Balancing music and school is a challenge every young musician must face. Sarah Hackett has found the balance over the past year and the sixteen year-old finally made the move out to LA from her home in Canada earlier this year. Sarah’s passion and talent for music were discovered by producer Andrew Lane; and Sarah has been working with him and his label, Drew Right Music, to build her talent and put together an EP and full length album. I chatted with Sarah about her passion for music and love of human rights.
Arin: How did you get into music?
Sarah: Well, I’ve been taking music classes since I was really little. I could never really do the sports thing – I’m not athletic at all – so I just did those music classes where they gave you the xylophones and the flute recorders and stuff like that. So I did those until I was about seven; and then when I was in the first grade, I started playing violin and I played violin for about ten years. And then I started working on my vocals while I was training violin, but then I decided to stop [violin] because I wanted to pursue music as a career and so I just decided to focus on my vocals. I just relocated to Los Angeles in July so I had to find out what my priorities were, so I was focusing on my vocals and balancing high school and traveling to LA and going back and forth. So that’s basically been my musical journey; I just picked up a lot of instruments and it just came naturally to me, and it just felt like the right place to be was to be doing music.
A: Once you decided to make the move to LA, how do you balance school and music?
S: Last year, I was working at a studio on artist development; so, basically, I was going to school and then missing two days once or twice a month to go out to LA so that was hard. It didn’t affect my grades or anything, but I had to work a bit harder. This year, I’m doing an online schooling program that’s still Canadian based, but I’ve just been able to have more flexibility with my schedule and, when the studio time is more demanding, I’m able to be there without having to worry about having an assignment in on time or that kind of thing. So it’s better that way, but I do find a balance. Education is important to me and I’m never gonna give that part up; I would never give that part up. I’m still working on it; I’m behind everybody else, but I’m working on it.
A: I noticed you are inspired by human rights issues, so what has that impacted song wise and what are some of the issues you are focused on?
S: Last year when the Kony 2012 video came out, I had done a song for that just because that’s what was going on at the time and it was very much in the media and everything like that and I don’t know… I like to write songs. I don’t like to write just love songs; I like to write songs about real stuff too, just like a deeper level. I’m sixteen, but I’m way older than sixteen mentally and I just have a lot more important things than going from boyfriend to boyfriend or that kind of thing. I have a lot of other things that I wanna do in my career and I definitely wanna be working as a philanthropist as well. I really want to work with the Make-A-Wish foundation later on just because I think that it’s a really, really cool organization and it’s a really cool idea, but I’d really be open to be doing anything.
A: Are there any specific causes that you wanna work with?
S: I think that the one thing I definitely have my heart set on is Make-A-Wish; I know that’s something I definitely wanna do in the future. I’d be open to doing anything though. There are charities that I’m not necessarily aware of, but if I were passionate about the cause, I’d be happy to work with them as well.
A: Social media is a huge part of our world, so how do you stay in touch with all of you fans?
S: It’s really easy. I’m on my phone a lot like the average teenager, but it’s been different for me because I actually have to work off my phone. I have to read emails about where I’m supposed to be and have my calendar – like, I never used to look at a calendar – and it’s crazy so I’m always on my phone. I’m always on twitter and my facebook fan page and my website, everything; I’m very connected in that way.
A: Who are some of your musical influences or people you’ve been listening to a lot of lately?
S: Lately, I have been listening to Taylor Swift’s new album Red; I love it. I love all types of music, but she made me love country. She just had a different twist on it and she was the one to introduce me to that genre, so I definitely listen to her and I love that album. I’ve been listening to… I listened to the One Direction singles the other day, “Little Things” and “Live While We’re Young.” I think they’re very good, very talented; they’re a great group. They’re very successful and it’s fun to watch them just grow; they’ve had a crazy journey from what I’ve seen. I also – Demi Lovato is my greatest inspiration. I’ve listened to her since Camp Rock, like way back in 2008, so I’ve been a fan like forever and I’m really looking forward to the Jonas Brothers new album; I’m really excited for that.
A: What is the plan right now to release new music?
S: I posted “You Got Me,” I think in August it went up. So that’s been doing really well on YouTube and I’m really excited about the response I’ve been getting with it. I’m pretty sure the new stuff is going to be coming out in the new year. I’m hoping to have an album out next year or at least an EP. I’m in the studio right now working a lot before the Christmas break just to finish things up, so hopefully it’ll be out in January or February of next year.
A: If you could work with anyone or co-write with anyone, who would it be?
S: I think it would be really great to work with Demi, because I’ve grown – I feel like I’ve grown up with her a lot – and I think that would be really great to work with her. Jonas Brothers I love just because they’ve written a lot of their stuff, and it’d be really cool to see how they use their creative process and what I could learn from them because they’ve been in this industry for a while. I’d be happy to work with anybody though, I think it’s great to collaborate with people and it makes it a little more rewarding to work with other people.
A: Is there anything in particular you want to accomplish through music?
S: I think what I’ve always wanted to do is to inspire people and music is the only way I could see myself being successful at doing that, so that’s basically what my overall goal is; and if I can, if my songs can relate to one or two people, I’d be really happy [and] if more then that’s great too. I just wanna be relatable and I want people to be able to connect with my music because I don’t feel like I’m above anybody or below anybody. I’m just an average sixteen year old girl who got this opportunity. I just want people to know that they’re heard and they’re not alone, and I think that’s the most important message I want to get across with my music.