Review Fix Exclusive: Falcon Jane’s Sara May Talks ‘The News’ And More

Review Fix chats with Falcon Jane’s Sara May, who discusses the band’s origin, goals for the future and new single, “The News.”

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Sara May: We all met through a series of divine appointments over the past five years. We are all so like-minded that I know we would have met eventually, and now that we have, we are all best friends!

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Sara May: Truthfully, I got dumped when I was 16 and the only way I could manage to express how I was feeling was by writing a sad song about it. That was the first one, and it felt so damn good that I had to keep going! Music has always really affected me throughout my life – it’s the easiest way for me to access my truth.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Sara May: It involves a lot of silence and letting go. I have to feel like I can honestly express myself and forget about any judgment – whether internal or external, real or imaginary. Otherwise, I end up with a phony song that I hate. I’ve recently started writing lyrics during jams at band practice which I’ve never done before. Doing this has shown me how much I trust my bandmates because I can allow myself to feel really vulnerable to them. I know they’re there to support me and catch me if I fall. It’s true love.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Sara May: Nature, truth, peace, and magic! And how those things affect the human condition. Most of my songs are an attempt to find my own personal truth, and in doing so I reach a place of emotional peace. In “The News” I wrote about a dream I had but was actually discovering these deep insecurities that made their way into the song: “I’m afraid of being lonely, afraid of being left broken… Did I make you feel important? Did I make you feel loved?” Those feelings were just waiting to be found and now I can look at them more objectively.

Nature is constantly inspiring me! Just look outside! The plants, the animals, the weather, the elements, the people. It is all beautiful and honest – and if you look closely you can find the magic.

Review Fix: What makes “The News” a special track?

Sara May: I love “The News” because of the power it has in its simplicity. It’s very relatable. I didn’t write it about anything in particular, but since writing it I have found it applies to many different aspects of my life or the people around me. It’s very human.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Sara May: Plez rock! Which is short for “pleasant rock” – it’s a genre we made up to describe our music because we felt like we didn’t fit anywhere else. It’s groovy, chill, fun, thoughtful, dreamy.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Sara May: We all love performing, so we bring a lot of positive energy to our performances. We get dressed up, make a day of it and have a blast. We usually have some kind of band pep-talk before each show too. All these things make for a really congruent, fun performance. You can feel this sparkly, pink connection between five people plus the audience! I’m not sure if the album has that exact feeling, but hopefully, it brings something different to the table. Listening to the album is like drinking a tea having a really deep conversation with a close friend. Listening to us live is like chugging ginger ale with all your best friends. Oh – and there are no choir synth sounds in our live show.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2018?

Sara May: Play a bunch of sweet shows, including some festivals, release our album, “Feelin’ Freaky”, and get as many people to listen to it as possible, make some cool music videos, tour Western Canada, and I’m actually starting to write the next record already. So maybe we’ll be in pre-production for that by the end of the year, which is exciting.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Sara May: I’m learning more about music every day, and becoming a smarter, better musician. So I can only assume our music will start becoming smarter and better as well.

For now, we’re going to have as much fun as possible with our summer shows and really explode our album into the universe! Gotta believe it to see it.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Sara May: Hope you’re all feeling plez, thank you for reading. Please enjoy our music, and keep an eye out for “Feelin’ Freaky” in August 2018.