August 28, 2026 • 18 mins
Sara Bareilles stops by to talk about her new music!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
And we welcome Sarah Bareilles. Hi, Sarah. We love her.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's normal to cry for yourself, right? It is. That's
what it is.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
It'd be abnormal if you didn't.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
All right.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Just around the room without thinking about it. Favorite Sarah
Bareilles moments and projects. Go. Anyone. Oh, Girls5eva.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Dang it, Danielle.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh, me too.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
That's one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
You were in here and Gandhi and I had, you know,
the whole cast was here.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
We had one of the best times. with you guys
you guys it was I was just thinking I thought
I hadn't been here until we walked into this room
and then I was like oh my god we were
here with with G5E yeah so funny yeah 10 years later.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
A waitress let's talk about waitress hello.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Waitress guys yeah 10 years anniversary this year is our
10 year anniversary.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Wow And then Gandhi screamed out Gravity. We both agree
that's our favorite song of all time.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I can thank my high school boyfriend for that one, guys.
Thank you, high school boyfriend.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Look at the deep footprints that your career and your
art is leaving in our hearts and on our brains.
I mean, was that ever the goal when you started
out years ago?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
You know, I think that I am someone who is,
for better or for worse... I don't have like the
long view. I'm very much a person who is like
what is right in front of me is sort of
the world at large. And it's very hard for me
to make plans like out in the future. So my
life has unfolded in all these really interesting and unexpected
(01:33):
ways that none of this looks anything like what I
would have imagined for myself in the best ways. And
it's not that I haven't had a lot of heartbreak
and hardship too, but I mean, I don't know. Life
has been just what a wild ride. And I'm so grateful.
And to get to move through my life And have
(01:54):
these big experiences because I'm sharing my art and my
love of music and storytelling. I just feel like I
hit the jackpot in this life. So it's going to
get worse. The next time I come back, I'm going
to be like a trash can or something. It's going
to suck. No.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Well, which leads us to Good Grief, the album officially
out today. Congratulations.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It's Christmas morning. We're opening our gifts.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
And it's Good Grief. Even though we've heard several cuts already,
Good Grief is perfectly titled and titled Good Grief because
of grief.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
And because of loss and because of moving ahead, moving forward.
Talk about your plan with this project and the tour
and the documentary. Start with the album.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Okay. Yeah, Good Grief. The title came quite late in
the process, actually. It's just my experience with grief over
the last six years. I've lost a couple of best friends.
I've been on a really challenging fertility journey. We went
through the pandemic. I had a crazy sort of mental
health dip through all of that. But I've also experienced
(03:05):
this time as an incredible gift like to have the.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Lens of.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Learning how to appreciate even what can be devastating because
of how ephemeral our time here is. You know, that
our relationships move and change with ourselves, with each other.
We lose each other. We lose loved ones. We have
goals that don't come to fruition. I mean, there's just
(03:35):
so much ache in being alive. And so that is what...
lives on this record. And this record became the home
for all of this expression that just needed a place
to go.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
It's so funny that you mentioned the appreciation of grief.
It goes back to an interview with Anderson Cooper and
Stephen Colbert.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Talking about grief. And Stephen Colbert said this line in
this interview, which I still recite to myself maybe weekly
about loss and how you really have to love the
thing you most wish never happened. You remember that, that
conversation said, if, if you are grateful for your life,
you have to be grateful for all of it.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
That's the highs and the deeper than hell lows. Right.
Is that sort of what you're referring to?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I read a statement, one sentence that really changed my
perspective on grief in general is Because it's definitely something
I struggle with. You want to flow around everything and
then you meet this immovable object. You're not going to
get it back. And it was grief is the price
we pay for love. And I thought, I'm okay with
that then. And it seems like that's what you're saying
(04:51):
with all of this.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
It's just evidence of great love. It's just like that
is the only thing that causes it.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Let's hear it for grief. We love her. I'm so sad.
I just lost the one I really, really truly love. Oh,
I'm so jealous. Lucky you.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Look at all that grief.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Grief, we've been taught, and Gandhi was saying, and I
want Daniel to comment on this because we were talking
about this before you came in. Gandhi was talking about
how we were taught for so long about grief as
the five different things you must experience. It's sadness, then
it's happiness, then it's anger. That's a bunch of BS, right?
