When Sarah Versprille met fellow musician Daniel Hindman during freshman orientation of college, she knew she wanted to be a singer but had been battling “horrible stage fright for so long.” The two became friends, bandmates and eventually romantic partners, a fact that isn’t widely publicized about their enchanting indie pop band Pure Bathing Culture (though anyone who registers the incredible artistic chemistry between the two shouldn’t be too surprised.) We got the full download from Versprille about how that all came about on this episode of Soul Sisters, recorded at NYC’s Chord Club, when the Portland-based band was in town for a show at Webster Hall.
“I’m really lucky because I have Dan, and if it wasn’t for our relationship and everything he brings to the table, emotionally and musically, I don’t know if I would have found my way,” Versprille admits. “I just love music so much and I’m so passionate about singing, and now about songwriting, but now it’s our relationship that keeps me on track.” Looking back on that early love for music, she describes how exposure in her childhood to the greats like Billie, Ella and Chet initially gave her the itch to become a jazz singer (“My parents were like, ‘Okay….’” she laughs), though the road wasn’t entirely easy after that.
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“When I tried to get onstage and sing with the jazz band in high school I had so much stage fright that I sounded terrible. It was awful,” she recalls. Luckily, with the help of time and the right collaborators, she fought through those growing pains long enough to finally settle into her own formidable talent that was waiting to be claimed, and which is on strong display in Pure Bathing Culture’s latest album, Pray for Rain.
“I’m 34 years old, I’m finally on my second record, finally getting onstage and feeling empowered, feeling like I deserve to be there,” she says with equal parts confidence and gratitude. And speaking of empowerment: yes, she is a huge fan of Beyonce’s Lemonade, which becomes a huge topic of debate in this episode.
“She came to slay,” Versprille declares of Beyonce. We’d like to think Bey would say the same about her.
Listen to the full conversation below, hosted by Parlour Tricks singer Darah Golub and Billboard’s Jessie Katz, and be sure to check out the live performance by Versprille and Hindman at the end of the episode. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Soul Sisters iTunes channel to keep up with all of our amazing guests!