Nashville Songwriter / Artist Sara Nelms
It was a quiet Sunday night when we met Sara Nelms. She looked a little tired, but still cute and collected, especially considering she had come right from her “day job”, as she calls it – showing somewhat of a real life manifestation of the frustration behind Clockin’ Out, her relatable and entertaining tune about the “pointless misery” of being somewhere due to obligations rather than desire. Despite this, with Sara around, there were still plenty of giggles and a lot of banter going on at our table.
Before the interview, I listened to all of Sara’s songs on her Myspace several times. As we got to know her throughout the night by means of her answers to our questions and casual conversation, I felt that she aligned perfectly with the character her music created in my mind. This was not only a relief to me, but it also made me realize what a special thing it is when an artist’s personality really shines through their music, rather than only offering somewhat catchy beats and lyrics the general public can relate to. When you feel like a little piece of the artist goes into a song, it attracts you. It’s an even better thing when they can do this on top of said catchy beats and good lyrics.
Although my experience was short and I can count the number of Sara’s songs I’ve heard on one hand, I feel like those small samplings represented all of those aforementioned things a person looks for in an artist. The fun, “I can’t help but dance a little to this!” style, the significant but simple lyrics, and the genuine Sara Nelms Personality stamp – it’s all there.
Sara originated in Brandon, Florida, where, she told us, “I started acting and singing the first opportunity I got.” Naturally, this included musical theatre, weddings, small events, parent’s work, show choirs, “Everything I could do to sing in public.” After high school, she went to Florida State and studied voice.
When Sara decided to move to Nashville, it surely involved a lot of faith and courage. She was only 22, fresh out of college, and didn’t know anyone at first. “My mom and I came up to visit one time, a month or so before I moved, but I hadn’t been here much,” Sara related. “I decided to move after college.” She knew Nashville was the place she had to be to fulfill her dreams for life. “Whatever you decide your career is going to be, [you choose it] because that’s who you are,” she told us, and I’m sure most would agree with this. Your career is a large manifestation of what your desires and interests are, and it’s hard to be happy when you are on a path you didn’t really want to be on in the first place.
Apparently a man her mom had met helped factor in this final decision to move. He was the same guy responsible for convincing her to stand on a table in a restaurant and start singing to the crowd - brave, right? It was a success, too, because another customer paid her 20 dollars to come sing at his table. Not only is it an interesting story, but you can tell this moment was a milestone to Sara – performing is something she’s used to, but times like this stir up an important and unmistakable confidence, hope, and desire in a young artist, which sustains them for a long time afterwards.
A lot of people come to Nashville to pursue their musical dreams. If you are one of these people, pay attention! Sara is a great role model as pertains to plugging yourself, especially for those that start with nothing but a voice and a dream. As stated, Sara knew no one when she first moved to Music City. So what’s the first thing you did when you got here?
“First I found a job because I needed money,” she told us. Okay, a very reasonable first step. What about the whole “pursuing your dream” part of it?
Sara knew in order to get anywhere, she’d have to talk to people. In a city where everyone knows someone, meeting new people can not only be a support system, but can lead to introductions to other people, who introduce you to other people, who get you just a little bit closer to where you want to be. That’s how Nashville works.
Sara figured this out quickly. She started with her roommate and their family, who helped her figure things out and meet people that were of great interest to Sara. She kicked off her career at full speed, all by just talking to people. The new friends seemed to have an incredible ability and desire to help from there. “Everybody in Music City is so helpful,” she told us. For Sara, this also applies to when they aren’t even trying to help: “I watch other people that I’m friends with who make steps towards their goal. I try to see what works and what doesn’t work from [their] experiences.” This is a prime example why surrounding yourself with other people who share your passion and constantly observing what’s going on around you is a good idea. “Trial and error is all you can really do.” Always better to learn from somebody else’s trials before you make the same mistake, right?
