Indie Rock Singer/Songwriter Sabrina Fallah credits Green Day, one of her favorite bands that she grew up listening to, for getting her interested in becoming a rock singer. At 14, Fallah started playing the guitar and later she would study the vocal styles of Green Day, Bon Jovi, and Billy Idol because they matched her low, raspy, deep singing style. But vocal training would help her perfect her rock style vocals.

Fallah hails from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where she performs extensively as well as in Central Canada,  and at various Canadian and international venues, festivals, and charity events.

She has worked with some renown producers such as Stuart Epps (Elton John, Led Zepplin) with whom she recorded her self-titled rock EP.  Her 2015 single “The Frontline” was produced by award-winning producer, Chris Birkett who has worked with Peter Gabriel, Quincy Jones, and more. In 2016, Fallah got the chance to work with veteran producer Kent Wells in Nashville for her EP “Kiss is a Killer.”

Sabrina is writing new songs and currently has no tours planned.

I interviewed Sabrina recently about her EP, her DJ gig, working with notable producers, international venues, production, and more.

Congratulations on your EP ‘Kiss Is a Killer’. What is the concept or theme? 

When I went to Nashville to co-write, I wanted to write about what I and others have been through in their life. I want people to relate to my music when they listen to it.

You have worked with notable producers such as Stuart Epps (worked with Elton John, Led Zepplin, and more) for your self-titled debut EP and with award-winning producer Chris Burkett (Peter Gabriel, Quincy Jones, Buffy Sainte Marie and more) for your successful 2015 single “The Frontline”.  How did the opportunity come up to work with them? How was it to work with them and any plans to do so again in the future? 

I was in my Producers class in college and Stuart, through Skype/video chat, gave a lecture to the class about the music business and himself. He asked the class some questions like “who writes music”, “who plays an instrument”, etc. I raised my hand up a couple of times. I didn’t know he could see me since I was sitting in the corner of the room. He then asked my teacher if he could talk to me. We had a wonderful chat and then he asked if he could hear some of my music. I then got his contact information from my teacher and forwarded a few of the songs I had already recorded. Stuart expressed an interest to work with me and that is how we got to work together to record my first EP self-titled “Sabrina Fallah”. Stuart and the band he provided for my record were amazing to work with. They made me feel at home and very comfortable right away. I would love to work with them again.

When I was in Toronto, I was songwriting and I wanted to find a producer to work with. At one of the meetings at SAC (Songwriters Association of Canada), I met someone who suggested that I should contact Chris Burkett who was into rock music. He then gave me his contact information and I gave Chris a call and arranged a meeting with him.

Working with Stuart Epps and Chris Burkett was a lot of fun. I would definitely love to work with them again. 

For your current EP, you worked with veteran producer Kent Wells in Nashville, Tennessee and co-wrote with several songwriters there. What was that experience like? How did co-writing compare to writing original songs yourself? Would you do it again?

My first week in Nashville was really intense, co-writing almost every day with different songwriters. Before arriving in Nashville, I was in contact with the team I was going to work with, so they knew the styles of music I wanted to write and record. Although I had many of my original songs with me, I decided to start fresh and write completely new ones. Every songwriting session was about 2 to 3 hours long, some were written in their offices and some where I was staying.

I had such a great time co-writing, it was a different experience with each writer. They each had their own unique style of writing and structuring the song. I really like how all the new songs have turned out. It was really hard narrowing it down to the few songs we chose to record.

Honestly, I enjoy it both ways.

Explain your production process.

I had a pre-production meeting at the studio with producer Kent Wells. We went through each song to find the right key for my voice. We then chose five songs to be recorded, three with the full band and two acoustically. I was very happy that the ones I really liked got picked.

It was rather late in the evening when the band and I went into the studio to record. I sang rough vocals, while the band played to lay down the tracks to my three songs. It was such a great experience. The band was amazing, very kind and fun. They were such great musicians that it didn’t take us long to record. For the acoustic recordings, which I did the following day, I sang while Kent Wells put down the acoustic guitar tracks.

Every studio experience has been different. Kent Wells taught me a lot vocally, which I will take with me and use when I record and perform.

You have performed extensively in Central Canada as well as Canadian and international venues, festivals, and charities. What other countries have you performed in and what were those experiences like?

I got an amazing opportunity to perform in Barbados at the Holetown Festival in February 2011. I performed on the opening day of the festival and then an evening show near the water during the week. I had such a good time performing and sharing the stage with so many talented musicians. The people were very welcoming and I got to talk to quite a few of the ones who saw my performances.  

I also performed in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States while I was working on new music. I got the opportunity to perform a couple of times at the Commodore Bar and Grill. It was a songwriters night and I got to sing my own original songs. There were a lot of amazing talents performing as well. It was really interesting how different that was from a songwriters night in Canada. They would have 3 to 4 artists on the stage at the same time and each would sing one song after the other for a total of 3 to 4 songs for each performer. As you know in Canada, they usually take one artist at a time on stage. I had a really good time and enjoyed performing there.

In an interview, you mentioned listening mostly to male rock singers (Green Day, Bon Jovi, etc) because they match your singing style (low, deep and raspy), but you also decided to have vocal training. Explain how vocal training helped your rock style vocals.

In the beginning, I started singing a lot of different styles of music with no vocal training. When I decided the style I wanted to sing, I got a vocal coach to help me with techniques to sing rock as well as how to protect my vocal chords. 

How specifically did your influences, Bon Jovi, Green Day, and Billy Idol, become a part of your unique blend of style? 

I learned a lot from them, especially vocally. They are the bands that I grew up with and Green Day is the band that got me into wanting to become a rock singer.  

Why do you play more acoustic when performing live? 

I play acoustic because I love the sound of it and also I perform at many smaller venues, which I thought was more suitable. 

What guitarists influenced or inspired you to start playing at age 14? 

I think it was more my cousin, Jeff. He has been around music his entire life and always introduced me to new bands to listen to. He would always play his guitar and that got me interested in trying it out myself and I got hooked on it. 

You currently are a DJ on Jungle 77.3, an online radio station. How has this helped your career as a musician?

 It is another fun thing to do in music. I love being a DJ on the radio, talking and playing awesome music. 

Explain why you don’t think there are many women rockers in indie music. How can more women be encouraged to embrace rock instead of pop music as musicians? 

I don’t think it is only the female singers. I think in general a lot of newcomers follow what is current and popular now. A lot of people in the music business and outside wanted me to sing pop music, but I stuck to my guns. I was lucky that

I personally enjoy rock music and at the same time wanted to be different.

How can women in the indie music industry be better supported? 

I believe it is a very tough business for women and as a female singer, all women need to stick together and help each other. 

What advice would you give to women pursuing or thinking about a career in music? 

Don’t let anyone say you can’t do it, because you can!

What projects are you working on for 2018? 

Currently enjoying being a DJ on Jungle 77.3 and at the same time, writing some new songs. 

What are your tour plans for 2018? 

No tours planned at the moment.