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The question I wanted to ask
Sara Hickman but didn't was, "So when do you sleep?" Because with all things Hickman does on a regular basis, it seems like the answer might be, "Every other Thursday between 2 and 3 AM in months with the letter 'e'." It starts out with the music -- she's been recording and touring for nearly a quarter-century (I always loved her debut
Equal Scary People) and making music for families, starting with the release of
Newborn in 1999, followed by
Toddler and
Big Kid. But in addition to that she paints, advocates, and for those of us who've met her, even briefly, is a force of nature for positivity.
Now she'll be spending the next year as the
Official Texas State Musician, using her musical bully pulpit to promote, among other things, making music as families through her
Family Time Rocks.
Aaaaaannnd, she found time to answer a few questions. Read on for more details on Family Time Rocks, her musical upbringing, and teaching her kids to sing in three-part harmony.
Zooglobble: What were your first musical memories?
Sara Hickman: My mom says I was singing before I was talking, humming little notes and melodies. But I distinctly remember sitting with my tape recorder, around age 6 or 7, and writing songs, making up commercials, creating skits a la Carol Burnett, recording and laughing myself silly. I also remember getting on stage at 7 or 8 and singing, for the first time, on a microphone (wow! -- it was an epiphany to be amplified!) and on stage, singing in a school contest and winning first place for the poem about the bald eagle (I was the only one to sing their entry). I recently found a RECORDING of me singing the song as a child on an old cassette!!!
When did you decide that you wanted to make making music your career?
I just always knew. I never thought about doing anything else, although I did have a huge interest in paleontology and becoming an underwater architect!
What prompted you record (and more importantly, release) your first kids' CD, Newborn?