Sandi Kimmel Interview - The Final on Vinyl Podcast

I had a great conversation with vocalist/musician Sandi Kimmel regarding her recent release, Practical Mystic.

Transcript

Speaker 0:14

Hello everybody, this is Keith MuzikMan Hannaleck with the Final on Vinyl Podcast, and today we are with uh Sandi Kimmel, who has released Practical Mystic uh actually six days ago. It's a New Age vocals album, um, which I usually don't have the opportunity to cover. So it was uh a nice change for me, and she has a very inviting voice with some very nice instrumentation backing her vocals, and uh she's here today to talk about it. Welcome aboard.

Speaker 1 0:44

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure. And I didn't know you don't usually do vocals, but um there we have it. So I'm glad I was able to uh introduce something new or relatively new to you.

Speaker 1:00

Yes, I mean uh it's more instrumental that I um have the opportunity to cover and talk about, but um there has been a few over time, um however sporadic, but this just the way it turns out for me, I guess. But I did definitely appreciate what you had to offer. And um I guess the first question I would have because of that is what made you decide to do a vocal album instead of an instrumental album?

Speaker 1 1:31

Because I have a lot to say. Um in fact, um that's my sixth album. Um and I I released my first one in uh 2000. It was called Transitions, Music to Soothe the Soul, um, and it was devoted to music healing. I was a hospice volunteer at the time using my music at the bedside, and um I wanted to share my heart more widely than one bedside at a time. And I found that over the years I wasn't finished. I had a lot more to say. Um so Practical Mystic is really um for me, all of the other albums have been stepping stones. Nice ones, well placed, um, but they got me to hear. And uh I'm just gonna keep talking because, as I said, I have a lot to say. Um when I released my previous album called A Year of Sundays, um, I had just emerged from um a long period of um grief. Um I lost my husband and then I lost my mom, and all of the advice I'd given to people over the years um wasn't as soothing to me as just being quiet. And so I did that for a long time. Um I wasn't writing, I wasn't playing, I wasn't singing, um, but then I noticed uh about a year ago on my morning walks, I'd have a uh a persistent thought, uh, you know, a lyric idea, a mantra idea. And, you know, if there was a line that I liked, I would say to myself, okay, well, how am I going to remember that when I get home? And so I would put a little melody to it. And then I would sing that all the way home until I got to my phone to do a little recording of just that line or two. Um and I was doing that for quite some time, and one day I looked at my phone and I had like 17 of these little little bits and pieces. And I thought to myself, oh, that's really interesting. I I wonder what I'm gonna do with those. And uh coincidentally, about a week after I had that thought, um, I got a call from Thomas Barkey, who is a wonderful producer, and um he has done many of the sacred chant albums that are out in the world um uplifting people. And um I hadn't heard from Thomas in a while, and he just called to say hi. And I said, So, Thomas, uh I I've been thinking, and he said, absolutely, let's do it. I said, Do what? And he said, Oh, I could feel you've been on a creative wave. I'm so happy to hear you're back, and um I'll be, you know, back in the United States in the beginning of September. Let's book some time and you know, let's do it. So we did. And that's what practical mystic, that's its origin story.

Speaker 5:19

Interesting. Well, being quiet sometimes is the best thing we can do. Quiet the busy mind and uh totally agree with that. So what instruments do you play? I know your voice is your main instrument. Uh what else? Thank you.

Speaker 1 5:36

Um I play guitar so that I can sing. Um and so all of the guitars are me. And then Thomas um is playing everything else, um, except for the there are a few tracks that have um cello live in the studio cello, and um that's by an amazing musician named Hans Christian.

Speaker 6:03

Oh, Hans, yes, I've covered his music. Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 6:07

There you go.

Speaker 6:09

Yes.

Speaker 1 6:10

So he's play I'm sorry, go ahead.

Speaker 6:14

No, no, go ahead. Go ahead with your extreme.

Speaker 1 6:16

No, he was playing on sovereignty, essence, and I am healing. Those are his three tracks.

Speaker 6:27

Well, this was my introduction to you, Sandy. So um I know there's a lot of artists worldwide that, you know, make music these days, more so than ever, it seems. And um I was so glad to that you connect with me and I had the opportunity to hear your artistry, so I do appreciate that.