It's whatever, it's however you're feeling. handling it you know
(05:34):
daniel talking about your dad yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
So when my dad passed like you know in 2019
like i still to this day you know feel grief
on different levels like people ask well how do you
deal with it like does it come and go like
are you over it i'm like no you one you
never get over it and you never know when it's
going to hit you like i could be having the
best day ever and out of nowhere i start hysterically
crying because something reminds me of him And there's no
(05:59):
right or wrong way to grieve someone.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Everybody does it in their own way.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And I hate when somebody tells you, like, oh, you
should be over it by now or get over this.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You can't say.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
That to someone.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Who are these people?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Let's call them right now. You have to, like, you know,
do it in your way.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
And they're, like I said, no right or wrong way
at all.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, it's so personal. And it does.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
It changes.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I remember the day my best friend Gavin Creel, he
got his stage four diagnosis. And it was pouring rain.
I was upstate. And he had called me on the
phone saying, And I was in a state of shock.
I was just like, I can't believe this is... Of course,
I'm going to start crying. I can't believe this is happening.
(06:42):
And then 20 minutes later, I'm literally dancing on my
back lawn in the rain because I had nowhere to
go with my feelings. I was like, I don't know
what to do except... dance like what this is actually
like i i felt crazy but i was it's just
good it had yeah you have to like let it
(07:05):
out he's a broadway guy he would want you oh
my god he would have been with me yeah he is.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
With me i know you have license to be as
crazy as you want by the way if you're just
turning us on the crazy woman we're speaking with is
sarah And even though this show usually has a foundation
of happiness and cheering, rah, rah, rah, grief is such
an important part of all of our lives, and steering
away from it all the time is just not real.
(07:32):
It's not real.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So, of course, the album is called Good Grief. It's
out today. Got a huge tour coming up. You're going
to play at Radio City. You're going to play all
over the place. But also, I've been watching your posts online, Sarah.
There's actual footage from your documentary coming out where you're
upstate and you're recording this album in the studio. It's
so cool that you're putting all this out at once
(07:57):
because this is such an important mission for you.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
I totally agree. It was kind of an experiment because
I knew that the material for this record was tender.
I knew I was going back into the studio after
a lot of years. I sort of averaged... six to
seven years between records anyway. Really. My label is thrilled.
You guys, but I, I knew it had been a
(08:20):
long time and I knew that I was going in
with really raw material. And so I called my good friend,
Josh Alexander, who also lives upstate and, um, he's a
documentary filmmaker. And I was like, this is a little
bit of an experiment. I don't really know what's going
to happen. Um, but do you want to come in
and just capture these few days in the studio? Um,
(08:40):
And he got this incredible small crew together. And it
really felt like, it was so interesting. Normally when a
camera's on, I'm like very, hey, look at me. There
was just none of that. It was all incredibly intimate.
It was all incredibly connected and present. I invited some
very close friends. And it was this kind of experiment
(09:03):
around that. How do we make this as a unit?
I was trying to also like divest the sort of
corporate greed structure where it's like one person has all
the power and has all the money. And I'm like,
what does it look like if we really allocate the
center of power to more people? What if we invite
more people in? So we shared points and credit and
(09:24):
all this stuff and we made this record as a unit.
And I... really loved the experiment. And I also got
to learn what a control freak I am. So that
was also really good learning. But it was a big risk.
And I love that this project comes out as a
as a sister piece to the record itself. If you
(09:46):
are interested in my music, this is going to give
you a really, really close up look at how it
comes about what the creative process looks like. I promise
it's funny. There's a lot of crying, but there's a
lot of laughing too. But it's just, I feel like
we didn't hold anything back and that felt really good.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Do you feel like having cameras around you while you're
going through this process and you're grieving hindered it in
any way? Like, were there moments you said, get that
camera out of my face, I need to cry right now?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
No. Actually, no. And I'm shocked that that's my answer.
Having the cameras there, and I think this is also
a testament to Josh Alexander and the crew that he
brought together, I didn't feel like there was any necessity
for distance. It was just like the closer we can
bring people into what's actually going on, and telling the
truth about this process, the better off it will all be.
(10:37):
The better off the music is, the better off the
listener is, the better off the artist is. It all
felt very connected.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Didn't you say in your 40s, you have no time
for anything that's not real?
