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Fact File
Name: Sarah Sharp
Age: 34
Born: Houston
College: Berklee College of Music
Married to: Guitarist Andy Sharp (Stage name: Buffalo Speedway)
Kids: Alistair (3), Stella (17 months). Pregnant, due in July.
Notable:
- Named Best Jazz Band, 2009 Austin Music Awards.
- Sharp’s focus is no longer on the outmoded model of release an album, then tour to promote it. Instead, she’s hard at work crossing over to place her music in film (Drop Dead Sexy, Eleven, When Harry Tries to Marry) and TV (including MTV’s Miss Seventeen, Parental Control, Two-A-Days, and Meet The Barkers.)
Sharp Shooting:
60 Seconds with Sarah
How do you two balance your careers with the kids?
On Wednesday mornings I have a nanny who comes watch the kids. Any work I get done other than that is instead of sleeping.
As soon as Andy comes home, I’m out the door because I have up to four gigs a week. Last fall I did a 12-night tour in Italy. It was important, yet, I was so anxious, I thought I was having heart problems. But as far as the kids were concerned, it was the most incredible thing that’s happened to them because Andy stayed home with them. They’ve never had so much time with him.
Where did you meet Andy?
After I finished school, I worked in London for two years singing for a cover band. I met Andy there, and we got married in ‘98 after dating for four months. It was on a Tuesday at the Islington Registry Office on his lunch break.
Your favorite memory of SXSW?
My friend and I were taking a break in the bar at the Four Seasons and Phil Ramone [iconic record producer who has won 15 Grammys] was in there. He was looking for a chair, and my friend said he could sit at our table. It was great because it was so natural. We hung out with him for a couple of hours.
Why the crossover with your music to film and TV?
I don’t know when I’m going to release another entire album and that’s why I work so hard at the film and TV placement. In 2003, a friend invited me to the SXSW Film events and I got more connections there than I’d ever done at SXSW Music. The first film I did came out in 2005. The royalties from just that one song have been really good. From that job came other jobs, TV shows and small films. Now I’m working on my second feature and I’m music supervisor. It’s exciting to have other creative avenues and – honestly – hopefully ways of making some money. It’d be nice to have some security through this.
Surviving SXSW:
Nine Tips that Nail It
1. Balance your caffeine and alcohol. I recommend (unless you’re pregnant like me): caffeine, water, alcohol, water, etc.
2. Start early and nap in your car. The daily KGSR breakfast at the Four Seasons is free, they have live performances and you can just walk in, no wristband or badge. Then keep going.
3. Plan ahead. Check austin360.com for free events you don’t need a badge for. You must RSVP, though. Don’t just show up.
4. The British Embassy. The UK takes SXSW very seriously. They take over an entire venue, change the name and paint the outside. The day parties are free everything: beer, open bar and food. RSVP ahead of time.
5. Learn the beauty of badges. If you’re trying to make connections as an artist or a fan, learn the technique of checking out the name on the badge when they’re not looking. When I’ve had a badge, I‘d study the conference book to learn faces and names. Now anyone can look at them online.
6. You can’t meet everyone. Take your time and make a genuine connection. I don’t give someone a CD unless we have had a real conversation. (Except at the Austin Film Festival I gave Ron Howard a CD because he was next to me on the stairs … but then later that night I was formally introduced to him by Shane Black, so I reminded him I’d given him my music.)
7. Karma. Slow down, enjoy the music and don’t just be there to hustle. If you completely forget what the whole thing is about – the music – then you don’t get into that serendipitous flow where good things come.
8. Pick a place to park all day, have shoes you can walk in and carry as little as you can. This is my first year to have an iPhone, after last year I realized I couldn’t do another SXSW without one. It cuts down what I have to carry.
9. Decide and commit. Many of the popular showcases you won’t get into without a badge, so if there’s something you really want to see, get there early and stay all night. But that’s hard. I usually only stay for one or two songs unless it is really changing my life. Even if I know it’s great, there are so many places to be.
MORE INFO
sarahsharp.com
SXSW Music | March 17 - 21
sxsw.com/music
Sarah Sharp & the Jitterbug Vipers
Lambert’s | 401 West 2nd St.
Friday, March 12 | 7 - 9:30pm
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Download Sarah Sharp's single: Ladies
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