Sara Bareilles is a day away from the opening show of her second national headlining concert tour that will bring her to Seattle next week. And that means she’s done with at least some of the pre-tour publicity blitz that she admits isn’t always her cup of tea.
“It’s kind of a love-hate thing,” Bareilles replied when the Reporter asked her if she likes the string of telephone interviews that she was doing with local news media this week. “I like talking about my music with media people. But I don’t like it when someone doesn’t know anything about what we’re talking about.”
Here’s some of what to know. Bareilles’ 20-city concert tour – which opened Thursday in San Diego, Calif. and will include a show at The Moore Theatre in Seattle on Wednesday, Oct. 15 (more information at www.themoore.com and www.sarabmusic.com) – is in support of her gold-seller album “Little Voice” under the Epic Records label. Since the album’s release, she’s staked out a place on the charts with her blend of pop, soul and jazz in hits such as “Love Song” and “Bottle It Up.”
“Little Voice,” which reached the top of the iTunes album chart and the Billboard Top 200, got its title from her nickname for her conscience.
“It has to do with listening to your inner voice, or what I call my little voice. When I was getting started, I had a hard time expressing my opinion. I was inexperienced,” said Bareilles, now 28. “But I didn’t want that to be an excuse for letting someone else make my decisions for me. So I sort of let my little voice do my talking.”
Inspiration for her songs comes from her feelings and her observations of life around her.
“The songs are little pieces from my breakups and relationships and my views of the world. Inspiration can come from personal experiences or seeing what your friends go through,” she said.
Bareilles said she feels close to the Pacific Northwest, where she’ll also perform in Portland on Tuesday, Oct. 14 and Spokane on Oct. 18. “I love that part of the country. There’s so much natural beauty,” she said, adding her birthplace – Eureka in Northern California – isn’t that far away.
