Sarah Sharp, simply one of the best

Last fall, my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing Sarah Sharp perform at a house concert in Appleton (thanks again John and Janell for the invite!). I first heard Sarah when I was reviewing music for another newspaper. We were a small paper so record companies weren't exactly breaking down our door to give us music, which is what they do with larger newspapers and magazines - in fact, large newspapers and magazines get so much stuff they usually review only a few discs and give away or throw out the rest. Everything we got we reviewed. I would find music by going to Ice Magazine and listening to Internet radio stations, seeing what the new releases were, and finding a track or two from the ones that sounded interesting it on the Internet (usually at the artist’s Web site or on Amazon). If I liked it, I would request it from company and sometimes, if I asked nice enough, they would send it to me.
That was the case with Sarah Sharp. I heard the first single “Run” off of her debut, “Fourth Person,” and instantly I connected with it. Her voice was delicate, the music was eerie, and it fell into what many refer to as the perfect song. Red Distribution sent me her disc, and it put it into heavy rotation in my collection (and gave it a great review). It’s an amazing disc.
In fact, I ended up buying her disc (even though I already had it) at her show in Appleton.
When Sharp performed, it was just her and her guitarist. The show was intimate, and she talked about her songs, how she writes a lot of them late at night in a little coffee shop in Austin, Tx. We talked with her for a while in the kitchen. She was totally cool, really laid back (like a lot of her music). Her husband, Andy, is a fan of horror movies and “Red Dwarf,” so I ended up talking to him more.
Wow, did I get off of the subject. Sharp hasn’t released anything since “Fourth Person” (though she was being courted by Capitol Records) and she doesn’t make it to Wisconsin too often. “Fourth Person” is worth checking out.

Here’s a link to her song “Run” posted by the online PR firm Sonicbids.

Cover courtesy of Sharp and Red Distribution. Photo by Mark Knight, design by Kevin Ryan.