Episode 74: Sandi Saraya (Saraya)

Talkin‘ the Talk With Don

One of the things I love more than anything is re-discovering music that I hadn't listened to in a long time. Recently I was making a playlist of hard rock/metal songs that I remember loving from my high school years (88-92) and I was really digging as deep as I could. One of the bands that I remembered really loving was New Jersey hard rock band Saraya.

Saraya released two album: the self-titled debut album and the stellar follow up album When the Blackbird Sings. I loved that album so much but '91 was a huge year for new releases. For some reason, the album and band got buried and after 30 years I unearthed them from the depths of my memories.

I was so surprised to hear just how amazingly well the songs held up after all these years and I couldn't stop listening to these albums. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the Saraya album When the Blackbird Sings and I decided I wanted to reach out to vocalist/songwriter Sandi Saraya to talk about it. It turns out that Sandi had pretty much disappeared off the face of the musical earth. After a lot of persistence, I finally tracked Sandi down and I was fortunate to have her agree to talk with me.

Sandi is such an awesome person and to hear her talk about her extremely tough bout with the record industry, reminiscing on the older songs and what inspired them, and there was even talk about recording a new song this year in 2021 with long-time guitarist and collaborator Tony Rey. This interview is hands down one of the highlights of my interviewing years and I am so excited to share this with everyone!