July 14, 2014
Publication title: Hartford Courant, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Mary Ellen Fillo
Sarah McLachlan On Touring, Her Evolution And Surfing
Award-winning singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan is not only known for her soulful ballads, but also as the gal who co-founded the Lilith Fair tour, an initiative that successfully showcased female musicians in a way that had never been attempted before.
The 46-year-old Canadian has just released her newest album, “Shine On,” and has hit the road with her Shine on Tour, which comes to Mohegan Sun on Sunday, July 20. The mother of two daughters, also well-known for her altruistic endeavors benefitting a variety of causes including AIDS, animal rights, women’s and under-served youth issues, McLachlan was enjoying the deck at her home in Vancouver when she Spilled the Beans with Java.
Q: How is touring now different than when you first started, and how is your music different than when you first started?
A: When I started we toured in an RV and would camp in campgrounds, but we were also just 20 years old and for us, it was a great adventure. Now I have my kids with me so the traveling is very different. It’s a lot of work but fun, more fun. Playing live is the end result of a lot of blood, sweat and tears. When you play live you can breathe life into the songs. I wrote my first record when I was 19 and I had no idea who I was then. I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to discover who I was on my own terms and am still evolving as far as my music. As a musician and artist I don’t ever want to rest on my laurels. Part of what drives me is that I am only as good as what I have produced and that drives me to keep getting better.
Q: You were instrumental in Lilith Fair, and as the story, goes, were a bit fed up with promoters who refused to feature two female musicians in a row in a program. You are mom to two daughters. Do you think you contributed to a more gender-fair world for them and how?
A: I would like to think that the success of we had as individuals and as a group did help to change some antiquated attitudes in the music industry. I think the general audience was more liberal minded than that because they were not thinking of whether or not two females in a row were performing. They just liked the music. We were part of something a whole lot bigger than ourselves as a group of women coming together and I think the outcome was fantastic. I hope I have contributed as an artist and human being. I want to leave a lasting impact, something important, something that impacts people. I think we did.
Q: There was a bit of a break when it came to albums for you until the release of “Shine On.” What inspired the new album and what are you most proud of? And are you ready to work on another?
A: OMG no, not another! For me as an artist, to get ready for an album I need to go away and sharpen the saw and have experiences and then make another. As far as “Shine On,” it came after huge changes in my life, some of them brought on by my father’s death, separating from my husband, a new producer. I didn’t want to be complacent. I didn’t want to rest on my laurels. I like to challenge myself and change everything. That is where the juicy stuff comes from. I am 46 years old and I don’t want this to be as good as it gets. My father never waited to die. He was so ill but lived every day and month and full of gratitude and that was such a great gift for me, After he passed, I said “shit, I am the last generation and I have to be a guiding light now.” I want to bear the responsibility. Music is my church. It is where I am most grounded.
Q: What can concert goers expect when you hit the stage?
A: Music from the album is more hopeful, more positive. It mirrors the way I am feeling. The music tells stories about something that has happened. “Surrender and Certainty” was prompted by my father’s death. “Beautiful Girl” is about the relationship you have with your children. “In Your shoes:” is about finding strength. “Shine On” focuses on life being a struggle, but there are still those moments and opportunities you can grab to make life good again. The songs are all pretty honest.
Q: What was the first concert you ever attended and what is the first concert your girls ever attended?
A: The first concert I attended was Twisted Sister and Iron Maiden. I think I was 12 and my brother who was five years older had to take me. For my kids, their first concert was mine.
Q: What do you think is best about music today or perhaps the worst of music today?
A: I am lucky my girls are immature enough not to understand some of the lyrics of the music today and they are not so interested in them. I like some of the music and can’t stand some of it, especially the lyrics. I am subjected to it all when I drive them back and forth to school. I think maybe I am delusional, but I think the whole concept of sex is still so foreign to them.
Q: Speaking of well, sex and hopefully love, have you found romance again?
A: Yep, he’s a hockey player. Geoff Courtnail. As far as getting married again, well, we have both been there already.
Q: I know you are passionate about your art. But we live in a day and age where arts, especially for youths, are still considered an option rather than a necessity when it comes to public education. You have stepped on that. Can you explain?
A: One of my philanthropic initiatives is the Sarah McLachlan School of Music. It’s 13 years old and right now we have 700 kids actively enrolled. I want to create positive social change and as an artist I have a big voice when it comes to accomplishing that. It makes me feel good to know I am creating opportunities for children. The arts are horribly underrated and it is a travesty when arts and fitness are pulled from public school systems. We need to give kids every opportunity to be creative thinkers and to give them the chance to make healthy choices.
Q: Do you have any advice to offer to aspiring female singers?
A: I so loathe to give advice. But if I were going to offer something, be your own advocate, educate yourself about the industry and the changes happening in it. Follow your heart and surround yourself with people you can trust.
Q: What is something no one knows about you?
A: I learned how to surf when I was 30. A girlfriend lived in California and told me “you have to do it, it’s so much fun.” When I stood up for the first time, I was hooked. It is one of the best highs. It doesn’t beat singing live but it comes pretty damn close.
