark side of social media and popular culture
 – how you must look, how you must present, the favourite celebrity you should model yourself after, or mimic; anything rather than being who you really are.

SS: It’s harder for the younger generation, who are coming of age, in the world of social media, no doubt about it. I really believe they sacrifice a lot, but it’s not their fault. And it’s not healthy.

RM:
On the more positive side of genuine celebrity and true star status, you recently toured with noted actor and musician Kiefer Sutherland.
That was a great, different audience opportunity for you with the bonus of hanging with a really nice guy. 

SS: Yeah it was, and he is! What surprised me about Kiefer was how down to earth he is; he’s very grounded, and very knowledgeable on a lot of different subjects.
He and I also had the same political perspective, so that made it very easy for us to talk about stuff that would otherwise have been quite taboo – in fact, honestly, if we didn’t share the same political views, it would have been very difficult, for both of us, because I now have zero tolerance for anybody who doesn’t recognise what’s happening with our Democracy.
​
Kiefer is also a great storyteller. Sometimes they would be travelling on in the tour bus, not long after the show, and we would catch up with them at the next town the next day, but my favourite nights were the ones where we could all just hang out.
There was one night everyone was hanging out in my dressing room, and I got to hear some fantastic stories from Kiefer; just spending a few hours listening to those stories was fantastic; it was just a really, really nice tour.


​RM: On that tour, and indeed on your own UK tour prior, you were working in songs from your forthcoming album.

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SS: Yes, and in fact that’s why I had been doing those self-imposed lockdowns I mentioned!
My producer sent me all these songs recently, that I had written before Covid, but they had just got put on the sideline because of Covid then our touring schedule.
He said "you really need to listen to these songs again, because I think you are going to realise that they are much better than you remember them to be", because he knows how critical I am when I work.
​
And, sure enough, we have five songs that definitely deserve to be at least brought to completion for consideration; so it’s those lyrics that I have been working on in particular lately.
​
And that’s why I decided the best expenditure of my time after the Kiefer tour and some of our own shows was to finish those songs, so I have a lot more than we need for the album.
That will allow me to pick the best of them before we start recording in November, because I have dates right now, through October, and then again in December, so I really only have November to get the album recorded.

RM: It’s the definitive tight schedule – hence locking in and locking down, to songwriting and song completion.

SS: Exactly. I have no time to mess around because once I am on tour, I will still continue to write, but won’t have that dedicated twelve-hours a day.

RM: Do you find making a deadline rod for your own back like that conducive to productivity?

SS: Deadlines always help me; they help focus me and keep me on track. And that extra pressure I turn into motivation. I’m highly motivated anyway, but having that extra motivation can be inspiring – it makes me feel like I’m running down the field with the football just trying to get across that goal line!
Pressure can be a very inspiring time – for example one of the songs I’ve been working on for the next album I’ve actually been kicking around for about five years, but I’ve now given it a complete rewrite. It doesn’t resemble the original version, but I think I’ve finally found the right storyline for it. So, yeah, pressure! [laughs]

RM: Well we all look forward to hearing that song as part of the new album when it’s ready to go – meanwhile here’s to you, Robin and Joyful Sky all getting the attention and credit that’s deserved for such an exceptionally good album.

SS: Thank you, Ross, so great to talk to you again and thank you for all the support!

Muirsical Conversation With Sari Schorr
October 2023



Click here for FabricationsHQ's review of Joyful Sky.
 
You can watch a pay-for-view special performance celebrating Robin Trower’s return to the stage following a four year hiatus, with Sari Schorr on vocals, on Saturday 4th November.
Tickets allow access plus bonuses including a live track download ('No More Worlds To Conquer,' available from 20th October) and a Robin Trower Interview (available from 30th October)

More info and ticket purchase at https://www.robintrower.com/watch/#clip=d0q3hx09i0gs

For Sari Schorr tour dates, including special guest support (acoustic w/ Jim Kirkpatrick) to The Sweet on their Winter 2023 UK Tour, head to https://www.sarischorr.com/tour

Photo Credit: All photos by Rob Blackham Images https://blackhamimages.com/

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