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Charming, Cool and Catholic
A Catholic Music Spotlight with Sarah Hart, Into These
Rooms
By Lisa M. Hendey
As a fan and reviewer of Catholic music, I am pretty broad
minded when it comes to listening tastes. I'm equally at
home with liturgical "covers", chant, or a hip-hop priest.
But I know I have a winner on my hands when I pop a CD into
my car stereo and my thirteen year old son doesn't
automatically start whining. Based on this criteria, the
latest CD from Catholic recording artist Sarah Hart is sure
to be a winner.
With her upbeat lyrics, musicianship and a faith that shines
through in every song, Sarah Hart manages to bridge the
generation gap between mother and son in my home. Sarah and
her family live and work in Nashville's music industry and
she writes and records between her primary vocations as wife
and mother.
Sarah Hart shared the following on this latest CD,
Into These Rooms, and her
take on Catholic music and her faith:
Q: Sarah Hart, Catholic musician and mom of two,
congratulations on the recent release of your new CD,
Into These Rooms and thanks for your participation
in this Catholic Music Spotlight interview. Could you please
tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hart: Thanks! And thanks for having me here. Well, I
grew up in Lancaster, Ohio (central Ohio). I went to
Catholic schools grades 1-12, and graduated from the Ohio
State University with a degree in Music Theory & Composition
(and still can't believe I made it out alive, let alone with
a degree!). I've been married for eleven years to my awesome
husband, Kevin, and I have two beautiful (yeah, I'm biased)
daughters who are two and four. We live in Nashville, TN. My
husband works in the music industry as well. When I'm not
writing, or traveling, or being mommy, or cooking, or
cleaning something or someone (which doesn't leave much
time, huh?), I'm a closet artist and poet wannabe.
Q: Sarah, as a Catholic musician, how has your faith
journey impacted upon your creative process and your music?
Hart: Faith can not help but impact every part of
life. If we are people of faith, I really believe that it
shows...as a musician, I guess that fact that I am always on
this "seekers journey", if you will, just makes itself
evident. I'm honestly never trying to push my faith in my
music, or judge how I think others should see things;
rather, I'm choosing to write what I know, from my own
perspective in life (which includes my faith!)...and somehow
my journey is universal. Others can see my walk in their
own, too, I think, and vice versa. That's part of what makes
being a writer so cool...you think you're being so finite,
writing and singing about your own little universe; when in
actuality, you are affirming others who are moving parallel.
(sorry, I just got through watching a Nova special about
"String Theory"...getting in over my head!)
Q: Into These Rooms features thirteen original
compositions, each a work of art in its own right. As a
songwriter, how do you translate emotion and spirit into
song? Where do your ideas come from and how do you capture
them in lyrics?
Hart: You know, ideas are a funny thing. They just
come when they want to, and usually for me they happen at
such random times...driving, reading, changing a diaper,
playing "Hi-Ho-Cherry-O" for the fortieth time...sometimes
even in my sleep. I just can never tell. I try to be very
proactive about writing ideas down the minute they happen;
if I don't, I can pretty much guarantee that they'll be
gone. Mommydom will do that for you...help you forget a LOT!
:) As for capturing them in lyric...that's a bit trickier.
Let me just say this; I usually spend time on a lyric. I
almost always read over and over and over it before I am
satisfied. I've even been known to change a word or two in
the midst of recording vocals. So I guess my heart just
knows when it is "right". And, I've been doing this writing
thing for a while...there truly is no substitute for lots of
practice.
Q: I was touched by many of the songs on Into These
Rooms, but as a mom, "For a Little While" is one of my
favorites. Could you tell us a bit about this song? Do you
have a favorite song on the disk, or one that you
particularly enjoy singing?
Hart: Yes, this song is pretty special to me, too. I
came home one night after a long day in the studio, when I
was making "Live It". I got home just in time for my mom,
who was visiting, to hand me the already warmed bottle for
Evie (my youngest, who was about eight months at the time).
I took her into the nursery, sat in the rocker with her, and
gave her the bottle while I sang to her. As she was falling
asleep in my arms, my heart felt so heavy...all I could
think was "I can't believe I missed a whole day, a WHOLE
DAY, with my little baby". It broke my heart...and I just
started writing the lullaby, right there, with her in my
arms. I finished it over the next two days. I remember
sobbing as I typed up the last verse lyric on my computer,
and then again when I was trying to sing it. It was awful!
(But hey, if you can't make 'em cry, you're doing something
wrong...). I also really love "My Evening Prayer", which I
wrote for my older daughter, Addie. She is such a restless
little spirit...the whole song is perfectly suited for her.
Actually, I'm very happy with the way the whole project came
out. Not sure if, from an artist standpoint, that's a good
or a bad thing!
Q: How do you balance the roles of mother and
musician?
