Today, we have the pleasure of sitting down with an exciting talent – Kathy Sabol. With new music on the horizon, we’re thrilled to get an inside look at the creative process, inspirations, and what’s next for Kathy. Let’s dive in!
Your music has such a distinct vibe. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind your latest project and what fans can expect from it?
The inspiration for “The Great Divide” came from my own personal life, as well as friends and family members who have gone through relationship breakups or divorce. I also read a lot of self-help books and participated in “relationship support” groups and online forums. I’m no expert, but one thing I’ve learned is this: Every breakup hurts, even if it’s been a difficult relationship filled with drama. I believe that when we share our lives with other people, there is never a direct intention to hurt them. But we are all human beings who make mistakes. If we can get past our own egos to look in the mirror and deep into our hearts (and are able to recognize our own faults and how we may have contributed to the communication breakdown) and are willing to give and accept apologies, there is a real hope for reconciliation and repair of even the most painful situations.
Every artist has a unique creative process. How do you approach songwriting and production? Are there any particular rituals or habits that help you get into the creative zone?
My spiritual journal is a great source of inspiration. When I’m going through a rough time, I write about it, pray about it and seek advice from multiple counselors. Whether I am typing up an email to an old friend, pouring out my feelings into a special notebook in cursive, sending a digital reminder to myself on my phone or just dictating some voice memos, it’s important to capture the emotion as soon as possible, so that it can be cleared. I also love to take long walks in nature as a way to connect with God and my own heart. It is often during these moments that I will start hearing a melody or maybe the first couple lines of a chorus. Taking time to really listen to, and study, other people’s music is also a great way to get inspired to write your own. And all songwriters should keep a “hook book” of ideas, news stories, titles, or random phrases that catch your attention. You never know when someone’s comment from a Reddit thread will inspire your next hit song!
Collaboration is a big part of the music industry. Have you been working with any other artists or producers on this new project? If so, how has that experience influenced your music?
I cannot give enough praise to the people I’ve collaborated with on “The Great Divide”. Most of these relationships were coordinated by my producer, Vincent Byrne, who also performed the male vocals on the CD. He only planned to do scratch vocals, but after hearing the tone of his voice and depth of emotion he brought to those songs, I asked him to do the final versions. I was later introduced to Kate Denman as a potential female lead vocalist, and was happy to learn that she would be interested in recording them. I enjoy singing, but she is professionally trained and was able to take the songs to a much higher level than I ever could. And I am ever grateful to Jay Hassler, who did all of the strings for this project. Originally, I was only going to use strings for some of the slower tracks, but his arrangements elevated each song so much that I wanted to have strings on every one! Of course, that didn’t always make sense, creatively, but I think at least 10 of the songs have them. Jay even composed an original instrumental piece for the project.
What’s one of the most surprising or challenging things you’ve learned along the way?
How LONG it takes to create a full CD like this! We began in April, 2022 with scratch vocals for the first 4 songs. The final mastering of all 16 songs was completed in May, 2024. Many of the tracks that landed on the CD were written during this two year period, and in fact, some of the earlier songs that I worked on ended up being held back because the project took a new direction thematically midstream. You have to be willing to “go with the flow” when interruptions happen to your plans (as nothing ever goes as smoothly as intended) and when you are investing your time, money, and effort into something, you want it to be the very best it can be, even if takes longer than initially expected. I totally understand now why my favorite artists can take 2-3 (or more) years between projects (and many of them are also doing tours in between, which I am not). So, to all music fans everywhere, please be patient with the process! Every writer, composer, musician, and singer wants to put out the very best product we can, according to our available resources. I think I may shift to just releasing singles for a while (or an EP), after this.
Thank you so much, Kathy. for taking the time to chat with us today. It’s been amazing to hear about your journey and the exciting new music you have in the works. We’re all eagerly anticipating what’s next for you, and we know your fans are too. Best of luck with everything, and we can’t wait to hear the new tracks!
And thank YOU. Now that the full CD is out, to keep the momentum going, I will be releasing fresh music videos for each of the songs on YouTube channel (and my website) every 2-3 weeks till the end of the year. By then, we should have a new single ready for release after the holidays.
Follow Kathy Here:
Instagram: @KathySabolMusic
Website: kathysabolmusic.com