She began singing and playing her first instrument, the ukulele (she was too small for a full-sized guitar), at age four. Sarah had an extensive study of classical guitar (twelve years), piano (eight years), and voice (five years) at the Nova Scotia Royal Conservatory beginning at a very young age.
Sarah considered herself an outcast at school. She described herself as having greasy, curly hair and crooked teeth. Her male peers called her Medusa (I bet they all regret it now!) Because of this, Sarah took shelter in her music…
Sarah was the member of a band called October Game at age 17. At this time, she was discovered by Mark Jowett of Nettwerk Records. Sarah was forced to turn down Nettwerk's offer because her parents thought she was too young and needed more education. Sarah went on to complete her studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
About two years later, on October 2, (by bro's birthday) 1987, Sarah made a deal to become a solo artist with Nettwerk. Her original offer with Nettwerk was to be the lead singer of a band called Moev. However, since Sarah waited to complete school, Nettwerk's president, Terry McBride, offered her a better deal.
Sarah's debut album, Touch, was released in 1989. It had a few hits such as "Vox," and the album went gold in Canada. In 1991, she released her sophomore album, Solace. Solace was released in Canada by Nettwerk and in the US by Arista. Following this release Sarah performed an extensive sixteen month tour.
Sarah wrote "Hold on" in a single day. It was inspired by the documentary "A Promise Kept," which is about a woman whose fiancé discovers he has AIDS. Sarah was just so overwhelmed by the woman's strength and selflessness, that she wrote the song.
Sarah was stalked by a man named Uwe Vandrei shortly after the release of Solace. He sent letters to both her and her manager and even made comments to her in person. He basically claimed that the two of them were "meant to be." Sarah took this situation and wrote "Possession," which was written in his point of view because everyone at one point or another has obsessed over someone (though many people won't admit it).
In 1993, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was released. This album went triple platinum.
After the release of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Mr. Vendrei came back and sued Sarah claiming that she stole his material from the letters he wrote. He committed suicide in 1994.
In 1995, Sarah released a Multimedia EP CD-ROM called The Freedom Sessions. This includes eight of her songs in their alternative takes along with a bonus multi-media track. Sarah then released a B-Side album on June 25, 1996, called Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff.
Surfacing, Sarah's fourth album, was released in July of 1997. During the recording of Surfacing, Sarah married her drummer, Ash Sood, on February 7, 1997, in a small gazebo overlooking the Caribbean Sea (they were on vacation in Jamaica). Sarah describes Surfacing as "...about me finally growing up and facing the ugly things about myself. We all have a dark side; it's bullshit to say that we don't. At some point we're going to have to face that."
On June 15, 1999 (which was the last day of my junior year), Sarah released her live album, Mirrorball, which is really great (if you are a Sarah fan, I recommend getting it if you have not yet already).
Sarah is also the founder of the Lilith Fair (which I went to last year, but cannot this year due to lack of money and time). Many people criticized Lilith, calling it "Breast Fest," "Lesbopalooza," and more. With a lineup containing great female artists such as Jewel, Sheryl Crow, the Indigo Girls, and many more, Lilith beat out the male dominated summer festivals such as HORDE. and Lollapalooza. Sarah and all the other female artists (I love them all) that performed sure proved them wrong!!
Sarah has many musical influences such as Joan Baez, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, Peter Gabriel, and Kate Bush (who she was once compared to).
