Instrument ninja Sarah Gorak combines her youthful vocals with her many stringed axes (violin, cello, ukulele, guitar) for a chamber acoustic experience. Catch her on CincyMusic LIVE Wednesday at 7p!
Her songwriting has been deemed as "dark yet melodically wonderful." She also enjoys live looping instrumentals and doing kid friendly uplifting sets. Born in Hawai'i and raised in Seattle, she loves having any opportunity to share and incorporate the cultures that influenced her.
We sat down with Sarah to get to know her prior to the LIVE this Wednesday!
How did you get into the Cincinnati Music Scene?
I started by sitting in with several projects and attending open jams but made the most connections via an event called "Tossed Salad" where local musicians were randomly assigned to bands and were to prepare some cover songs to perform to raise money for the Freestore Foodbank. That gave birth to many collaborations with Abby Vice, Nick Federinko (of Jamwave and Up+Dn), Jess Lamb & the Factory, and many others.
What can fans expect from a Live performance?
Ukulele and violin driven songs that often will involve live looping. Sarah loves balancing uplifting silly songs along with heartfelt emotional ballads featuring her youthful vocals and zoo of stringed instruments. She also is a huge advocate for representing indigenous culture, in particular songs/themes from her birthplace Hawai'i. Think Sara Watkins meets Andrew Bird meets Raffi with island vibes.
How have the past 5ish months been musically?
Due to Covid-19 derailing plans for gigs and in-person collaborations, Sarah has been focusing on her solo work, doing livestream performances as well as teaching music students online and doing remote recording projects (can be viewed on my website sarahgorak.com) She is grateful for the opportunity to focus on her own musical voice and mission, but misses the synergy of working with others.
What is next for Sarah Gorak?
Sarah is working to hone in on her brand representing authentic Hawaiian culture and virtues. She plans to focus on building her Patreon projects (patreon.com/sarahgorak) which will feature and support other musical artists across the country as well as feature her own performances, tutorials, and educational resources for cultural enrichment. She also has a goal of releasing her first solo EP by the end of the year (sarahgorak.bandcamp.com) and is hoping to start actively booking live solo gigs with safety precautions in place (find most up to date schedule at facebook.com/sarahgorakmusic). Sarah hopes to be reunited soon with her band Starlight Park and also hopes to continue partnerships she's made with local female artists including Kryst Kruer, Aprina Johnson, Wonky Tonk, Abby Vice, and Siri Imani, to name a few.
