SARA HICKMAN
Motherlode (Sleeveless)


Artist: Aletha St. Romain

An Interview with Sara Hickman

By R.U. Steinberg

In June 2006, Austin-based singer/songwriter Sara Hickman released the double album, “Motherlode,” on her Sleeveless record label. Considered her “first album for grown-ups” in five years, “Motherlode” incorporates songs about depression, addiction, domestic violence, the joys of motherhood, and love—and what may be the first cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Mother’s Little Helper” performed by an actual mother. Her band consists of Mitch Watkins on guitar, Eddy Hobizal on piano, Steve Zirkel on bass and guests on the album, include past collaborators and friends David Batteau, Adrian Belew, Shawn Colvin, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy LaFave, and Kelly Willis.

Photographer: Todd Wolfson

Hickman’s music career began in the 1980s in Denton, Texas while she was earning a B.A. in Fine Arts at the University of North Texas in Denton. While at school, she worked with Brave Combo's Carl Finch. Soon after graduation, she moved to nearby Dallas, collected top awards from the Dallas Observer music poll, and eventually landed a recording deal with Elektra Records. After appearances on VH1 and The Tonight Show, she recorded “Necessary Angels,” a project that was produced by Paul Fox (The Wallflowers) and Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks). Elektra later shelved the project but Hickman’s fans struck back and raised the money needed to buy the rights from Elektra and release the album.

In 1994, Hickman moved to Austin and shortly after toured the United States with Nanci Griffith and Dan Fogelberg. During the 1990s, she released a number of albums—“Misfits: A Collection of Odds and Ends" (Shanachie, 1997), "Two Kinds of Laughter" (1998), "Newborn" (1999). In 2000, she released her first self-produced album, “Spiritual Appliances” (Shanachie), which received much critical and fan acclaim. Her 2000 performance on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center is available for free online. For the last several years, Hickman has celebrated her motherhood by devoting her talents to children’s records.

Critics have described her as “clever,” “insightful,” “heartfelt,” “playful,” “inspirational.” In one blog entry, Hickman probably sums up “Motherlode” the best:

“This is what Motherlode will be: The story of being a mother, a woman, a lover, a being… through song.

“Each disc will take you on a musical narrative of what I have witnessed as all of these beings.

“To me, the songs are more than just songs: I picked each one with a concrete purpose. I wanted each disc to set the tone and to be a collection of feelings about being a mother, a woman, a lover, a being.”

Motherlode has been described as “ambitious.” Yet when one looks at her career, she’s not someone who could be described as “lazy.” Over the years, she has spoken out against domestic violence, helped orphans, fought against child abuse, supported Katrina and Holocaust survivors. And she still do concerts for grownups at night, then concerts for the kids the next morning.

Hickman has had a busy summer and fall promoting the album going to places as far away as Alaska, Seattle, and San Jose. With appearances at the Kerrville Folk Festival over Labor Day Weekend and the Austin City Limits Music Fest, PCP caught up with her after she hit the road once again.

PCP: It’s always good to start at the beginning, so let’s start with the first song on the first CD of Motherlode.

Sara Hickman: The first song on the sadder CD is “Song of You.” It is an imaginary letter from Abigail to John Adams while she waits for him in the unfinished White House. John Adams was my great-great-great grandfather.

PCP: Have you known for a while that you are his descendent?

Sara Hickman: It’s something my sister found out recently.

PCP: Why a letter from Abigail to John?

Sara Hickman: Before mass communication, letters were the way people could stay in touch, in particular when travel and miles kept them very far apart. John was constantly on the move, creating this new nation, and Abigail was either back on their farm, or in the case of  "A Song Of You," she was waiting for him in the unfinished White House. They were very prolific, eloquent writers, with Abigail even writing John during the childbirth of one of their children (I have NO idea how she had the tenacity to write down her pain, her feelings, the birth process WHILE experiencing it...that's a strong woman for you!)

I wanted to try and capture the feelings of being in the unfinished White House, and the idea of memories to come, instead of memories that have been...I think the song creates a wonderful mood of love and longing.

PCP: Are you into genealogy?

