A few years ago, lightning struck when a classically trained, competition-level pianist turned her full attention to pop and electronica — resulting in the critically acclaimed 2010 album, When You Dream. Music history is full of such unlikely stories, odd segues and their accompanying bursts of brilliance. But when lightning strikes twice, and when the thunder grows louder… well, it’s at that point when one feels the heat of genuine fireworks.
Cardiology, the upcoming second album from Portland, Oregon’s Sara-Jackson-Holman, reflects a rapidly maturing lyricist and sound-sculptor arriving at another, higher creative peak. Written and crafted in Portland as well as in Jackson-Holman’s hometown of Bend in the fall-winter-spring of 2011-2012, Cardiology contains enough hooks to outfit a Columbia River fishing boat.
And that’s just for starters. The CD has a remarkable balance and flow, slipping from delicate musings and plaintive soul-searching to confident, swaggering declarations — and back again, all enveloped in atmosphere to spare.
Jackson-Holman’s smoldering pipes have been noted for their echoes of a less-weathered Amy Winehouse; primarily for her bravely honest lyrics, Jackson-Holman is also often likened by fans to Adele. These traits return, in spades, with this new offering, twisting and blending into a more unique sonic persona.
Deeply personal in origin, Cardiology‘s content — like Adele’s 21 — was obviously culled from the matters of the heart, as well as from profound loss — “For Albert,” for example, was inspired more by the recent death of Jackson-Holman’s grandfather than by Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.” The album borrows, of course; it borrows from from throbbing L.A. hotspots and pin-drop London recital halls — and even more interestingly, from old Motown studios and older Harlem nightclubs.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Cardiology is that beneath all of its addictive siren lures, promises of even more gorgeous things lie. In short, one gets the strong sense that prodigious, yet Svengali-free Jackson-Holman is just getting started.
East Portland Blog recently caught up with the 23-year-old singer/songwriter as she prepared for the live debut of an album that’s about one music video away from achieving orbital flight.
EPB: Examining a song like “To Be Bright,” which has essentially a classic soul foundation, I have to wonder when you first embraced R&B music.
Jackson-Holman: I was first inspired by gospel music in high school choir…. over the last two years, I’ve listened to a lot of r&b and hip-hop — a lot of hip-hop. Again, working with harmonies and “big sounds” in the choir, is where it started for me. I still love gospel music, I love how powerful it is.
EPB: You performed “Summertime” last year at a Billie Holiday tribute. Did you pick that song, and if so — why that one?
Jackson-Holman: I picked it. I love it because it’s so… first of all, I think the chord structure is beautiful; it’s a beautiful song. I’m very drawn to minor keys. It’s a sad song… I’m drawn to the sadness of it, but also to the hope it has within it.
EPB: Are you a Nina Simone fan, as well?
Jackson-Holman: Yes, I love Nina Simone, I’ve covered her version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” I love that song.
EPB: Looking at the new photos for Cardiology… is that your real hair? It’s fabulous.
Jackson-Holman: (Laughing) Yes, that was my real hair, thank you. I think my hair stood up like that for three days – it was back-combed quite a bit.
EPB: In making in this new record, who could you rely on to keep you on course?
Jackson-Holman: I worked with two different producers… though I did pre-produce a lot of material before going into the studio. Both Keith (Schreiner, member of Auditory Sculpture and Dahlia) and Skylar (Norwood, Blind Pilot and Horse Feathers producer), were very helpful. Keith comes from more electronic background, and was able to give that perspective and lend his skill in that arena; Skylar’s very good with organic textures, and contributed in that way. I have strong opinions about my music, and they both supported me.
EPB: Your last album wound up placing some songs on TV, most notably on Castle. Are you going to pursue this sort of thing again with Cardiology?
Jackson-Holman: Yeah! My licensing agent is working on it, so I hope more of that happens. Once I get my ‘live performance’ up and going, I plan to be writing all the time, and writing music for licensing… and I’d like to record the rest of the songs I wrote for this album. I wound up writing a bunch of songs that weren’t included.
EPB: You can always cash in again in six months, re-releasing Cardiology with bonus tracks.
Jackson-Holman: (Chuckles) I have two other songs recorded (that aren’t on the album) that I was going to release as singles.
EPB: Are you going to tour in support of the CD?
Jackson-Holman: Definitely. That’s something we’re shooting for, hopefully in September… I’m working on a solo show. I just got a new keyboard, a Korg Kronos, that I’m getting familiar with. It has sooo many sound options, and I do a lot of vocal looping during my sets. I want to be as self-sufficient as possible, but I also have a few people that play with me (at times). There will be a band for my CD release show. I guess I want to be able to perform with a band, or by myself, whatever the situation calls for.
EPB: What was your childhood like, growing up in Bend?
