Sabrina Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 11th 2010 9:00PM by Anna Scanlon
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Sabrina, who hails from Honolulu, has spent most of her life with music in some way. But it wasn't until her college boyfriend introduced her to the guitar that her solo career really began. Although her first full-length album, 'The Anomaly,' is in the beginning stages of recording, she's already garnered a following of fans through the release of the EP on iTunes. In anticipation of her stint at SXSW, the artist generously spent some time with Spinner to talk about her music and her childhood love of Christopher Reeve.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Someone once described it as folk steeped in a teapot of pop. It's kind of folksy, country and poppy. But it's my own sound. I like when people describe it to me.

How did your solo career begin?

When I was in college I had a college boyfriend who played guitar and skateboarded and I wanted to learn to do both. And I ended up being a better guitarist than skateboarder. I had been playing music since I was five and I just started writing songs. Friends would bug me to play and write. The guitar is a great instrument because it's so portable. And I take any opportunity I'm given to play.

What are your musical influences?

Nick Drake, for sure. I wrote alternate tunings of his songs for a while. He has an amazing voice and plays the guitar so well. I'm also a fan of Cat Power and Gemma Hayes.

What's your biggest vice?

The Internet [laughs].

Who was your first celeb crush?

This a great question! It's so embarrassing. I had the hugest crush on Christopher Reeve when I was a little girl. I thought he was the man.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I don't know if it's a guilty thing because she's so big now, but I love Beyonce.

Beatles or Stones?

I'm hands down more of a Beatles person.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

I haven't really toured too much yet. But I guess the craziest thing that happened to me was this time I played live in a club. It was really loud and I was opening for a band that is a completely different genre than I am. Only about five people were listening and this man just stood up and yelled at everyone to shut up and listen to me. I was so embarrassed. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, and then they started talking again.

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