Sara Hickman: Over the years, I have been putting together a family tree. I wanted to capture information while family members were still alive… A lot of my family came from Missouri and the Adams side of the family came from Alabama

PCP: Ironically, John Adams once said, “People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity.” “Spiritual Appliances” was created while you were going through life-changing events like marriage and having a child.  Reading over your blog, it sounds like your were going through adversity of your own while you were working “Motherlode.” The passing away of your grandmother, your father-in-law had to have his leg amputated, your neighbor was dying, you were visiting an AIDS patient. You even lost a cat! Do you think you do your best work when your world seems upside-down?

Sara Hickman: I have to smile at this question. It seems to me that whenever I start creating, chaos ensues. It's as if the creation process starts to unleash all this energy, and astoundingly crazy, painful, fantastically over and above loving things burst forth. There was a plethora of death surrounding the creation of “Motherlode”; I have never experienced anything like it. But, in the midst of it all, I stayed pragmatic and walked through the storm, putting the album together, staying close to my family and helping those in transition to pass over to the other side with as much grace as I am able to share.

PCP: This is the first grownup album in five years. What was the last one?

Sara Hickman: It was called “Faithful Heart” and it was a collection of love songs that inspired me or that I had written throughout the years. It was cool because I went from “Spiritual Appliances” which was talking about 13 different emotions to “Faithful Heart” which is talking about love and leads to being a mother while at the same time the sexuality of being a lover and a wife. With “Motherlode,” now I feel I have a deeper understanding of the world and what I want to say.

PCP: “Motherlode” is a bit of a double entendre…

Sara Hickman: You can go into a cave—a darkened place—and find all the diamonds. You have to go inside a woman to create life. I thought that’s where the goods come from and how beautiful is that. We live in a world where a lot of music expresses the man’s side. Even in a lot of music performed by women—Brittany Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jewel--the women categorically over-sexualize themselves in a physical way to be attractive to men. I wanted to talk about the other kind of sexuality, which can be more subtle and profound and complex.

PCP: Tell me about the artwork on the album.

Sara Hickman: The art is by Austin artist Aletha St. Romain and working with her was really moving. Part of the reason I chose it is because of the Pope. In his encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI made a statement about sex and love between two people and how it can lead to wonderful things like community activism. I’ve quoted it on the album jacket:

“Sex should mature into unselfish concern for the other, creating a love that ultimately leads to working for charity and justice for others. Love is indeed, ‘ecstasy,’ but not in the sense of a moment of intoxication, but rather as a journey, an ongoing exodus out of the closed inward-looking self towards its liberation through self-giving, and thus toward authentic self-discovery and, indeed, the discover of God.”

I was reading about it in the paper and was thinking how what he was saying was so deep and beautiful. I had gotten some flack from people about the artwork having some nudity. I don’t like confrontation. But when I read the quote from the Pope I felt complete peace about it. It was a sign.

PCP: Given the Pope's latest bad press, he could use some help. Would you consider being a musical envoy?

Sara Hickman: You know what, I find it completely ironic that the Pope would be seen in a bad light. The fact that he stated several times, "...and I quote" before he read about Mohammed and the sword reference made it quite clear to me that he was not condoning anything, but sharing an historical reference. The part that makes me so angry is that the level of violence that can follow a quote only seems to me to compound the reality of it. I don't think the Pope should have apologized. I think he should have said, "Let's start a dialogue. Let's explore the differences in our religions without violence and hatred. Let's find the common ground--our deep passion for God and how we can bridge the gaps."

How sad our world has become that now we are having fear guide our conversations. Our courage must overcome this fear or the terrorists have won.  And I am not referring only to the extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, but to the Bush administration, and the deep right wing fundamentalist Christians and Jews, as well.

Bill Clinton told interviewer Tim Russert that the biggest problem confronting the world today is the illusion that our differences matter more than our common humanity.

PCP: You’re a very spiritual person and that comes out in the album.

Sara Hickman: “Motherlode” has references to different religions and spirituality. I sing a song about Jesus in one of the songs, God in another, and on the cover is an Indian couple in what they consider to be a very sacred act. They just don’t consider it sexual like we do in Western culture. There’s this blending on the album about religions and spiritual thought.

