Last Call

Sarah Borges, singer-songwriter

Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Many of us felt the pressure to be productive during lockdown — to emerge from isolation with something to show for it. We all had a lockdown goal — whether it be learning a new skill, getting in shape or the completion of a hitherto unfinished project. Singer-songwriter Sarah Borges was no different, and despite COVID mandates and remote working, she was able to complete her latest album, "Together Alone." It went on sale Feb. 18 on Spotify, iTunes and other streaming services. Borges, who will be performing at The Bull Run in Shirley on April 29, sat down with Last Call to talk about her latest album, recording during lockdown and how her music has evolved over her 20-year career.

Have the topics that you write about changed over the course of your career?

As I’ve gone down the path of life, positive experiences like becoming a parent or negative ones like getting a divorce or alcohol abuse have all happened to me and they have certainly found their way into my songwriting. I think I used to be more biographical and create characters in a song but now that I’m older, I’m more autobiographical.

Tell me the difference in a songwriting perspective — it sounds like you’re using the term biographical a little differently than in a literary sense.

By biographical, I just create a character and write about them. An example would be, I have a song called, "Me and Your Ghost." It’s about a girl going out on the town, looking to find love. When I wrote that, it wasn’t about me, it was just me thinking about a character. But on the new record, there’s a song called, "She’s a Trucker." During the pandemic, I had to get another job driving delivery and that song is about my experience being a “lady truck driver.” The record really varies but it leans more heavily on my own experiences, now that I’m a little bit older.

Which do you prefer writing?

When you’re looking for song writing topics, it’s easy to create stories. Some of the best songs are story songs. Springsteen is a great example of that, he really paints an excellent picture. But some of the most confessional and autobiographical songs — like Hank Williams, who really wrote from the heart — are those that resonate with a lot of people and those are the ones that we treasure. I’m not sure which one is easier to write but both are important.

Sounds like the pandemic created some art for you?

Yeah, it did. Part of the reason we called the album "Together Alone" is we recorded much of the record during the lockdown remotely. Our goal was to make it sound like we were a band all together in person in a studio but because of what was happening, that wasn’t an option. I was able to write songs both about the pandemic and other things during lockdown and I’m grateful that I was able to be productive during that time.

How did you overcome that challenge, making it sound like you were playing music together?

I can’t say enough about the man who produced our record — Eric Ambel. He’s had a great career as a guitar player as well as a producer and he had the knowledge of how to make it work, so we could make it sound like we were all together. You’ll notice that when you stream "Together Alone," I’m not the only artist listed there, he is too because he was so instrumental in making it work.

What are some other songs directly inspired by the pandemic experience?

The first song is called "Wasting My Time," and it’s just like it sounds. I felt like I was wasting my time, it was getting into summer of the first year of the lockdown. I felt like maybe we weren’t going to be making music for a while, so I was concerned about financial issues because we weren’t working. I tried to organize my thoughts into a song and it’s exactly how I felt during that situation. But there are other songs, I think everyone did a little self reckoning during the pandemic. There’s another song called "13th Floor," which is me examining how I used to be. Much more wild and crazy and abusive to my body and making bad choices — things that I’m still processing now after I have six years of sobriety from alcohol. That was another topic that I addressed in an in-depth way on the record.

What powered that transition from biographical to autobiographical?

As a parent, I’m trying to teach my child to be as open and honest with the people that they care about. I felt, when I was writing the record, what the hey, I’m just going to say how I feel and it’s really connected with people in a way that I didn’t expect. It’s not about baring your soul, it’s about articulating what you and possibly many other people feel. It’s about connecting with humans and it’s something I love.

I know during lockdown, people were just desperate for connection, and artists really played a big role in bringing them together.

Yeah! Even when we would do live-stream shows during lockdown, it would almost make you cry because you could see the chat of people logging on to watch you play. There were people from all over the place — everyone was saying hello and how they missed each other — it was beautiful.

Who were you under lockdown with?

It was just me and my 10-year-old son — I share custody with his dad. We did remote schooling which was very hard and made me appreciate teachers so much more than I already did. We didn’t see anyone for at least the first six months because my family is a little bit older and more at risk. One of the things that I felt keenly was more of a responsibility to try my best at writing this record. Playing music on tour means time away from my son and that’s hard. If I was going to make another record, I wanted to make it worth it. It just made me dive deeper into being a parent.

Was it fun to get back on tour after the lockdown?

It was! Certainly there were concerns about safety. We started going out in August and had to do a fair amount of negotiating with clubs about mask mandates or vaccines only and I’m very supportive of that.

Who has inspired or influenced your work?

I often ask myself that too. I look at people like Bonnie Raitt who has had a wonderful career and still continues to do so, but really didn’t have the success she deserved until she was a little bit older. I like that because I have been at this for a long time and that kind of example really does speak to me. There’s sort of an Americana genre and a lot of that has to do with people like Eric Ambel, who produced this last record, but also like the Yayhoos, The Georgia Satellites and RBQ, whose drummer played on our record. These are all bands that make the music that I love and even though they’re older than me, by sometimes a generation, they’re still making music and that’s what I hope to do.

What stands out to you most about your evolution as an artist?

This is my eighth record. I can trace the path of my life from someone who’s writing music for a band to someone who has done some solo work, to someone who has just had a baby. I’m amazed at how long it’s been yet how short it feels.

For more information on Sarah Bores, visit https://sarahborges.com/

Sarah Borges – singer and songwriter. Her latest album, “Together Alone,” is now available and she will perform at The Bull Run in Shirley on April 29.

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