Sara has plenty of people to learn these lessons from, too – she’s worked with different artists, wrote songs with others, and made lots of new friends and connections. It’s an impressive record, really, considering the short amount of time she’s been here. As she put it: “I enjoy working with everybody!” Which is definitely a good quality to have in a town where mutual relationships seem to run rampant.
Once she had met enough people to feel comfortable with herself in Nashville, Sara began to work solo. “My plan now is to get a ‘talk’ going,” she shared. I bet you can guess what that means – yes, lots of “Plugging”. Sara has profiles on some sites that we had never even heard of – naturally, she has her wildly successful music Myspace, a DigitalRodeo.com account, she’s a member of our social network Plugs, and so forth. “I’ve also found a couple of musicians on Cragislist that were amazing, she told us. “One girl that turned out to be one of my best friends – I said I was looking for a fiddle player, I put up a link to Myspace from Craigslist and we met. We’ve [her and the musicians] just met at Starbucks though, because it’s too weird to just say ‘Hey yeah, come to my house’…no.”
Sara has an impressive record of played venues, such as 3rd and Lindsey, Toostie’s, On the Rocks, and loads more. How does she do it? Simple: “I email the potential venues,” she said, in which she links them to her Myspace,. “You can just email people and send them to your Myspace, and they can see everything. It’s like meeting them in person,” she says. It’s true if you think about it, too – they get to see your pictures, hear your music, and read your biography all in one place and on their own time clock. That’s why Plugging Yourself on the Internet is so successful and now, important.
She has some upcoming venues, as well. How do you prepare for a show?
“Besides rehearse?” she teased. “Well I think the outfit you choose has a lot to do with how confident you are.” We couldn’t help laughing a little at this response, but Sara had a good point: “I do, I love fashion! I think fashion and artistry have a lot to do with each other. If you feel good about what you’re wearing you’re going to feel more comfortable on stage.”
“It’s not my fault your grits are dry”, “Time’s standing still, right here in this moment/the way you’re looking at me, I can never forget”, “You may not be the man of someone else’s dreams/But you’re perfect for me” – these are just a few of the simple, fun, yet striking lyrics that Sara shares through her music. Naturally, we wanted to know what went behind these words.
“I never even thought I’d write until I moved here,” she informed us. It’s surprising, since most of her songs are written or at least co-written by her.
So how does that work, you have little experience writing but come up with really good stuff? What inspires you?
“Real life experiences influence me the most,” she shared. That’s understandable, not only is it easy to pull from real life stuff, but the listener will enjoy it. “Sometimes a friend says, ‘Guess what happened to me? You should write about it! I can step outside myself and write about other things, but it’s much more comfortable and honest to write about things I’ve experienced myself.’”
As pertains to her musical style, her wide range of influences, genre interests, and the experience of classical training help give her a unique sound. “I love crossroads. I have a lot of influence from a lot of different kinds of music, so I love that everything [the genres in music industry] is starting to mix,” she confirms. Nonetheless, her sound is still definitely country. Of all the genres she likes, why country?
Easy. “I love how positive country music is,” Sara told us. “I try to show in my own music that life is hard, and there’s lots of things you have to do but if you come out of it thinking positively, ‘How can I make this situation better?’ That’s what country music shows. Even if you’re dwelling on something like heartache or a job you hate, country music shows a positivity that a lot of other genres don’t.”
Fair enough. Sara has her sound, her connections, and her general path in mind – so what’s the next step for now? “I’m just writing some more stuff, regrouping a little bit, starting to book some more things,” she said.
Long-term goals? “I’ll be really happy when I quit my day job and can sustain life in music. That would be just amazing to me,” she said. “And I’d love to hear my song on the radio, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop pushing for the next level. I want to do it all really.”
What keeps pushing you forward like this?
With a smirk and a distinct twinkle in her eye, Sara thought for a second and then carefully replied with a heartfelt, dreamy tone: “Just the feeling you get when you’re entertaining people.”