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I kind of feel like I was that way in
my 30s too, but very much that way in my 40s.
I just don't care. I'm not interested in the surface world.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Why do we wait? Like I'm in my sixties and
I still have hangups. I need to just cut loose. But,
but back to what Gandhi was asking earlier, like, did
you find yourself in this process to get away from me?
Turn the camera off. I'm crying. Would it be the opposite?
Like Sarah's like close up quick. I'm crying.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
These tears, these are, these are perfect. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
This project is so interesting to me because it is
so easy for us to hide behind laughter and, It's
so easy for us to hide behind fake happiness. Hiding
behind grief is a whole different scene. I don't know
if you can really effectively hide behind grief. So this
is very, very real. And you're actually going to have
tissues at your concerts.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Are you not? Yeah, we are. By the way, this
is not a porn. No.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It's tissues for tears.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Go ahead. Tissues for tears. I think what we're sort
of inadvertently doing is creating, you know, a little network
of a kind of grief ritual where it's like it's
not going to be a somber evening at all. That's
not my style at all. And anyone who knows me
is that like. As much as I'm willing to sort
(12:10):
of go there to the deep water, I love to laugh.
I surround myself with people who love to laugh, who
are funny. But I do think it is a really
intentional space we're creating. I'm not hiding anything. And I
will say it feels so good to be... that there's
no distance between the work that I'm out here supporting
(12:32):
and the life that I'm actually living. There's no secret
that I'm hiding that I come and do a dog
and pony show and then I go home and cry.
I'm just crying on the microphone, guys. That's just what's happening.
It's a very integrated experience for me. And I really
feel a lot of gratitude around that. It's taken me
a long time to get there. And I think a
lot of us, we put on a brave face to
go be out in the world. And I just think
(12:54):
that it's also very powerful to just let the world
see you a little less brave.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Sarah Bareilles is here. Of course, it's called Good Grief.
That's the album that's out today. The tour as well.
When do you kick off the tour officially?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
September 8th. Oh.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
That's in a week.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
I know.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Just kidding.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
September 9th. Oh, my God. Oh, I travel on the 8th. Yeah,
it's the 9th.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Sorry.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Don't put me in charge. The documentary Good Grief is
out when?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
September 2nd.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
The 2nd.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Okay. All right, look at that. So where do we
find the documentary?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
So if you go to my website, sarahbmusic.com, you can
find that we're... hopefully even gonna expand on what's there
now but um there we did a partnership with amc
and we're it'll be in theaters across the country um
so we get showings on september 2nd and so you
can pre-register for tickets and you can buy tickets um
(13:53):
and then hopefully we'll expand from there but yeah go
see it with friends in a theater it's a really
fun communal experience.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Isn't Pink a part of this project as well?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Yeah. Alicia's an executive producer on my film. As are
Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach. They came on as executive
producers of the documentary. It felt really important to invite
some of my heroes to hold this. You know, it's
tender to go out and feel vulnerable in this way.
And so you've got to invite some of your people
(14:24):
to hold it with you. And they were all... so
helpful and just so loving and I love them all
for many many reasons but yeah you.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Were talking about how you realize you're a control freak
through this process which makes me I might have.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Known it a little bit earlier than this process but
this is an affirmation came out not new.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
In full glory which version of you do you think
is the most difficult to deal with the Broadway version
of Sarah the producer version of Sarah or the singer
version of Sarah The producer.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Really? Oh, yeah. Very opinionated. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Well. You got to be. As a producer, you have
to be. People are depending on you to run the show.
You have to be that way.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I think that's right. And I just, I have a
lot of feelings about efficiency. I have a lot of
feelings about relational transparency. You know, that like people are
honest about what's happening. I have, you know, I think
in our industry, there's so much conflict. you know, people
talk out both sides of their mouth and I'm really
direct and for better or for worse. And I think
(15:26):
sometimes people like it and sometimes people don't like it,
but that is just how I do my business. And that's,
and I really mean what I say.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Well, we've never.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Heard anything mean about you.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
So I think you're good.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Oh, I have. There's that one thing we were talking
about earlier. That one time.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I knew it. I just looked up her birth sign.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
She is a Sagittarius.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
I was like, this is Sagittarius behavior, but I'm not.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yes. Yes.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Sorry. I'm a wanderer. Same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
So, no, we didn't hear anything nasty about you, but
now I'm going to be listening closely to nasty things
about Sarah Bareilles. All right, one last thing, and then
we've got to play some music, and we've got to
get on with the weekend. When you go home tonight,
and you're taking the makeup off or whatever you do, your, your,
your ritual, you're looking in the mirror, you're in the
bathroom by yourself and looking at yourself. Can you actually say,
(16:19):
you know what, Sarah, you're exactly where you need to
be as a performer. as an artist, as a writer,
the whole thing, this is the perfect place for me
right now. This is so fantastic. I'm so grateful for it.
