It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the all-girl Minneapolis based band, Sick of Sarah. SOS has provided music for both of my Logo shows (Brunch With Bridget, That Time of the Month), they’ve had their own tour diary right here on AfterEllen.com, and after seeing them perform live, I completely fell in love with these high energy rock goddesses.
Sick of Sarah is composed of five women: lead singer and guitarist Abisha Uhl, bass player Jamie Holm, guitarist Jessie Farmer, guitarist Katie Murphy and drummer Jessica Forsythe. The band is prepping for the release of their second album, 2205, which you can pre-order now or purchase in stores on Nov. 16.
I chatted it up with SOS frontwoman Abisha Uhl about the new album, her sexual identity and what it means to “make it” in music. AfterEllen.com: What is different about your new album 2205, from your last album? Abish Uhl: The difference between the first album and the new one is that we’ve matured musically. This album is much darker than the first one. Plus, the recording process was so much different. We had time to write in the studio and experiment with sounds. While people might think that 2205 is a lot mellower, we got to express ourselves in a deeper way on this one.
Lyrically I got really inspired by the Studio, Sonic Ranch, where we were recording in El Paso. It’s a huge studio complex in the middle of a pecan farm right on the Mexican border outside of El, Paso, TX. We tracked in the same studio that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs recorded their last album, It’s Blitz. As we all love that album, and had it on rotation in the van constantly during our tours, there was a fire and urgency that possessed all of us during the creative process.
Only half of the songs were completely written when we got down there. We only had rough sketches of most of the songs, so there was a lot of work to do. We’re really proud of what we came up with and are all really excited to share it with everyone.
AE: What does 2205 stand for and who came up with the title? AU: Jessie [Farmer] came up with 2205. 2205 is the house number at the house where we’ve been rehearsing for the last 5 years. It’s the main creative hub and party spot for the band. We’re all having 2205 tattooed on our wrist. Since the songs on the album were conceived in this location, it seemed appropriate and really marks this era of our lives. AE: What is your ultimate goal as a musician? What would it take for you to say, “We’ve made it!”? AU: Jamie [Holm] says being on Saturday Night Live would mean that we’ve made it. But I’ll know we’ve made it when we’re financially secure, and when we have the ability to tour year round. We’d like to be able to tour all around the country, and the rest of the world, and know that there will be a rabid crowd waiting on the other side of the stage. We’ve had some real fun in the US over the last year, but with this record, we’d really like the chance to show the rest of the world what we’ve got. A lot of fans in the UK have been sending us messages, and we’d like the opportunity to play in front of them soon. That would definitely give me a solid feeling of success.
AE: Have you ever had a moment where you wanted to throw in the towel, quit the band and get a “regular” job? AU: No, absolutely not. Never. That’s not an option for me. This is something that I’m very passionate about and giving up is not an option. This is the only thing that I feel that I could be really successful in. As impossible as it might seem to others, it seems completely possible to me. I enjoy nothing more than writing songs and performing them for appreciative audiences. Nothing else could ever make me feel as emotionally fulfilled.
AE: If you could share the stage with any other musical artist in the history of the world (dead or alive) and perform a duet, who would it be and what would you play? AU: Heart and a duet with Nancy Wilson. I’d play whatever she wants. She’s a goddess! It would be amazing to hear her play one of our songs and see what she would do with it. Earlier this year we jammed on “Paint Like That” together at a party. It was an insane “pinch me now” moment. I wouldn’t have believed it the next day, but we filmed it and put it on one of our tour diaries. It’s quite a surreal thing to look next to yourself and see an idol like that performing a song that you wrote. I’d love to do that on an album in the future and commit it to the recording of a song.
AE: Heart is rad! I’v seen you perform live a million times but I have to ask anyway, what can an audience expect from a live SOS performance? AU: Lots of energy and a fun atmosphere. We like to have a good time and we’re partyers. After putting as much effort into a performance on the stage, I like to put an equal amount off of it and get to meet our fans personally. After every show, we go into the audience and shake hands, give hugs, take pictures and sign autographs. We really appreciate people taking the time to come out and support us and we feel it our duty to show this kind of gratitude post-show. It’s fun for us too. We’ve made tons of great friends throughout the country while on the road, and often we’ll hang with those people that we met at our previous shows the next time we’re in town. AE: SOS has a devoted bi/lesbian fan base, why do you think that is? AU: We’re an all girl band and we play tons of Pride events. The community overall seems to be really supportive of female artists and female fronted bands like Tegan and Sara, Metric, Girl in a Coma, etc. Plus our music is on Logo and has been on the show South Of Nowhere. We’ve also had some nice write ups in Curve, Venus Zine and tremendous amount of support from AfterEllen.com. Thank you!
Some of the members of the band are gay but even if some of them weren’t, I don’t think it would matter. The music speaks for itself. And we appreciate every fan equally.
AE: There have been many rumors about your sexuality, how do you identify yourself or do you chose not to? AU: I don’t know – you should probably ask my girlfriend. Honestly, I’m just attracted to great people.
AE: Who is your ultimate rock ‘n roll crush? AU: Tom Delong from Blink 182, for sure! He’s a sexy man. Are you confused? I was obsessed with Blink 182 growing up in Japan. I had posters of them all over my wall.In fact, I am still obsessed. Epiphone just hooked me up with a Tom Delong model guitar. I’m in love with it. Can’t wait to play it live. Every time I pick it up I try to channel a little bit of his energy. It makes me smile.
AE: For your upcoming tour, what bands are you performing with and what cities are you going to? AU: It’s going to be mellow for the rest of the year. We play Dayton, OH this week with our friends, Vanity Theft. There will be a CD release party on December 7 at Honey in Minneapolis. Maurices, the clothing store, is doing a big promotion with us called “Small Town Sound.” We’re the face of a competition and will be doing in-store performances at different locations throughout the winter months. Next year, we’ll definitely be all over the place. We’re planning a tour that will take us through Austin, TX for SXSW next March, where we’ll be performing with The Bangles again. AE: Is there anything else you want to add about SOS, yourself or how you view the world? AU: We just want everyone to know how appreciative we are for their support. They are the ones that make it happen.
For more info on Sick of Sarah, check out their official website. You can pre-order their CD, 2205, at rockthreads.com.
