[Follow Local Scene: Charleston, SCRank: FlurryPoints: 20627]

Sarah Summer on “Growing Pains,” Working with Wolfgang Zimmerman, and Upcoming EP
Published: September 12, 2024

Sarah Summer’s “Growing Pains” is short but sweet, with gentle piano and driving the melody as she delicately sings of personal growth and development. The Summerville, SC native is now based in Arizona, and collaborated remotely for this song with Charleston-based producer Wolfgang Zimmerman. She recently released a music video for the track, in which she sings and plucks a steel guitar beside a riverbank, and it creates a nice visual pairing for the tune.

“Growing Pains” comes from the EP that Sarah will release in November, featuring four songs, two of which were created remotely with Wolfgang, and two more for which she recently traveled to Charleston and recorded at The Space, where Christian Chidester of Brave Baby also contributed.

The cover art of a crooked scribbled rainbow was created by Sarah’s daughter, who was four years old at the time. Sarah says it reminded her of Snow Patrol’s cover art for The Beginning.

“I don’t know how, I just looked up and it was there,” She recalls. “I thought it was perfect. Perfectly imperfect. The image has sort of an “ugly” side… Symbolism. The right side of the drawing being the result of our “ego” F-ing with us, bending us out of whack, using our own selfishness to twist a thought out of proportion.”

Enjoy the music video below, and keep reading for a Q&A with Sarah about her background as a songwriter, her connection to Charleston and Wolfgang, “Growing Pains,” and the upcoming EP.

Sarah Summer – “Growing Pains” Video (2024)

Q&A with Sarah Summer: “Growing Pains”

Bold is Extra Chill, not bold is Sarah Summer.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background with music.

I was born and raised in Summerville, South Carolina. Inspired by church music, I taught myself to play guitar at 13 from a dotted chord chart poster. I played on the worship team through my teens. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of Charleston, I got a job decorating cakes. This is when I picked up writing. 

I went to open mic nights, which led me to booking shows. I lived across 15 states and played music in all of them. A month in North Carolina, two in Michigan, three in New Mexico, four in Iowa, 6 months of fog and sunshine in Northern California to name a few. 

I was not a great student, but once I got out into the world I developed a “seek and find” mentality. If I had a question, I would ask the great wizard, YouTube, how to make a turquoise ring from start to finish, how to create crossfades in Pro Tools, how to edit video, how to tool leather, how to center clay on a pottery wheel, how to block carve, or how to homeschool my kindergartener. 

Since settling in Scottsdale, I’ve released a few EPs and tons of demo material. At this time I am performing intermittently, recording in-studio for my personal album and am tracking with the spacey AZ based band, Astral Orange.

Aside from working with Wolfie, what can you tell me more about the new EP? Your third one, you’ve put out a few singles so far. What do you want people to know? 

The EP will feature three new songs. There is a song about being in a long term relationship and holding on, in spite of tornado-like tendencies. The sound of it reminds me of Bob Dylan in his Rolling Thunder Revue days. There is a song that tries to strike out the crippling fear of the dark. The dark being physical pain, emotional pain, death, and aloneness. It has a sort of EmmyLou quality. The highlight song, in my opinion, was written about one of the biggest blessings ever to have fallen into my lap. I was terribly sad when I wrote it so take from that what you will. 

Recording at The Space with Wolfgang Zimmerman and Christian Chidester.

How did you link up with Wolfgang? I know you did the Manchester Orchestra cover with him a couple years back.

There is a definite special sauce to the music he produces. I read about him in the paper, that he was a do-it-yourselfer. I liked that. The fact that he was based in Charleston was part of the draw for me too. Carolina is home. I just asked! 

After a few songs we went from remote to real, in-person, and Christian Chidester joined in. It felt great. I never wanted a Nashville or LA experience… hired guns, a fast track, perfect polish. I am a mother of two. The first day in the studio, my now-three-year-old was still breastfeeding. I had to pump and dump milk down the drain. I always make a point to get back home to spend time with family and friends, adding time with those guys in the studio to that. I absolutely love getting in there the three of us, focusing hard on the music for a day or two (or three!), cooking the sauce (;.

But it’s been so good to just pace myself. No regrets.

Tell me about what has inspired the songs on this album, and “Growing Pains” in particular.

“Growing Pains” was inspired by being at war within. I needed to focus on the things in front of me. I needed to get over myself, how I felt, how much it hurt. So that song is me laying down the burden and letting love cover it. Music is my way of settling the soul, or cheering about something or someone.

When I write, I’m looking for what is true(?). I’m trying to figure where the light is coming from(?) and which direction to steer(?) to get closer to it. So the songs on the EP pose those questions in one way or another.