Or are you always like one of those artists who's
on edge? Like, God, I can be better than this.
Where are you with your life right now?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I'm really working on that first attempt. I'm really working
on being at peace with what is. That's like my practice.
That's my meditation. That is like, to make my best
effort to show up with everything I have to offer
and to trust that it's enough. That's my goal. But
(17:00):
oh my God, do I spend time being self-critical and self-loathing? 100%.
But I really work on that language to try to,
the way you would talk to a good friend, where
you're like, I promise you, you're enough. I promise you,
you're enough. And I really try to shine that light
on myself. But yeah, some days are easier than others.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Look, Sarah Bareilles, such a pleasure having you here. Good
Grief is out today. Good Grief, the tour, coming up
September 9th. The documentary, September 2nd. Go to your website,
which is? And find out about all of the above.
Let's play Just a Kid. You want to play Just
(17:45):
a Kid?
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Okay, set it up. I like the old DJ thing. Okay,
set up Just a Kid for us when we're playing
here on the radio.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Just a Kid. Let's see. I wrote this song about
my friend chad joseph who we met in college um
he was my first tour manager he was my roommate
he was one of my very very dear friends and
he got diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2020
or at the end of 2019 he passed away in
2020 and this song arrived like a lightning bolt out
(18:16):
of the sky i was walking home from the grocery
store i had two hands full of grocery bags had
to put my bags down on the street and started
singing into my phone And I think Chad was just
coming through. So this is just a kid.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Thanks for coming in, Sarah.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Thanks for having me guys.
And we welcome Sarah Bareilles. Hi, Sarah. We love her.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's normal to cry for yourself, right? It is. That's
what it is.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
It'd be abnormal if you didn't.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
All right.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Just around the room without thinking about it. Favorite Sarah
Bareilles moments and projects. Go. Anyone. Oh, Girls5eva.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Dang it, Danielle.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh, me too.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
That's one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
You were in here and Gandhi and I had, you know,
the whole cast was here.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
We had one of the best times. with you guys
you guys it was I was just thinking I thought
I hadn't been here until we walked into this room
and then I was like oh my god we were
here with with G5E yeah so funny yeah 10 years later.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
A waitress let's talk about waitress hello.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Waitress guys yeah 10 years anniversary this year is our
10 year anniversary.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Wow And then Gandhi screamed out Gravity. We both agree
that's our favorite song of all time.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I can thank my high school boyfriend for that one, guys.
Thank you, high school boyfriend.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Look at the deep footprints that your career and your
art is leaving in our hearts and on our brains.
I mean, was that ever the goal when you started
out years ago?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
You know, I think that I am someone who is,
for better or for worse... I don't have like the
long view. I'm very much a person who is like
what is right in front of me is sort of
the world at large. And it's very hard for me
to make plans like out in the future. So my
life has unfolded in all these really interesting and unexpected
(01:33):
ways that none of this looks anything like what I
would have imagined for myself in the best ways. And
it's not that I haven't had a lot of heartbreak
and hardship too, but I mean, I don't know. Life
has been just what a wild ride. And I'm so grateful.
And to get to move through my life And have
(01:54):
these big experiences because I'm sharing my art and my
love of music and storytelling. I just feel like I
hit the jackpot in this life. So it's going to
get worse. The next time I come back, I'm going
to be like a trash can or something. It's going
to suck. No.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Well, which leads us to Good Grief, the album officially
out today. Congratulations.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It's Christmas morning. We're opening our gifts.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
And it's Good Grief. Even though we've heard several cuts already,
Good Grief is perfectly titled and titled Good Grief because
of grief.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
And because of loss and because of moving ahead, moving forward.
