Interview with Sandra St. Victor


Q: Recently you've been busy with the Daughters Of Soul. Please tell me more about the live gigs you did with Lalah Hathaway, Simone, Indira Khan, Leah McCrae, Joyce Kennedy, Nona Hendryx and Caron Wheeler.

Sandra St. Victor: Daughters of Soul is a pet project of mine that I've wanted to for almost five years before it actually happened. I have so many great friends that I'd never worked with, but we both wanted to. Also, I thought that putting interesting people together on stage is always fun! The experience was more than I thought it would be. These shows were and are exceptional. The women are true professionals, and consumate performers. Especially Nona and Joyce, We all learn so much from them. Our audiences seem to be dazzled for the entire show! It's over two hours long, and people still beg for more encores, absolutely fantastic.

Q: Is the Daughters Of Soul project only a project for live gigs or do you plan to record an album in the future as well?

Sandra St. Victor: We're working on a DVD and an album now.

Q: How does it feel to work with Jeffrey Smith and Peter Lord again on a whole album project?

Sandra St. Victor: It's like putting on an old comfortable pair of slippers. We were meant to be together musically. I've always said that.

Q: Jeffrey and Peter really seem to be your musical soulmates. What musical vision do you share?

Sandra St. Victor: We have a universal appreciation for sincere music of any genre. We also know that music is not only a universal language but a intergalactic spiritual one. It gets to people on levels that we're not even aware of. So we strive to make it music of substance, truth.

Q: The Family Stand's new album will be called Super Sol Nova. What does the title mean and what kind of music can we expect? Is the album already ready to be released? Where did you record it?

Sandra St. Victor: This is a total Peter Lord question. He'll give you the correct interpretation of the vibe. [note: an interview with Peter Lord and Jeffrey Smith will be coming in the near future.]

Q: Especially the last Atlantic album Moon In Scorpio with its mixture of rock, funk & soul was a little bit ahead of its time. Do you think the musical world is finally ready for The Family Stand?

Sandra St. Victor: The musical world, no. The world, yes. People yes. People were always down with us. It was the industry that blocked us.

Q: Will Super Sol Nova be released by you guys independently or do you have already a label interested in releasing the album?

Sandra St. Victor: We have folks interested, but we're also interested in doing it ourselves. Less hands in the kitchen you might say. We'll see.

Q: The music you have released on your own as Sandra St. Victor has always been more straight ahead soul music than your work with The Family Stand. Why has there been this distinction?

Sandra St. Victor: The 3 of us have come from different backgrounds. That's what makes us so unique together. Mine was pure soul and funk. I also dabbled in jazz and even classical, but soul was always my base.

Q: The release of your announced @mysphere album suffered a little bit from your recent projects. When will it finally see the light of day? And in which way is it different from Gemini and Mack Diva?

Sandra St. Victor: What I want to do with @MySpheres is create a unified piece. All done in one period. That's why it's taking me so long. I haven't found the block of time I need to do this.. My previous CDs were done over time, dealing with many schedules. This time, I wanna find the time to tell a complete story as it happens.

Q: Please tell me more about the @mysphere album. With whom did you work on it and what will it sound like?

Sandra St. Victor: Ooooh ... That's a secret! But it won't disappoint, don't worry ;-)

Q: Your lyrics are very personal and for me they have that certain something that separates a good song from a great song. One of my favourites for example is the rather desperate Knocked Up & Locked Down. Do you also do this song live in performance? I could imagine it's hard to get into this special mood this song represents.

Sandra St. Victor: Thanks Dirk! This goes back to the sincerity thing. If you write and sing about what you know or what you can really feel, it will hit people in the right places. Whether you know it or not, it's the "real"ness of a song that touches you. I do sing this song a lot live. It is very trying emotionally, but I can always get into the space of the storyteller, and bring it.

Q: How much of yourself is in songs like Knocked Up & Locked Down, If You Loved Yourself More, Move Me or Winter In My Heart? What inspires you when you write the music and lyrics?

Sandra St. Victor: Well, I've had some really sweet relationships, and I've had some really BAD ones. The bad ones seem to inspire me more. Why is that I wonder? But I seem to have more to get off my chest after or during a bad situation.

