Alumna seeks to establish “˜sonic identity’ in music industry

Breaking into the music industry is hard to do, and
up-and-coming singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles knows all about it.
Since graduating from UCLA with a degree in communication studies
in 2003, Bareilles has devoted her time toward building a promising
music career without taking shortcuts, relying instead on talent,
hard work and a circle of people she believes she can trust.

After a few bumps along the road, Bareilles now looks poised to
reach the next level in her music career: She recently finished a
tour opening for Maroon 5, released the demo/EP “Careful
Confessions” and is currently negotiating with at least one
major record label.

What sets Bareilles apart from the legions of other hopefuls
scrambling to get a foot in the door of the music industry is the
tremendous confidence and musical range she displays in
“Careful Confessions,” which she also coproduced.
Bareilles cites soul, jazz, pop and rock as influences, and
certainly demonstrates her ability to slide among all four with
relative ease.

“I’m still searching for a sonic identity in a lot
of ways. I definitely explored a lot of different styles and
genres; I don’t tend to write in one genre, and the recording
reflected the way I write,” she said.

Bareilles has only been performing in Los Angeles for about
three years, but her musical aspirations began at a young age
““ her first attempt at writing a song was made at around age
6. Somewhat surprisingly, she has never had formal training either
as a vocalist or a pianist, having been largely self-taught as a
musician.

“My parents had a piano, and I would chill out and learned
to read chords by reading the song books, and I also learned by
ear,” she said. “I used to spend hours and hours in
front of the piano.”

Those ambitions haven’t wavered since.

“It wasn’t really a conscious decision. When I
thought about my future, it was always based around music.
It’s such a huge part of my identity and how I feel
comfortable about myself,” she explained. “It’s a
part of my sanity.”

And although her future goals were never in doubt, Bareilles
spent most of her time at UCLA just being a student, taking
advantage of the college experience.

“The majority of my time at UCLA, I did not focus on
music. I loved my time at UCLA for the people that I met,”
she said, adding that she did participate in Spring Sing and an a
cappella group.

“I didn’t do much writing during my time there. UCLA
really nurtured me and helped me grow, and it really has helped my
career in the most significant way ““ creating connections and
the beginning of a fan base. I was always overwhelmed by how
supportive the students were.”

The first stage of her career has found Bareilles struggling to
determine how she best fits into the music business.

“The difficulty has mainly come from trying to figure out
where I feel the most content. I made a decision to stop asking for
people’s opinions. You get a lot of offers, like, “˜My
friend has a friend at wherever,’ but I stopped doing that
completely,” she said. “I’m trying to find people
that are inspiring, that have integrity.”

Her best advice to college students contemplating a career in
music is to take advice with a grain of salt.

“Trust your instincts, follow your gut,” she said.
“I’ve gotten so many opinions over the years,
it’s just ended up confusing me.”

It’s something she’s picked up on the way to the
brink of a big next step, as she nears the end of the beginning of
her career.

“I want to be doing this for the rest of my life, and I
want to create a foundation for that,” she said.