Talk about your plan with this project and the tour
and the documentary. Start with the album.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Okay. Yeah, Good Grief. The title came quite late in
the process, actually. It's just my experience with grief over
the last six years. I've lost a couple of best friends.
I've been on a really challenging fertility journey. We went
through the pandemic. I had a crazy sort of mental
health dip through all of that. But I've also experienced
(03:05):
this time as an incredible gift like to have the.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Lens of.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Learning how to appreciate even what can be devastating because
of how ephemeral our time here is. You know, that
our relationships move and change with ourselves, with each other.
We lose each other. We lose loved ones. We have
goals that don't come to fruition. I mean, there's just
(03:35):
so much ache in being alive. And so that is what...
lives on this record. And this record became the home
for all of this expression that just needed a place
to go.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
It's so funny that you mentioned the appreciation of grief.
It goes back to an interview with Anderson Cooper and
Stephen Colbert.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Talking about grief. And Stephen Colbert said this line in
this interview, which I still recite to myself maybe weekly
about loss and how you really have to love the
thing you most wish never happened. You remember that, that
conversation said, if, if you are grateful for your life,
you have to be grateful for all of it.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
That's the highs and the deeper than hell lows. Right.
Is that sort of what you're referring to?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I read a statement, one sentence that really changed my
perspective on grief in general is Because it's definitely something
I struggle with. You want to flow around everything and
then you meet this immovable object. You're not going to
get it back. And it was grief is the price
we pay for love. And I thought, I'm okay with
that then. And it seems like that's what you're saying
(04:51):
with all of this.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
It's just evidence of great love. It's just like that
is the only thing that causes it.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Let's hear it for grief. We love her. I'm so sad.
I just lost the one I really, really truly love. Oh,
I'm so jealous. Lucky you.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Look at all that grief.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Grief, we've been taught, and Gandhi was saying, and I
want Daniel to comment on this because we were talking
about this before you came in. Gandhi was talking about
how we were taught for so long about grief as
the five different things you must experience. It's sadness, then
it's happiness, then it's anger. That's a bunch of BS, right?
It's whatever, it's however you're feeling. handling it you know
(05:34):
daniel talking about your dad yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
So when my dad passed like you know in 2019
like i still to this day you know feel grief
on different levels like people ask well how do you
deal with it like does it come and go like
are you over it i'm like no you one you
never get over it and you never know when it's
going to hit you like i could be having the
best day ever and out of nowhere i start hysterically
crying because something reminds me of him And there's no
(05:59):
right or wrong way to grieve someone.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Everybody does it in their own way.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And I hate when somebody tells you, like, oh, you
should be over it by now or get over this.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You can't say.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
That to someone.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Who are these people?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Let's call them right now. You have to, like, you know,
do it in your way.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
And they're, like I said, no right or wrong way
at all.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, it's so personal. And it does.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
It changes.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I remember the day my best friend Gavin Creel, he
got his stage four diagnosis. And it was pouring rain.
I was upstate. And he had called me on the
phone saying, And I was in a state of shock.
I was just like, I can't believe this is... Of course,
I'm going to start crying. I can't believe this is happening.
(06:42):
And then 20 minutes later, I'm literally dancing on my
back lawn in the rain because I had nowhere to
go with my feelings. I was like, I don't know
what to do except... dance like what this is actually
like i i felt crazy but i was it's just
good it had yeah you have to like let it
(07:05):
out he's a broadway guy he would want you oh
my god he would have been with me yeah he is.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
With me i know you have license to be as
crazy as you want by the way if you're just
turning us on the crazy woman we're speaking with is
sarah And even though this show usually has a foundation
of happiness and cheering, rah, rah, rah, grief is such
an important part of all of our lives, and steering
away from it all the time is just not real.
(07:32):
It's not real.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So, of course, the album is called Good Grief. It's
out today. Got a huge tour coming up. You're going
to play at Radio City. You're going to play all
over the place. But also, I've been watching your posts online, Sarah.
There's actual footage from your documentary coming out where you're
upstate and you're recording this album in the studio. It's
so cool that you're putting all this out at once
(07:57):
because this is such an important mission for you.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
I totally agree. It was kind of an experiment because
I knew that the material for this record was tender.
