Kara McGraw
Employee
HQ: The lonely desk by the bay windows, San Francisco, CA
Some quirky factoids about me, selected at random:
–I love plants.
I confess, the first plant I ever owned I killed. I think it came down with a disease, and I was too young to recognize the symptoms before it was too late. Now I regard my plants as I would any pet. I name them, prune after them, and talk to them. In fact, one of my happiest memories from my high school life in Vermont was of reading poetry to my plants. I would sit surrounded by plants on the floor with a book of sonnets, basking in the warm light that shone through my bedroom balcony door.
Apparently plants grow best to rock music, so I figure the plants that I bring to my workplace must be particularly happy.
–I hate high heels.
My mother raised me to value comfort above style, such that I almost feel embarrassed to discomfort myself for the sake of appearance. (For this same reason, I choose not to pierce my ears.) I have weird and seemingly random ideals, but I take a certain pride in standing by them, even if that means rising to a mere 5 feet in height.
At any rate, I have come to accept that I am a shrimp and will always be such, and that’s okay with me.
– My spiritual color is yellow.
I don’t particularly like the color yellow. It’s weird in that it looks simultaneously happy and sickly. All the same, it just seems to be the color which the stars have assigned me.
How could I possibly know that, you ask? Well, when I was in sixth grade I developed a method for figuring out your spiritual color. This is how it worked:
1) Close your eyes
2) From a huge pile of colored pencils, pick out three (without looking)
3) With your eyes still closed, eliminate two pencils
4) The last remaining colored pencil is your spiritual color!
Pretty brilliant, eh?
Anyway, when I played this game, I apparently drew three different shades of yellow. Yup. Yellow it is.
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Jessica Drenkel
Employee
HQ: Big desk near the calendar, Seattle, WA
Welcome and thanks for reading. My name’s Jessica and I’ve been with Sarathan since the summer of ‘06. I have a varied history in the Seattle Music Business – including jobs with the Stranger, Neumos, Easy Street Records and constantly assisting local bands.
My personal taste in music is hard to understand. I never know what I’m going to fall in love with, and I like those surprises! Live shows is where my enthusiasm will never fade. It’s fascinating to hear and see how musicians translate their craft / passion / emotions into a live performance.
Need to know anything else? Well here I am!
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Mike Lengel
Intern
HQ: Desk facing a brick wall, Seattle, WA
While internships aren’t by any means the greatest and most heralded position in the music industry, they’re a bit like the floating lily pads in Frogger – you’d better hope one comes along very, very soon. I was lucky enough to find one before the alligator ate me alive. But for me, this isn’t just an internship, this is a chance. Sarathan Records, a proud, true, and successful label, is giving me a chance to write about music, and to experience life in the music industry as it ought to be: lively, not robotic; fun, not mundane; and honest, not tricky. The integrity of the label and the artists that call it home is a virtue worth studying and adopting, and one that promises the personal and intimate relationship that the music industry was founded on.
I’d better not screw this up.
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Alden Witt
Intern
HQ: Seat chosen at random, Seattle, WA
I am Alden Witt and I am a very serious man. As a musician and a writer, I have spent much of my life cultivating angst, which I extrude into my surrounding world via blog posts and other literary forms.
I’m a Washingtonian bred and born, raised in Bellevue/Redmond and now a student at the University of Washington (in creative writing). The excessive exposure to evergreens has made me able to photosynthesize my own food. When I’m not working my fingers at the majestic Sarathan headquarters I’m usually plucking on my guitar, singing, or trying to express my many deep and important emotions through words. Sometimes I will study.
Musically, I’m pretty mellow. I value compelling songwriting above all, and some of my favorites include Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds, Elton John, and a list so vast it could span the English channel. Take that Louis Bleriot.
But seriously, you should listen to our music.
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Shanika Davis
Intern
HQ: Desk with the big Mac, Seattle, WA
The most important facts you could ever know about me:
I love music, puppies, and High School Musical. I’m serious. I own all three movies and a lunch box.
Some other things: I’m addicted to coffee and cheese (well, food in general), I work in a record store called Easy Street, I’m really good at imitating people, my favorite band is Deftones, I own a fanny pack, and I really like crime drama shows.
The End.
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Joe Johnson
Intern
HQ: The middle desk, Seattle, WA
Joe has been involved in the music business for over 15 years now in many different capacities from booking and managing bands to roadie and studio work. Currently he is playing bass in the Seattle rock trio Uncle DooDad and enjoys doing stupid tricks on BMX bikes. He is thrilled to be working with such a talented and fun group of people while learning how to navigate through the ever-changing landscape that makes up the music biz.
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Bethany Johnson
Intern
HQ: Desk chosen at random, Seattle, WA
Hello! I’m Bethany Johnson and I just recently became part of the Sarathan marketing family. I’m a student at Seattle Pacific University working towards a Business/Marketing degree with a Russian minor. I am in love with music (who isn’t?) and I am determined that even though I was not blessed with musical ability of any kind, I will still base my career around it.
And Sarathan Records is a fantastic place to be starting out. My music taste is so eclectic it’s hard to fit into specific genres so I won’t really try (OK: I love everything from slow acoustic artists to underground hip-hop to Irish punk rock). It might be what first drew me to Sarathan Records. They explore so many different styles and genres and (in my opinion) are incredibly successful at it. My roommates are enjoying my internship almost as much as I do because I come home all the time with great new music for them, in fact all my CDs mysteriously disappear as soon as I walk in the door.
I’ve lived in too many places to count and so right now I call Seattle my home. But in the next year I will be picking up and moving once again, this time across the ocean to Edinburgh, Scotland where I will finish my degree.
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Drea Avellan
Intern
HQ: Desk chosen at random, Seattle, WA
A passion for music has brought me to Sarathan Records as an Online Marketing intern. As a graphic designer, I have a huge appreciation for art, design and gig posters. I relocated to Seattle from New York City a couple years ago and — although, I miss the big city — I love it! I am also a huge geek — I play video games, read comic book and love teh internetz. Other things I love: cheese, bacon, philly cheesesteak, fonts, monkeys.