Speaker 1 6:44

Great. Thank you. Me too. Um honestly, you know, it it's sort of like the horse, the cart before the horse, or the horse is already out of the barn, but um I would be happy to um send you um A Year of Sundays, which is the previous album, which um is deep in a different way. Um, you know, it there are some songs on it that helped me move the grief from sitting on my chest to out. And um, if I may, I'd like to just share one of the stories because I wasn't expecting to do that album either. Um and uh the story is that my mom was in a hospice house, which meant that she was actively dying. And um I got a call one morning from the nurse, and she said, you know, um i your mom's breathing has changed, you need to get here sooner than later. I said, Great. So I I didn't say great, I said, oh boy. So I jumped in the car, and of course it was rush hour, and I'm driving the hour drive down to you know where she was in this hospice house, and I said out loud in the car to no one, because I was driving alone, boy, the last mile is the longest. Anyway, I got to um the hospice house, and my mom had always said to me that when it was her time, she wanted me there holding her hand, playing the guitar, and these are the songs she wanted to hear. And I always said to her, you know, mom, I'll do my best, but really that won't be up to me. And by the way, I can't hold your hand and play the guitar at the same time. So uh so that day I grabbed my little portable speaker because the truth is, Keith, I had not played my guitar in more than a year because I was busy with her end of life, you know, back and forth taking care of her. So I had the little speaker, I put it on, and after a while there was a knock at the door of her room, and a man poked his head in and he said, You play guitar, don't you? I said, Yes. He said, I have a I live around the corner and I have a guitar. Um, would you like me to bring it over to you? And I said, Okay. And so he disappeared, and while he was gone, I bit the fingernails off my left hand, because, as I said, I hadn't played in a long time. I had no calluses on my left hand, and I found myself wishing and hoping that he had a decent guitar to play, because um, you know, there's nothing harder on virgin fingers than um, you know, the action that's too high, and you it's really hard to press down. Okay, so fortunately it was a decent guitar, and I played for a little while some of the songs that I knew she would like, and then I, you know, having done bedside work before, I I didn't want to overwhelm her. I wanted to give her some space. So I started to get up to put the guitar away, and literally, I don't know what it was, but something pushed me back down, and I started to play something that was just I I I don't even know how to describe it. And I'm singing a song, and the first lines are the last mile is the longest, but I'm right here by your side. And the entire song was dropped into my hands and my heart in that moment, and so I grabbed my phone because I knew I wouldn't remember it, and I played it again into my phone, and then I put the guitar away, and my mom drew her last breath twenty minutes after that happened. And yeah, it was uh I mean, uh you know, I've had things come to me before, but this entire song was dropped into me in a way that I I still I'm baffled by. Anyway, um of course every time I sang the song I cried, but that was really the good and and it's not just a sad song. There's a lot of love in it. I had someone tell me that, you know, she she laughs and cries at the same time when she hears it. So um uh I wanted to share that story because after that happened, suddenly I started playing again, and all of these new songs wanted to be born. And so I recorded, oh, this is the name of the album is called A Year of Sundays, because at that time Thomas' studio was in LA, and I live about two hours south of that. And depending on traffic, sometimes it could be three hours. So I decided, since I had no deadline, I would only record on Sundays, and so that became the habit. You know, I would drive up on a Sunday and drive back home after, you know, a long, wonderful day of recording. And with no deadline, we had no idea, you know, how long it would take. And as it turned out, Thomas sent me the mastering sessions for the tracks exactly a year after my mom died. I mean, the whole thing was a year of Sundays. So anyway, I know I'm supposed to be talking about practical mystic, but uh a year of Sundays was a very powerful stepping stone uh so that I could be clear enough to hear the little bits and pieces uh that became practical mystic.

Speaker 13:38

That makes sense. Uh it sounds to me like that was your mom's last gift to you, you know?

Speaker 1 13:43

Absolutely. Oh, I just got thumped. Yes, yes.

Speaker 13:50

So let me ask you, um Do you listen to vinyl? Do you have a vinyl collection? I mean, a lot of it uh people I talk to say no, which surprises me. Just curious.

Speaker 1 14:01

Well, I still have um my favorite vinyl albums, um, but I don't have a turntable. And, you know, i uh these days um most of the people who listen to me just stream and download. Um but I do have some people who have been following my music for 20 years who still listen to CDs, um, and so I decided to honor them. And um coincidentally, I am waiting for the FedEx truck today to deliver my small shipment of actual CDs. Um and only one person so far besides you has asked me um if I'm going to do a vinyl copy as well.

Speaker 14:54

Interesting. You know, it it's funny, who uh would have ever thought we'd be talking about CDs as something that was passe?

