A new year means a whole new roster for The Zone’s Band of the Month, and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of the program again.
2022 is filled with a new energy, and we couldn’t think of a better fit than singer/songwriter Sarah Osborne. Known for her nomadic nature, lush vocals and storied songwriting, Sarah Osborne falls into several genres including folk, alternative rock and, we dare say it, pop. Osborne is backed by her infamous band, The Magic Buttons, made up of guitarist Chris Lloyd, bassist Travis Charuk, pedal steel-er Tyler Lieb, and drummer Michael Wilford.
Unfortunately, due to several extreme weather events, ferry traffic, and myriad other complications, we were unable to do our video interview with Sarah Osborne. This meant Tyson Elder had to dust off his keyboard and chat with Sarah through electronic post.
Tyson Elder: It’s hard to believe we’re already starting a new year of Band of the Month with The Zone. I want to be the first to say congratulations to you as the first for 2022!
Sarah Osborne: Thank you! It’s an honour.
TE: Your Band of the Month single, Fire Moon, is arguably one of your catchiest tunes. It’s a true earworm. Could you tell me a little about the songwriting process of the song?
Sarah: It’s nice to hear that Fire Moon has blossomed into a catchy tune. The melody first came to me years ago late one night at Arts Wells Festival under a full fiery moon. I got my friends to sing it with me over and over so I wouldn’t forget it. At the time, there was this eerie smoky haze everywhere inside and out. We have loved it and massaged it over the years, but it wasn’t until this latest recording that it found solid place in the song kingdom.
TE: So far you’ve released two EPs, The Heat and The Wind, as part of your Seasons project. How did this project come about and what’s the plan once you finish both the winter and spring EPs?
Sarah: The Seasons project is, I feel, one of my greatest ideas ever. I am old-school, with a preference towards releasing a whole album rather than the popular single drop as of late. The initial spark for this project came from Chris Brandt, my instructor for the Music Business class I was taking with BCIT. He brought up an idea of releasing mini albums in a series and then putting them together as one big final album at the end.
I had the songs and, as I am highly inspired by the weather and the natural world, it was an easy task to sort them into different elements. It’s been a wild experience. Seasons is a project of limitations and making art in collaboration for the love of it. I feel very much like I have been in school the last year as I have learned so much about the beautiful and complex process of putting music into the world.
The plan once we finish is to sit back for a minute and take a deep breath and pat ourselves on the back. I find us artists need to pause and reflect on our achievements more often. I’ll meet up with the fellas and celebrate and then get back to work. Perhaps a nice big release party? Then we tour it, and of course start working on the next album.
TE: You’ve been working with Victoria-based producer Neil James Cooke-Dallin from Astrocolor on the Seasons EPs. How has the process been working with him on this new music?
Sarah: I saw Astrocolor perform in the before times and was totally entranced by Neil’s energy and his sparkle coat. “I want to be friends with that guy someday,” I thought to myself. Many things led to another and here we are nearly ¾ of the way through this project tying up the Winter EP.
Neil is a gentleman and a wizard – he is kind, honest, highly intelligent, efficient, diplomatic, understanding and supportive of women in this industry, and shares my love of pastries and good food. He has been an exceptional person to work with, and not only does he provide and engineer the studio, he also offers wonderful production notes that correlate beautifully with the vision and sees the songs through to their final stage. He has also been brave enough to take on this wild project of limitations with us and I have felt his enthusiastic commitment and excellent communication from the beginning.
We have worked on these recordings through pandemic, heat domes, floods, snow, and protests. The band and I have found great comfort, solace, and inspiration inside Burning Rainbow Studio and I feel Neil has indeed become a friend.
TE: Let’s talk about the Magic Buttons. They are your all-star band made up of Chris Lloyd, Tyler Lieb, T-Rav and Michael Wilford. How did you put the roster together?
Sarah: I love the story of how we met. They have all come to me in different ways, and we’ve seen each other in many evolutions, but I’m very happy and so blessed to have the four talented men that stand with me on stage today.
I moved back to Victoria from the woods 4 years ago, ready to dive into my music. I’d never really had a band before, and I imagined up my dream scenario: a group of invested, passionate, and professional people, whom I could trust with my most valued and vulnerable resource – my songs. I had absolutely no idea how to get that. Turns out, all I needed was an intention and some time . . .
Michael Wilford came to me first in 2018. I met him at a BC Touring Council workshop, and he approached excitedly after my little showcase and asked if I’d be interested in working together. He took my number and he has been inspiring and uplifting me ever since.
A few months later, Chris Lloyd (guitar) was on a plane home from England watching a random French television show about the various music scenes across Canada. I happened to be on the episode about Victoria and he thought to himself “that girl needs a band!” He reached out and we hit it off instantly. Our music and vision brainstorming sessions and have yet to cease.
I met some great friends over the years at the Blues Workshop on Hornby and one fella could not stop talking about Tyler. “You HAVE to meet Tyler!” We ended up meeting up to jam and kept playing together, little duo things here and there, a pure joy to be around. He would sit in for Chris sometimes. With his taking off on pedal steel we added him as a 4th official member this year.
I knew Travis’s art before I knew him. We met at the Woodstove Festival that Michael and I played. You’ll see his beautiful work on my 2019 album “She Rows.” When my first bass player moved to Vancouver, Travis stepped up, having been a friend of the band for a while. He has an amazing attitude and talent, and a fabulous gold sparkle coat. The deal was sealed.
The Magic Buttons are a band and chosen family and some of my favourite people. They bring my songs to a whole new level and support me with an energy I have never felt before in my life. I am BLESSED!
TE: When we did our Band of the Month photo shoot last month you had just finished recording the winter EP only an hour earlier. When can we expect to hear new music?
Sarah: Yes! We are just in the finessing moments; I am going to be listening to some mixes later today actually. Stay tuned, we will be dropping some teasers and new tracks in the very near future!
TE: I know you thrive as a live performer and put on an immensely dynamic concert with your band. How have you coped with not being able to tour much over the past couple years? Do you have plans to tour later this year?
Sarah: I really appreciate you saying that, performing is very much my lifeblood and it’s been hard to be doing it less. Though truthfully I have been performing as much as I can and have had some great successful shows in the past couple of years. I feel the circuit of small towns and intimate venues that I have built over the years has sustained me in these times. Also switching my focus to learning more about the business aspect and recording process were great coping mechanisms.
I do love the road and have been daydreaming of the perfect Magic Buttons vehicle. We are certainly planning on playing some festivals and there is a vision of a solo spring tour in the Maritimes as well. Europe is also on my radar! It’s so difficult in this climate, but we must keep going the best we can and adapt as we go
TE: As always it has been a pleasure chatting with you, Sarah. Thank you and congratulations once again on being the first Zone Band of the Month for the 2022 season.
Sarah: Thank you so much Tyson, we are stoked to start off 2022 as Band of the Month and see you soon!
Tune in to The Zone @ 91-3 this January to hear Sarah Osborne’s single, Fire Moon. You can also find two more songs on her Band of the Month microsite including a ripper cover of 54-40’s One Day.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.