I knew I was going back into the studio after
a lot of years. I sort of averaged... six to
seven years between records anyway. Really. My label is thrilled.
You guys, but I, I knew it had been a
(08:20):
long time and I knew that I was going in
with really raw material. And so I called my good friend,
Josh Alexander, who also lives upstate and, um, he's a
documentary filmmaker. And I was like, this is a little
bit of an experiment. I don't really know what's going
to happen. Um, but do you want to come in
and just capture these few days in the studio? Um,
(08:40):
And he got this incredible small crew together. And it
really felt like, it was so interesting. Normally when a
camera's on, I'm like very, hey, look at me. There
was just none of that. It was all incredibly intimate.
It was all incredibly connected and present. I invited some
very close friends. And it was this kind of experiment
(09:03):
around that. How do we make this as a unit?
I was trying to also like divest the sort of
corporate greed structure where it's like one person has all
the power and has all the money. And I'm like,
what does it look like if we really allocate the
center of power to more people? What if we invite
more people in? So we shared points and credit and
(09:24):
all this stuff and we made this record as a unit.
And I... really loved the experiment. And I also got
to learn what a control freak I am. So that
was also really good learning. But it was a big risk.
And I love that this project comes out as a
as a sister piece to the record itself. If you
(09:46):
are interested in my music, this is going to give
you a really, really close up look at how it
comes about what the creative process looks like. I promise
it's funny. There's a lot of crying, but there's a
lot of laughing too. But it's just, I feel like
we didn't hold anything back and that felt really good.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Do you feel like having cameras around you while you're
going through this process and you're grieving hindered it in
any way? Like, were there moments you said, get that
camera out of my face, I need to cry right now?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
No. Actually, no. And I'm shocked that that's my answer.
Having the cameras there, and I think this is also
a testament to Josh Alexander and the crew that he
brought together, I didn't feel like there was any necessity
for distance. It was just like the closer we can
bring people into what's actually going on, and telling the
truth about this process, the better off it will all be.
(10:37):
The better off the music is, the better off the
listener is, the better off the artist is. It all
felt very connected.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Didn't you say in your 40s, you have no time
for anything that's not real?
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I kind of feel like I was that way in
my 30s too, but very much that way in my 40s.
I just don't care. I'm not interested in the surface world.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Why do we wait? Like I'm in my sixties and
I still have hangups. I need to just cut loose. But,
but back to what Gandhi was asking earlier, like, did
you find yourself in this process to get away from me?
Turn the camera off. I'm crying. Would it be the opposite?
Like Sarah's like close up quick. I'm crying.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
These tears, these are, these are perfect. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
This project is so interesting to me because it is
so easy for us to hide behind laughter and, It's
so easy for us to hide behind fake happiness. Hiding
behind grief is a whole different scene. I don't know
if you can really effectively hide behind grief. So this
is very, very real. And you're actually going to have
tissues at your concerts.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Are you not? Yeah, we are. By the way, this
is not a porn. No.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It's tissues for tears.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Go ahead. Tissues for tears. I think what we're sort
of inadvertently doing is creating, you know, a little network
of a kind of grief ritual where it's like it's
not going to be a somber evening at all. That's
not my style at all. And anyone who knows me
is that like. As much as I'm willing to sort
(12:10):
of go there to the deep water, I love to laugh.
I surround myself with people who love to laugh, who
are funny. But I do think it is a really
intentional space we're creating. I'm not hiding anything. And I
will say it feels so good to be... that there's
no distance between the work that I'm out here supporting
(12:32):
and the life that I'm actually living. There's no secret
that I'm hiding that I come and do a dog
and pony show and then I go home and cry.
I'm just crying on the microphone, guys. That's just what's happening.
It's a very integrated experience for me. And I really
feel a lot of gratitude around that. It's taken me
a long time to get there. And I think a
lot of us, we put on a brave face to
go be out in the world. And I just think
(12:54):
that it's also very powerful to just let the world
see you a little less brave.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Sarah Bareilles is here. Of course, it's called Good Grief.
That's the album that's out today. The tour as well.