Speaker 1 15:03

I I know, I know, and it's um honestly I I love the fact that everybody can listen to whatever they want everywhere. You know, I I'm not I'm not saying we should go backwards, but as an independent musician, um, you know, if somebody purchases a C D for fifteen dollars, um I need, you know, uh five thousand people streaming to equal that same amount. And I mean the the numbers are ridiculous. I mean I get a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a penny.

Speaker 15:44

That's crazy, I know.

Speaker 1 15:46

It is, it is. But, you know, I'm so happy that there are still people who who will say, Oh yeah, you know, I think I have a CD player in the garage, you know, so we're in my car. I have an old car, you know.

Speaker 16:02

So Well, I have a a very important question for you. The title of the album, Practical Mystic. How'd you come up with that and what's practical about being a mystic?

Speaker 1 16:16

Well, it's about seeing the m magical i in the ordinary. Um and you know, I I don't remember how the phrase came to me. Um but w I know what it was. You know, I'm a little different than most of my friends. And one day I said to somebody, you know, I live in a an alternate universe. Like I'm not seeing the same things you're seeing, mostly because I'm not looking at the same things most people look at. You know, if you're looking in at your garden and all you see are the weeds, then you miss the flowers. So I try to look at the flowers. Anyway, so I was thinking about that that that line, you know, I live in an alternate universe, and I was thinking, yeah, and I like it here. And then uh uh uh you know, it came together with the thought, um, you know, a mystic to me is someone who d who lives other. And I'm really quite here. I'm very grounded. I, you know, um as the lyrics say, I'm a practical mystic with my feet on the ground. A practical mystic with my head in the clouds. In other words, I'm I'm doing both, you know. When I go to the supermarket, I'm dazzled by the variety, the abundance. I'm not just on automatic pushing my cart through the aisles. I'm marveling at how much is available and I think having that appreciation shows me more things to appreciate. So um you know, I I at one point I called myself a songwriter, storyteller, sage. But it felt very awkward to call myself a sage. I think somebody else has to do that. You know, you c you can't like lay that claim for yourself. Or t for me to say I'm a mystic, you know, I think um, you know, there would be people who would say, Are you kidding? You know, you're just like a regular person. And I it wouldn't feel comfortable. I think, you know, someone else has to say that. But a practical mystic, I can claim that. And I can point out that we are all that if we're paying attention.

Speaker 19:14

Well, I think you can claim those titles, Sandy. That's what you are. Definitely.

Speaker 1 19:21

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Um but still, you know, I I never want to appear arrogant or all you know, knowing. And uh I'll give you an example. When the words to that opening track, literally, they came through one day, and I wrote them down and I was like, oh, I like that. And then the melody, I I just started singing it, and I was like, oh, I like that. And then the thought came, I'm gonna record that a cappella, and I'm gonna open the album with that. It wasn't so much that I had the thought, it was like that was what I was told to do. And when I said it to Thomas, he was like, Okay, you know, and then I did it, and when I was listening to the, you know, the earliest playback, I felt so exposed. I I was like, I can't say that. Let this voice be the echo of truth, let this breath carry light from the stars. You know, uh uh how can I I can't do that, especially without the support of a band underneath me. And, you know, so Thomas laughed and he then made a few versions. Oh, not only was it a cappella, it was kind of in free rhythm. I I didn't have a click track, I I just sang it. And um, you know, he so at one point he sort of evened it out. On another take, he doubled it and made it echoey, and then on another one he gave me some a music bed underneath it. And uh they were all nice, but I I wasn't I don't know, something didn't feel right. So um in the next recording session, I said, I'd like to now that I've heard it, I'd like to do it again. Um, you know, can we record it again? He said, sure. So I did it three or four more times, and then he said, and this is true, he said, How about if you do it one more time and this time sing it to your mom and he you know, he having recorded A Year of Sundays and the Last Mile, you know, he knew um that my mom had been very important to me. And when he said that I got goosebumps. And I and it shifted something in my voice, and I sang it one more time and that's the one that you hear on the album.

Speaker 22:32

Wow. Well it's been great talking to you, Sandy. A lot of insight into your music and how things happen for you and your life and it's greatly appreciated your time and uh look forward to talking with you again in the future I hope.

Speaker 1 22:47

I would love that. And um I'm going to um keep you informed of anything in the future and even things from the past, Keith. So thank you so much for for your time today.

Speaker 23:00

All right Sandy, you take care. Bye bye.

Speaker 1 23:03

Bye bye