Sara K

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Sara recalls having heard music constantly from an early age: "Everyone in my family sang as a hobby. My dad had a deep bass voice and used to sing in a barbershop quartet, while my mom was in a church choir. I was 15 when I started to play guitar, although my instrument is a bit different. I took the strings off a flamenco guitar and put on four bass strings, which makes the notes deeper than on a regular guitar, but not as low as a standard bass. When I was 17, I started playing in local clubs and bars and I received a good response; I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do. There was a lull in acoustic solo acts during the late 1970s, but I stayed with it, doing studio work and putting together a band of my own. I also did backup work in Dallas for country music and local jingles."

After spending time in New Mexico and Los Angeles as leader of Sara K. and The Boys Without Sleep between 1978-83, Sara hooked up with country recording artist Gary Nunn, and toured with him for over two years. "It was great fun and a valuable experience," says Sara, "but my heart was really in writing and performing my own songs. So after I moved to Santa Fe, I met some good musicians and put out Gypsy Alley on Mesa/Bluemoon Records."

Gypsy Alley teamed Sara with Bruce Dunlap, a guitarist from Santa Fe who has recorded two releases of his own with Chesky Records and helped bring her to the label. Sara, who still makes her home in New Mexico, was the proud recipient of the New Mexico Music Industry Coalition's Best Album Award for Gypsy Alley. After being signed to Chesky, she recorded four critically acclaimed albums: Closer Than They Appear, Play On Words, Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin', and Hobo.

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