North America is on the verge of discovering the talent that Europe has embraced for over a decade. Sarah Bettens and her former band K's Choice have seen gold and platinum success with their albums, written hit singles like "Not An Addict," and "Almost Happy," and graced the stages at some of Europe's biggest festivals with crowds in the tens of thousands. But the tides have turned as Sarah has grown as an artist and an individual. Her need to create music on her own inspired her to venture into a solo career. On her quest to win over North America, unforeseen obstacles and the difficulties that can come from launching a new career have become a reality, but with the support from family and friends, the journey is turning out to be the adventure of a lifetime. With the grass roots principles of rock and roll in mind, an empowered Sarah Bettens has proved herself ready to take on the challenge. Touring with only a few assistants, her guitar, and a makeshift merchandise table, the creation of her new career has been an eye opener for not only her fans, but for the artist as well. Sarah Bettens is well known for her hauntingly beautiful vocal style that encompasses listeners, like your favorite pair of worn-in jeans, with different shades and textures that make them uniquely your own. Her new album, Scream, provides listeners with a profound view into her heart and peers into a mind-set of her newly found self, while pushing the genre boundaries by blending rock and pop in such a way never thought possible.
Your work with K's Choice was incredible! It has spoken to millions of people. You've gone gold, you've gone platinum; such huge success. What is it like now without K's Choice, and launching your solo career?
It’s been a great, great ride, I mean, from the beginning to the recording process being so different and fun and to now, playing with Kurt, my guitar player, the two of us doing the acoustic thing, and having a brand new band when doing the festivals in Europe, everything has been really intense, kind of, but in a good way. Nothing but positive really, it’s really weird to explain because it’s not like I have to get rid of my brother. I am playing in Belgium in a couple of days and he is coming to sing a couple of songs with me and we're going to South Africa together in October and obviously there are no problems between us but there was something about doing it by myself that was just going to, that I was hoping was going to make me feel like I am starting over, like its all new again.
It's really empowering!
Right, that's exactly what it is. That's the word I was looking for, that I haven't, I am going to use it in the next interview! It is like, alright, I can do this, I can do this by myself and I can start from scratch and decide who to work with and write songs and you know, make all those decisions and be totally fine. I am so proud of it and so excited!
How did your brother (member of K's Choice) react to this?
I don't even remember whether he made this decision or I did. He made a solo record too and it’s coming out in Europe in October. He is really excited too; he's got a brand new band. I think for him it was kind of the same thing, like there was some routine creeping in there after all that time, 11 years or something, it’s like alright, we've done that before. Everyone's life within K's Choice changed at a different pace. You might be in one and the same mind set when you start out, but people grow in different directions and different speeds and I really didn't feel, and I see this much more clearly now then I did when I actually made the decision, that we weren't all at the same place anymore. It really felt like the right time.
What was the deciding factor in doing this (a solo career)?
Really needing something to change. It was at a time in my life when other things weren't right and I think maybe if that weren't the case I wouldn't have been able to make this decision, but I really felt like I need to change something in my life and all of a sudden I got so excited to think about that, like I'm going to do something else. It’s really the only factor that was playing at that time, like I need to do something different. It’s not like I wasn't able to make the music I wanted to make with K's Choice or creatively I felt stifled or whatever; that was never a problem. I was just like “I need a change of pace. It has got to be something different, and a change of scenery." And it worked! It totally did!
How have other artists been supportive of you, because I know you have done work with the Indigo Girls before, and how did they feel about your solo career?
Amy (Indigo Girls) has done solo stuff; Emily (Indigo Girls) is going to make a solo record this year. I think they are excited for me too, you know, they kind of know what its like to always be part of this entity and then just go out on your own and try something new. They love the record, they're very supportive. I got to do two shows with them which was great.
I saw your video for Not Insane, and I loved your images of George W. Bush, and I totally appreciate politically active material. Are you fearing any backlash from that?
You know, that video was made initially for Europe and in Europe, no one is going to care. And here, more and more I want to get involved in that kind of stuff and I have always had a strong opinion about things and I have never been afraid to speak my mind but I guess I didn't always feel ready to do it in my songs and now I am getting to that point where I've got some things I want to throw on the table and the backlash of it, of saying things about Bush or being out is just going to have to come with it. I can't 'not' do that, so it’s not even an option. So fearing the backlash is just like being afraid of something that is bound to happen. I have to be who I am so there you go, and I am going to have to deal with whatever the consequences are.
When you are on the road, do you find yourself writing songs?
I do! I write kind of always, when I'm home, on the road. Home has gotten a little harder now that I live with two kids. I don't really get the five hour stretch that I used to, to write. But I write all the time and I am already writing for the next record, and have just gotten two songs done. So any chance I get, at any time.
In terms of the song writing process, when with K's Choice, was it a collaborative process?
No, my brother and I always wrote separately. We would come together when the song was finished and one of us would say something like, “I think you should double that chorus," or, "That chord doesn't really fit in there." They were just really minor changes. Once we are comfortable with that, then we get the band involved, and put the song together, but the actual writing was always one of us.
I have heard some stories about groups coming together and all working at the same time.
It’s hard to imagine; I have done some co-writes for my solo record and I had never done that before and so that was a new experience for me and it was all with complete strangers except my producer (I wrote a song with him too), but every other person was someone I had never met before. We would meet at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and by 7 o'clock we would have a song. It was very, "That is what you are going to do today." It was actually great for me, that I was kind of forced to be creative during this place and there is nothing else you can do. The writer is right there, your guitar is right there, so you might as well write. It actually really inspired me. Most of the time I just sit by myself and try to get something going and if I don't, then do it the next day, and the next day; I cannot write for a month, and then all of a sudden get really inspired and write two songs in three days. It just depends.
How do you think K's Choice fans are going to feel about your solo career?
So far, in Europe they have been awesome. It’s been really great. Very supportive, very happy that I am happy and having a good time. They are happy the record is out and they can finally hear what I have been doing all this time. Nothing but good things really. People are wondering if K's Choice is ever coming back together, that kind of stuff, but I really feel like everyone followed me and it was not a hard transition for them, so it has been great.
How would you describe the new album to somebody who has never heard K's Choice, never heard any of your work before?
This is such a hard question. I like to say that I think it is rock and roll in the sense of the heart that is behind it. Someone said that to me and I thought that I am going to use that because that is how I want to describe it. It’s just me. There is some soft, intimate stuff on there, some poppy stuff on there, some more rock-alternative stuff too. It is all things I love to listen to, things I love to make all smashed together in what I hope is a pretty homogenous record. But just different flavors, like the different parts of your personality, different parts of your day; your ups and downs all in one. Its all me; what I am thinking, what I like, what I do, what I don't like, what I fear, and no other concept than that behind it.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope doing this still. Making my third solo record or making a 6th K's Choice record, and still touring, still going. Ten years? That is a different question. Maybe still doing the same thing. I will have to see if I still have the drive the I feel right now but I hope in five years I am still just loving it and plowing away.
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