Local singer-songwriter Sara Brown has a heart as big as her voice.
Though she is grateful for every opportunity music has given her, she hopes to someday write a hit song to send her parents on a paid vacation. “They’ve paid for my music lessons when things were tight growing up, and they made every concert,” Brown said. “They’re still my wings.”
Growing up in southern Oregon, Brown discovered her love for singing and performing early in life. She was raised in a musical family and grew up hearing stories and seeing pictures of her grandparents, who served in the military, performing with music legends such as Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson during the USO tours.
In addition to her solo act, Brown performs with her husband as a duo called Rusty and Ginger – the two are both redheads. Sara is also the lead singer for the Sara Brown Band, recently featured on the Fox 28 “Good Day Gotta Hear This” show. The full band has five members including Brown herself, the lead vocalist, her husband, the bassist, Brent Purvis, who plays trombone, Brendan Cesarotto, the drummer, and Mellad Abeid, the electric guitarist.
Q. How would you describe your sound?
A. I usually tell people that we’re a rhythm and blues band. There’s a lot of blues fans … people love that, but we also write a lot of our own music. We have a lot of originals and we have a little bit of jazz and little bit of swing a lot of soul influence. I love the greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, so you’re going to hear those kind of influences when we play music. Those are some of my women I look up to.
Q. What styles of music or musical artists do you take inspiration from?
A. Etta James is one of my favorites. I love Billie Holiday. I love Beth Hart; she is awesome. She is just one of my favorites. I actually got to open for her in Spokane, and that was just a dream come true because I love her so much.
Q. What would be your dream venue to play?
A. I have always wanted to play the Grand Ole Opry, I think probably because of my grandparent’s influence and just the pictures of them singing with the greats. I think that would be incredible. I also think it would also be incredible to play an arena because I haven’t done that yet … I think I would love that. I don’t get nervous; I love a crowd. I love the music so much that I don’t usually get the butterflies. I just want to get up there and sing, it’s my favorite.
Q. What are the biggest challenges and biggest rewards of playing music?
A. I think one of them is battling negativity. It’s really competitive work and I’m a small town girl … I just tend to be one of those people that wears my heart on my sleeve. I think sometimes as a performer you have to have a soft heart and thick skin and that’s really challenging because you’re just going to get people that are nasty… My music may not be for everybody, but my music is for me and anybody who wants to listen. It’s a lot of vulnerability and also taking some hits and being OK with that. I think that’s probably a big one as far as challenges go.
For me, music brings me so much joy; it’s such a release every time I get to play music… That energy just kind of bounces around the room and it’s really beautiful. That’s my favorite thing about music is that it’s universal. It doesn’t matter what language or what place you’re in. It touches hearts and excites people … I think (the most rewarding part is) the emotion of it. That part when your heart is effected and everybody is moved, and it’s just really powerful and totally rewarding. I think also when people sing the lyrics to my songs, my originals, that’s really powerful too. That touches me.
Q. What are your favorite songs to perform or which songs appear to be crowd favorites?
A. They love our song called “.44 & ’55” and that is just a super fun song. It’s off of our album called “44&55” It’s got a little bit of jazz, little bit of swing, and it’s definitely a dancing song. We’re definitely a dancing band; we love to get everybody dancing and we will just dance with them the whole night… Our other really popular ones are “Pretty Penny Shoes.” It’s kind of like a women’s anthem, if you will. It’s really about powerful women. Also, “Top Shelf Woman,” people seem to really like.
Q. Do you have any passions or hobbies other than music?
A. I’m a really creative, energetic person so I love to do so many things. I love to dance; I’ve been taking dance lessons in Spokane and that has been awesome … I’ve been taking country swing and that is just a blast … I also love to can. I love to make things like jam and jelly … I love to play with my kids and take them for walks. We like to go for hikes and that’s fun. We live in a beautiful area; Kettle Falls, Washington is gorgeous … My house overlooks the Columbia River and we’re surrounded by the evergreen trees and the river and we live right next to the orchards … It’s just totally inspiring.
Q. What advice do you have for any other locals who might be interested in pursuing music or starting a band?
A. My advice for people who want to get in to music is for them to join the music scene in their area, and that is actually really easy to do. You can get online and find out about open mics or open jam sessions … That’s really how my band came together … I really encourage people that are interested in music to get involved. Play at open mics, play at open jams. Just get up there meeting other musicians because that’s how you find who you have common ground with and who you’re going to really love playing music with in the long run.