When do you kick off the tour officially?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
September 8th. Oh.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
That's in a week.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
I know.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Just kidding.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
September 9th. Oh, my God. Oh, I travel on the 8th. Yeah,
it's the 9th.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Sorry.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Don't put me in charge. The documentary Good Grief is
out when?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
September 2nd.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
The 2nd.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Okay. All right, look at that. So where do we
find the documentary?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
So if you go to my website, sarahbmusic.com, you can
find that we're... hopefully even gonna expand on what's there
now but um there we did a partnership with amc
and we're it'll be in theaters across the country um
so we get showings on september 2nd and so you
can pre-register for tickets and you can buy tickets um
(13:53):
and then hopefully we'll expand from there but yeah go
see it with friends in a theater it's a really
fun communal experience.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Isn't Pink a part of this project as well?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Yeah. Alicia's an executive producer on my film. As are
Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach. They came on as executive
producers of the documentary. It felt really important to invite
some of my heroes to hold this. You know, it's
tender to go out and feel vulnerable in this way.
And so you've got to invite some of your people
(14:24):
to hold it with you. And they were all... so
helpful and just so loving and I love them all
for many many reasons but yeah you.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Were talking about how you realize you're a control freak
through this process which makes me I might have.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Known it a little bit earlier than this process but
this is an affirmation came out not new.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
In full glory which version of you do you think
is the most difficult to deal with the Broadway version
of Sarah the producer version of Sarah or the singer
version of Sarah The producer.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Really? Oh, yeah. Very opinionated. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Well. You got to be. As a producer, you have
to be. People are depending on you to run the show.
You have to be that way.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I think that's right. And I just, I have a
lot of feelings about efficiency. I have a lot of
feelings about relational transparency. You know, that like people are
honest about what's happening. I have, you know, I think
in our industry, there's so much conflict. you know, people
talk out both sides of their mouth and I'm really
direct and for better or for worse. And I think
(15:26):
sometimes people like it and sometimes people don't like it,
but that is just how I do my business. And that's,
and I really mean what I say.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Well, we've never.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Heard anything mean about you.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
So I think you're good.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Oh, I have. There's that one thing we were talking
about earlier. That one time.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I knew it. I just looked up her birth sign.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
She is a Sagittarius.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
I was like, this is Sagittarius behavior, but I'm not.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yes. Yes.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Sorry. I'm a wanderer. Same thing.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
So, no, we didn't hear anything nasty about you, but
now I'm going to be listening closely to nasty things
about Sarah Bareilles. All right, one last thing, and then
we've got to play some music, and we've got to
get on with the weekend. When you go home tonight,
and you're taking the makeup off or whatever you do, your, your,
your ritual, you're looking in the mirror, you're in the
bathroom by yourself and looking at yourself. Can you actually say,
(16:19):
you know what, Sarah, you're exactly where you need to
be as a performer. as an artist, as a writer,
the whole thing, this is the perfect place for me
right now. This is so fantastic. I'm so grateful for it.
Or are you always like one of those artists who's
on edge? Like, God, I can be better than this.
Where are you with your life right now?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I'm really working on that first attempt. I'm really working
on being at peace with what is. That's like my practice.
That's my meditation. That is like, to make my best
effort to show up with everything I have to offer
and to trust that it's enough. That's my goal. But
(17:00):
oh my God, do I spend time being self-critical and self-loathing? 100%.
But I really work on that language to try to,
the way you would talk to a good friend, where
you're like, I promise you, you're enough. I promise you,
you're enough. And I really try to shine that light
on myself. But yeah, some days are easier than others.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Look, Sarah Bareilles, such a pleasure having you here. Good
Grief is out today. Good Grief, the tour, coming up
September 9th. The documentary, September 2nd. Go to your website,
which is? And find out about all of the above.
Let's play Just a Kid. You want to play Just
(17:45):
a Kid?
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Okay, set it up. I like the old DJ thing. Okay,
set up Just a Kid for us when we're playing
here on the radio.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Just a Kid. Let's see. I wrote this song about
my friend chad joseph who we met in college um
he was my first tour manager he was my roommate
he was one of my very very dear friends and
he got diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2020
or at the end of 2019 he passed away in
2020 and this song arrived like a lightning bolt out
(18:16):
of the sky i was walking home from the grocery
store i had two hands full of grocery bags had
to put my bags down on the street and started
singing into my phone And I think Chad was just
coming through. So this is just a kid.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Thanks for coming in, Sarah.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Thanks for having me guys.
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