Review Fix Exclusive: Sarah Beatty Talks ‘Bandit Queen’

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Sarah Beatty, who discusses her new album, “ Bandit Queen.” Detailing her origin in music and her goals for 2017, Beatty lets us know what makes her a special performer.

Review Fix: How did your childhood influence your music?

Sarah Beatty: My music background was a mix of listening to top 40 radio, independent / college radio, my dad’s tape collection, and a wickedly awesome public school music program. I really learned how to be a musician singing in school choir, playing french horn in band, and performing in musical theatre. Ensembles teach you about playing music and working with other voices and instruments in a way that is deeply metaphoric and poetic. For me, that experience has had a lasting impression in adulthood.

Review Fix: Why does folk music still matter?

Beatty: Well that opens up the question of what is folk music, and as far as I can tell, it’s all folk music. The aesthetics or the content might change or differ between artists, but whether you’ve got synthesizers or actual people and mechanical instruments (guitars, pianos, that sort of thing) making sounds, those stories, emotions, and attitudes being expressed in those notes, words, and rhythms are fundamentally made by human beings and communicating what it means to be a human being. And that will never go out of style.

Review Fix: Why should someone listen to “Bandit Queen”?

Beatty: I hope people have as much fun listening to Bandit Queen, the song and the album, as I had making it. It’s such a wild thing to be able to make records. They’re this completely unruly and human way of holding a mirror up to yourself and the world you’re living in. I hope people get a kick out of listening and perhaps hear themselves in it too.

Review Fix: What do you think makes you special as a musician?

Beatty: I think the curious parts of ourselves are always looking for music that challenges or expands our current understanding of ourselves and the world. If some of my songs or perspectives probe or resonate with other people, then a cool conversation starts to happen, one that’s based on my initial ability to be brave and reveal something that has truth, mystery, depth (or shallowness), has twists and turns, and a big human element. And hopefully, when all is said an done, everyone’s been changed, or soothed, or understood in a meaningful way. That’s a wild thing to take part in and one that I get a big kick out of.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Beatty: Shows! Right now I’m touring in Europe, Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg in support of the record’s release. That will go until March, when I head back to Canada for Spring touring with the new album and festival season in the Summer.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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