PCP: The album also has such a yin and yang quality…

Sara Hickman: We think of male and female, light and dark, and my musings can go from euphoric to completely depressed and sad. A lot of that has to do with the world’s problems, in particular the suffering of children and women, all this war and confusion. I can go into this heightening sense of loving my family, community, and husband. I can feel great peace just sitting with my dog, Lucky, lying in my hammock. I just wanted to talk about those two swings of the brain and the heart. With “Motherlode,” you can choose your mood and choose your disk.

PCP: Tell me about your collaborators.

I have Mitch Watkins on guitar, Eddy Hobizal on keys, Steve Zirkel on bass. I have a new backup singer called Lori Singer. I produced all the songs except for three. My collaborators include Paul Fox, who has worked with The Wallflowers and others. He produced “Birdhouse,” the first song on the happy CD. He’s a great man, I loved working with him. He heard my concept and was raring to go. I also got to work with David Sanchez, Jerry Mirada, and Tony Levin. On “Two Days Today,” I got to work with Shawn Colvin—she came down to sing with me and that was really cool. The other producer is Courtney Audain and he worked on “Enuf” which is a song by Nina Singh and Mark Addison. I’m a big admirer of theirs, I think they’re great songwriters. I always loved that song but I want more of a jangley, hip-hop thing so I went to Courtney. I worked on “Stupid Love” with my cohort and co-songwriter Phil Parlapiano. He and Bill Bonk are The Brothers Figaro and they tour with John Prine. Phil’s really great—he worked on my album, “Two Kinds of Laughter.”

PCP: I see Adrian Belew is back—how did ya’ll meet? (Ed. note: Hickman’s 1998 album “Two Kinds of Laughter” was produced by Belew).

Sara Hickman: I asked to have him play on "Necessary Angels" in 1994, and he said "yes," and invited Tony Levin to come play, as well. He's a very funny guy...I introduced him to "Ren and Stimpy", cuz it was all the rage back then. So, in between takes, we'd watch episodes and laugh our heads off.

PCP: Tell me about “Mother’s Little Helper.”

Sara Hickman: I wanted to approach that song from a woman’s point of view. I was think very high anxiety, as if Mel Brooks had produced it. I didn’t recall ever hearing a woman do that song. It wanted my version to be this kind of slinky, hip hop, a little drug addicted. I sang close to the mike and did my harmonies in a snaky kind of way. Danny Levin did a great string arrangement and David Grissom did some spooky electric guitar. I was really shocked when I revisited the lyrics. Given what women are going through these days, balancing work and home life, the song seems so appropriate. That was one of my favorite tracks to work on, I really liked working on it.

PCP: Tell me about your own record label, Sleeveless. You had been through the ringer with label problems.

Sara Hickman: I’ve had my own label since I began doing the children’s CDs. It’s called Sleeveless because when I was growing up, I’d ride my bike to the store and buy vinyl. I’d pull out the record then I’d read the linear notes, which was the most exciting part. I wanted to see who produced, who played on it, what the lyrics said, and all the history of the album almost as much as listening to the music. I miss that feeling when I get a CD. It’s also called Sleeveless because I’m rolling up my sleeve. I’m also a businesswoman. I’m not getting into Wal Mart because of the artwork, but I’m at Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Virgin. It’s a big coup for me and I’m very excited. I think this is a time when artists can retain their masters and get distribution deals without having to HAVE THEIR MUSIC OWNED IN PERPETUITY BY THE MAJOR LABELS.

PCP: What about the Concert for Bangladesh and Trish Murphy?

Sara Hickman: Yes, I was a  part of that...Trish Murphy and I worked up "Here Comes the Sun"....and the interesting thing I'd like to point out is that we were the only women singers on the bill! (As front women). It was a terrific event, and I was honored to be a part of it.
Darin Murphy is a genius.

PCP: How did Kerrville, the Austin City Limits festival, and your tour of the East Coast go?

Sara Hickman: Kerrville was festive, as always. My favorite part was leading the gathering of songwriters to share songs with one another on Saturday afternoon.

ACL was fast...I was on the children's stage and they only give us 20 minute slots..of course, I played 30 minutes cause I don't wear a watch, so I hope I'm not in the dog house.

Tour....I leave this Wed. morning to play Philadelphia, Maryland, Virginia and DC. Hopefully, the tour will kick off some interest in my music and I'll be able to sell some Motherlodes. And I'll be able to find some good tchochkes for the kids!