Hart:I pray. A lot. And then I pray some more. It's
certainly not easy, but fortunately I had the world's
greatest mother, so I know what I'm supposed to do! And I
have a really terrific support system, too, in my husband.
He is so good about watching the girls while I am away.
Although reactions from other moms are hysterical..."you
mean he watches the kids? For a whole weekend? All by
HIMSELF?" I usually say "well, yes. You know, he IS
responsible for half of this!". I understand that it's not
easy for women to "trust" their hubbies with the kids (I'm
no exception!). I remember a friend of mine saying once, "It
took me a long time to figure out that he wasn't doing it
wrong, just doing it differently". It's so true!
OK, but about that balancing thing, I just pray. Before I
had my first baby, a friend of mine taught me how to juggle
(literally). That was a good precursor for working
motherhood. I also take my fair share of bubble baths.
Q: Could you please tell us a bit about Mercy Corps,
and your involvement with their work?
Hart: They are phenomenal. They do all the things
that I so want to do in my life. At this point I can
represent them and give money, but I hope and pray that the
time is coming when I can actually do some mission work with
them myself.
They have a passion for people, both home and abroad, who
are in the direst of situations. They work to provide people
with the basics, from clean water to food to shelter to
healthcare. They have been a force in assisting victims in
Southeast Asia following the Tsunami, and the refugees in
the Darfur region of Sudan, where there is a humanitarian
disaster of unfathomable proportions happening.
It is amazing how far an American dollar goes in most of the
third world countries. Mercy Corps has one of the highest
dollar-to-donation rates, with 91% going straight to those
in need and only 9% to the company for overhead. For those
of you who know how charitable organization finances work,
you know that's an astounding number. It is so good to be on
their team...I want the world to know about them, and the
great things they do. By the way, the web address is http://www.mercycorps.org.
If you've been seeking for a charity to become committed
to...this is it!
Q: I've read that your busy schedule includes singing
for World Youth Day 2005 in Germany. Wow! How do you prepare
for singing before large groups, and for a life experience
such as this? Do you have any previous concerts that really
stand out for you?
Hart: You know, they all stand out in their own way.
I am just so grateful to God that I get to sing...I don't
care where! (I've been known to sing the Barney theme song
at rest areas, and just yesterday sang the long version of
"Free", from Barbie's Princess and the Pauper, with Addie
while strolling through Target). I have to say, the bigger
audiences are much easier than the small ones. You can shout
your message, sing your songs, and thousands will cheer!
(though they may be cheering the fact that a moon-sized
beach ball just bounced overhead..) With smaller audiences,
things get more intimate, and you have to be much more
honest, much more vulnerable. But if you ask me which I
prefer, I'd say that small concert crowd...I love the
vulnerability thing. It lets people see the real you, with
all of your warts. That's a good, important, humbling thing.
Q: Who are some of your favorite Catholic musicians?
What hopes do you hold out for the future of the Catholic
music industry?
Hart: I LOVE
the Innocence Mission. I think their integrity and
honesty as musicians is amazing...they have held to who they
are. It's a rare thing in this crazy industry. Of course, my
fellow Spirit and Song folks I have to applaud, because they
all have something AMAZING going on. I also
think
Danielle Rose is such a fine musician and writer, with
some very important things to say. And, as far as the
Catholic contemporary music scene goes, we are headed
upward....definitely. I pray all the time that the Church
and her people will once again support her musicians,
artists, writers, as she once did so graciously. (we're
talking Michaelangelo's time here!...) It's starting to
happen. And, uh, artists like to eat. :)
Can I just say, though, that there are so many amazing
musicians out there! (Catholic or not...) When I am
listening to music, I can't judge who's behind it, or what
their own values are...rather, I make a real effort to use
listening as an opportunity to look into my own heart, to
find out how I interpret other people's art, and what that
means for my own walk. It's taken me a while to get there.
But listening and searching for what's true (for me!) has
become so much easier since I decided to start listening
that way.
Q: Sarah, congratulations again for the success of
this new CD. Are you working on any future projects you'd
like to share with us?
Hart: Yes...I think I am going to do a Christmas
record this year, and I am in talks about it with someone in
particular....if it comes to fruition, it will be VERY
exciting. VERY! And very cool. I'll keep you
posted...(sorry, can't say more than that)
Q: A huge thanks to Sarah Hart, Catholic singer and
songwriter, for your participation in this Catholic Music
Spotlight. Are there any closing thoughts you'd like to
share with our readers?
Hart: Absolutely! Love God. Be good mommies. Ask God
for help. Pray for your children. Pray for your children's
daddies. Pray for other families. Yes, you will make it to
18 (and 21, and 27, and 35.....). Changing diapers,
answering toddler questions, cleaning up after bath time,
helping with homework and hugging teenagers are prayers. Get
out of the house once in a while. Jesus loves you.
Lisa M. Hendey is
webmaster of
www.CatholicMom.com, a wife and mother of two and a
Catholic music fan and supporter. |