Sara Dee Recording Debut

Sara Dee

In June, I shared with you my discovery of the great voice of Sara Dee.

“…a singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar and a voice strong enough to clean the rust off of nails… with a vocal range that runs from beautiful and soft to severe and raw. Pretty meets gritty. Tribulation finds hope,” was how I put it.

At the time, performing a neighborhood block party in Hermosa Beach, Dee was chiseling away at the recording process, but assured me that music would come my way when it came hers. Well, as promised, it’s come – she’s just turned out her first single and made a recording debut with an impressive track called “we can be love.”

Straight from the go, Dee makes it clear she’s got pipes. Her vocals on “we can be love” are mostly beautiful, retaining a twang of that rawness she possesses; but I swear at one point she almost ascends classic Disney movie levels. The song immediately transports listeners to another land – the land of the heart perhaps? It’s the exoticism impressed by the violin that wisps your thoughts away to that far-off place, wherever it is. An almost eerie polka gives way to a piano- and organ-based jazz-blues beat to carry your finger-snapping feet down the sidewalk. Maybe you’re meandering down a goulash-fragrant city street in Budapest, brooding over love’s labyrinth while observing the endless passersby whose lined countenances your gaze penetrates for clues as to which side of the scale they’re teetering on; and God only knows.

I mean, that might be where the song takes people, but I might just have a penchant for goulash. Maybe it takes you right where you are, home; here. At any rate, that’s exactly where you’ll have a chance to catch up with Ms. Dee (if you’re still behind). Sara Dee’s acoustic trio perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Valley Park in Hermosa Beach for The Creepy Cruise IV. (Creepy Cruise is organized by Southbay Cruisers Community Bicycle Group.) Dee will also perform an acoustic set at the Gum Tree Cafe in Hermosa Beach on Thursday, Nov. 4. Her single “we can be love” is available worldwide, on iTunes and Amazon, and can be heard on DirtyHippieRadio.com. We can anticipate a full length LP from Dee most likely after the New Year. Follow Dee’s activity on SingSaraSing.com. For more info on Creepy Cruise IV go to meetup.com/southbaycruisers.

DHR on KXLU

Some of you may be wondering where the heck your friendly neighborhood Dirty Hippie Radio has been… Been busy, busy, busy, busting butt to bring the best of independent music, real music, to you real people.

We spent a few months over the summer presenting and booking live shows at Patrick Molloy’s in Hermosa Beach. We successfully featured 27 different independent bands from across the musical spectrum. The idea was to rattle the young local music community out of its comfort zone while injecting enough stimulation to allow them to still feel good about it: bring in good music that no one has really heard of, but will totally like. The roster included various popular local acts as well as myriad bands from beyond our sandy borders.

The latest and greatest is so deliciously great that I’ve not needed to eat food for several weeks! Dirty Hippie Radio followed the local band Fartbarf to downtown LA for a show. It was there that I met DJ Jen of KXLU. She’d known of my website project, liked my work, dug my taste in music, eventually discovered Fartbarf on DirtyHippieRadio.com and so wound up at this show to check them out. We connected and she offered for DHR to come guest DJ with her at 88.9 FM.

This was a dream come true. KXLU 88.9 FM, located on LMU campus, is Los Angeles’ premiere station for supporting independent music, local bands, and good, real music that still plays out from under the corporate umbrella. In essence, much the same as what we’re all about – and what a wonderful platform to generate more exposure for these amazing bands outside the website!

DJ Jen and I had a blast, and she invites me back every week so far (with hints of a more permanent spot as her guest that won’t go away…). You can hear her program with guest DJ Dirty Jeff of Dirty Hippie Radio every Thursday from noon to 3 p.m.

Keep an eye out for forthcoming DHR Presents shows and events. There are plenty of people in our community still impassioned to keep independent music and art alive in the South Bay. Whether it’s the boys at The Comic Bug, big dogs at Saint Rocke (both of which have given green lights for DHR shows), or one of the few and oft overlooked art galleries in town, i.e., Cannery Row Studios, Dog House Studios, there will be shows. Until then… listen, learn, and read on. ER

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