Jackson-Holman: My childhood consisted of a lot playing outside… I started piano when I was six. I loved it, and was very excited about it. I wasn’t nervous performing – I wasn’t nervous about performing until high school. I loved getting up and playing for people. A big part of my childhood was piano lessons and recitals, but I was active with soccer and basketball. And I read books all the time.
EPB: Daydreamer?
Jackson-Holman: Oh, definitely a daydreamer. I played with my little brother, but I also played by myself a lot. I wrote stories, and colored pictures. I didn’t think to write music when I was younger, but I definitely enjoyed writing things in school.
My childhood was very pleasant. When I think of it, I think of the sunlight coming through the ponderosa trees. I have good memories.
EPB: You once struggled with nerves, onstage?
Jackson-Holman: When I was younger, I’d memorize classical pieces and perform them… from fifth through eighth grade, I was in competition with high schoolers. I didn’t think a thing about it — ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll just get up and play the piano!’ And then in high school, I got some sort of mental block, for some reason; I began to get really nervous (in recitals).
EPB: You obviously overcame it, at least to a certain degree.
Jackson-Holman: Yeah. One of the things that helped me get over it was a talent show I competed at, years ago. There was about 800 people in this auditorium. I was going to play a classical piece from memory; I had practiced it for eight months by this time, and I’d competed with it before.
I get onstage to play it, and I play for about seven measures… and then draw a blank. I went on re-starting, and re-starting. For like eight times; I’d stop at that one measure every time. I starting crying… I was thinking, at this point, about whether or not I should run off stage, crying, or keep playing these seven measures over and over again!
People in audience were saying, “You can do it!” and cheering me on. I ended up getting through it — after 10 re-starts, maybe more. It seemed like an eternity. What this really showed me is that audiences really want you to succeed. They’re rooting for you; they don’t care if it’s not perfect.
And it’s not about delivering a perfect piece, it’s about playing it for people to enjoy. I had sort of lost track of that, and it’s a good lesson to remember.
EPB: Tell me something about ‘Freight Train’… it fascinates me.
Jackson-Holman: I wrote that a week after my grandfather died. I was really in shock over it. This was definitely a way to get my feelings onto paper, into a song. I couldn’t talk to people about it; I couldn’t even cry about it. I didn’t know what I was feeling… so I wrote that song. It was one of the most cathartic songs, for me, on the album. ‘What does it mean to lose someone?’ It’s such a weird thing, and to try to put it into words. People are trying to give you advice about it, trying to console you… what does it all mean?
EPB: Was he the first grandparent that you’ve lost?
Jackson-Holman: Yeah. And I was very, very close to him. He’d come to every show in Portland. He paid for my first rough demo that I ever recorded. When I did classical music, he’d drive three hours, back when I was in the fifth grade, to watch me play a five-minute number — and then drive back.
EPB: I recently wrote something about grandparents — how wonderful they can be for a person, but how it can often seem so unfair; you don’t have all the time in the world with them. However, you can rely on your grandfather always being with you.
Jackson-Holman: Oh, yes. He’d be thrilled to know that I wrote songs about him. He was very funny; he wore my “Sara Jackson-Holman’ t-shirt all the time. He had this bar he went to, and all his friends knew who I was. People have told me, ‘It’s good that you had such a great relationship with him,’ and that’s true. I’m very grateful for that.
EPB: At what point did you become conscious of your songwriting as a therapy?
Jackson-Holman: Honestly, I think one of the things that differentiates Cardiology from the last album is that with Cardiology, I probably worked through a lot of things with songwriting a bit more. I mean, I’ve always felt I could sort through things with music — but over the last two years, my mind opened to more methods and options when it came to songwriting. Also, I’ve had more things to write about. There were ‘bigger’ ideas I wanted to explore for my last record, and for this one, there were very specific things I wanted to work out in my life… my grandfather’s passing, some relationship things. And I wrote one song for my little sister — ‘Oh, My Honey.’ She’s 15— and things can be hard for a 15-year-old!
In every song (on Cardiology), I can point to a specific thing that happened in my life, or someone I was writing about.
EPB: ‘Do I Make It Look Easy?’ is a heckuva sassy song…
Jackson-Holman: It is very sassy! And it is about a breakup. Once, when I was driving back to Bend, the chorus came to me in the car. When I got home, I wrote (the song). It’s about how… you see that person, and you don’t want them to know that you’ve been hurt in any way. ‘I’m fine, I’m doing good — I’m doing great, actually.’ (Chuckles) I’m asking if I’m hiding it well, if I’m pulling it off – ‘Do I make it look easy?’
Cardiology will released by Expunged Records on July 24.
http://www.sarajacksonholman.com
– Steve Stav‘s deft, incandescent prose can be found here and at SteveStav.com and Ink19.com.
