Dirty Hippie Radio: Her name is Sara Dee
Sara Dee
“Blue whales are the largest mammals in the world, bigger than dinosaurs,” says the lady with enough heart and soul coursing through her music to challenge those very same dinosaurs with her guitar and voice. Introducing: Miss Sara Dee.
I chanced upon a fundraiser block-party in Hermosa beach over the weekend – a Mardi Gras-flavored event put together by Rose Van Wier Hein’s Golden Heart Ranch, and hosted by GHR Vice President Krista Capo. I’m talkin’ bouncy-waterslide-castles for the kids, booze for the adults, and Rajin’ Cajun on wheels; and what would Bourbon Street shenanigans be without music? For that matter, I can’t imagine what local music would be like without Sara Dee.
Sara Dee took the stage (a local resident’s driveway) during that point in a party when everyone’s still feeling a bit too shy and a little too sober to take full advantage of the dance floor. No doubt a discouraging phase of party-time for any performing artist, what with the obtrusive talking and lack of attention. I take fine note when an artist rises successfully to this challenging experience and pulls through with some delicious music for those hungry enough to strain their focus past the chattering monkeys. Those who did tune in to Sara Dee’s performance will likely have raised not one, but two eyebrows at how talented she and her small folk band are.
Dee is a singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar and a voice strong enough to clean the rust off of nails. She sings songs of life, trial, and hope with a vocal range that runs from beautiful and soft to severe and raw. Pretty meets gritty. Tribulation finds hope.
“The world provides life’s bounds – it gives you both the good and the bad. As artists we can choose to create a better place and contribute to the positive side without pretending the negative side doesn’t exist. I don’t have to create the pain and the heartache in the music, but I have to deal with it,” says Dee. And deal with it she does, by not sparing life’s challenges any unjust mercy by skipping over them like they don’t exist, but rather taking them and singing them into a happier, more promising, more hopeful form.
“I like to write songs that take me, get me to a better place. The spot where I want to be… hopefully it’s a place that’s inspiring, fun, sexy,” Dee adds.
Alone with her guitar and some words in mind, Dee could no doubt produce an emotive performance with a big sound, but then there’s the violin. Danae Thomason: the yang to Dee’s ying. While Dee dictates the course of the music, rocking like an Andean mountain range, or fluttering like a butterfly in spring, Thomason’s instinctive violin playing eases the transitions. She helps facilitate the mood of the music, carrying it softly like a devoted mother with her babe, but not withholding the occasional stern scolding. Together, just the two of them, they were impressive. Their cajon/percussion player was out of town. Indeed, I look forward to catching the added dimension of the three-piece.
Dee has performed at Saint Rocke several times, as well as Upper Manhattan, but for now she and the band don’t have anything booked. However, they do rehearse live most Saturdays at The Bean Counter (coffee shop) in Redondo Beach. She has been playing guitar for thirteen years, performing as a solo artist for about nine, and with her current musical incarnation we can look forward to an album by the end of the year. In the meantime, look for her imminent arrival on www.DirtyHippieRadio.com – internet radio for independent music. ER