Q: Is there a favourite Sandra St. Victor song you have? If so, which one and why?

Sandra St. Victor: Yes, it's "Don't Bring Me Down" [read the lyrics below just in case you don't know this song] from the Mack Diva CD. I think it's because I really believe in live and let live. This song represents that for me. Let me be who I am, whoever that may be on that day, in that moment. Accept everyone for who they are.

Q: I still think the lyrics of the first Evon Geffries & The Stand single Sex w/o Love hit the spot and I wonder if you will ever do a new version maybe with a more organic feeling?

Sandra St. Victor: I doubt it. We thought it was a timely piece then, Now it's actually a bit understated I think.

Q: You had the chance to record a duet with the late Curtis Mayfield. Curtis was also known for the message in his music and he criticised what's wrong in this world. You also did this on songs like Slippin' Into Darkness, Dizzy or Child's Gotta Gun. But yet there aren't many musicians in the black music genre who are political and denounce the failures in this world. What's your opinion why this doesn't happen too often?

Sandra St. Victor: Most artists want to make money! Not that we don't mind you ... But the industry doesn't support politicians .... At all. We take the chance that we'll be stopped at the gate every time we open out mouths.

Q: You're now living in the Netherlands and as far as I remember also married a Dutch and have a daughter with him. What do you like about the Netherlands that you moved there. In which way is living there different to living in the USA?

Sandra St. Victor: Yes, I have two little jewel daughters with him. It's just another space on the planet that I wanted to experience. Nothing more, nothing less.

Q: Recently there have been some worrying signals from politicians in the Netherlands (e.g. Rita Verdonk demanded that people only speak Dutch in public). And then there's a new law that immigrants have to pass a test to become Dutch with questions like "do you make tea with hot or cold water" or "how long does the train from Amsterdam to Enschede take". Unfortunately many German politicans want to establish such tests in Germany too. And there's even a discussion to force pupils to speak German only on schoolyards. What do you think of the development that may lead to a "fortress European Union"? Have you recognized any changes in your everyday life in the Netherlands recently?

Sandra St. Victor: Not yet, but I do expect to see some changes in the future. I'd rather people were allowed to use whatever tongue they felt more comfortable in. Only in school settings where you are learning the language should you be expected to speak the native tongue. By narrowing the playing field so much for people, it creates more division instead of more harmony. People will feel less likely to become a part of the social system instead of more likely because they're being forced. I had to take a test to see if I could speak the language well enough to get by in daily life. It wasn't a problem, but if I were forced to speak Dutch every time I stepped out of my house, I'd go back to New York! I think that's what they want; people to go back where they came from.

Q: Will there be an extensive tour to promote the new Family Stand release? And will you also visit Germany?

Sandra St. Victor: We don't have plans yet for Germany, but I don't have the full schedule for the year yet. We'll keep you posted!

For more infos visit sandrastvictor.com, Sandra's myspace site myspace.com/sandrastvictor, The Familys Stand's myspace site myspace.com/thefamilystand (and hopefully soon online without redirection to The Family Stand's myspace site thefamilystand.net) and daughtersofsoul.com.


The lyrics of Don't Bring Me Down:

If I'd like to kiss the sky
If I say that I can fly
Don't bring me down
If I'd like to cross the ocean wearing just desire and lotion
Don't bring me down
Don't, don't, don't bring me down
Don't, don't, don't bring me down
If I only had one wish and I spent it one one kiss with you
Would you think that was silly
If I'm naked in your presence
Could you take me to heaven
Would you please go down
Don't, don't, don't bring me down
Don't, don't, don't bring me down
And after that that first night I knew
And the next time I thought you felt it too
And that other night i lost myself
After I gave it to you
Please don't say there's someone else
Shhh, don't say it, don't say it
Shhh, don't wanna hear about it
Shhh, don't say it please don't
Shhh let me have you even if I can't have you
If I'd planned to love you deeply
Spending every moment sweetly
Don't bring me down
If I vow to you forever
Please don't take away my pleasure
Don't, don't, don't bring me down
Don't, don't, don't bring me down