We chatted to Warren Meredith, lead vocalist of Taming Sari all about the band’s growth, Warren’s personal musical influences and much more!
Taming Sari is an Ottawa, Canada-based consisting of five members. Led by lead singer Warren Meredith, Taming Sari released their debut single in July 2019. As with any creative project, they have grown considerably in that time, including replacing their longtime lead guitarist.
Read on for the full Courageous Nerd– Warren Meredith interview.
Welcome Warren and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.
Warren Meredith (WM): Thanks so much for having me here. It’s great to be here, Conor.
People may know you as the lead vocalist of Taming Sari. Before we get into the band directly, how did your own personal journey into music start?
WM: When I was 6 or 7, I got into some plays. I really loved it – memorising the lines, getting onstage, all that stuff. It was very fun. The next thing after that was when I was about 10; I got into dance. Jazz, tap, ballet. When I was 20-21, I figured out I could kind of sing. It was kind of a shock, I didn’t know I could sing at all.
I figured out the old vaudevillian triple threat – act, dance and sing. I kind of figured that out in my own way through life, which was kind of cool.
Where did the name Taming Sari come from? Is there a story behind it?
WM: Taming Sari is a real kris, it’s a ceremonial dagger much like Excalibur. This kris has its own legendary tale in Malay folklore. We stumbled upon it and were like, “It sounds so cool and has this incredible story where it translates into ‘flower shield’. I thought it was really beautiful.
From a direct English perspective, we thought “Who is Sari and why is mankind trying to tame her?” We thought that would be the direction to look at it.
Sari is Mother Nature and mankind is always trying to tap into that sacred energy. We had the two meanings. We’re never going to put a kris/dagger as our logo. That’s never going to be our thing. We like having a double meaning.
As a rock band, which other acts would you describe as influences for Taming Sari? Do you try to avoid emulating other band’s sounds?
WM: I think we definitely look at bands like The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Black Crows. I think there’s a deep amount of work that’s been done in the classic rock genre.
What can fans of Taming Sari expect in the near future?
WM: The last song we had, Crazy, had some very good traction here in Canada. Also, some very good traction with Spotify. It was the first time we’d had a song in 2 months go over 150k streams. That was really cool to see.
The song also charted #35 on the Canadian Active Rock charts. For an independent band, it’s a very cool little feat. It’s never happened before. The next song will be Imposter, we’ll release that in January. Hopefully, with a music video. We were working with a Circus Arts group to bring a very cool video concept to life.
Dead or alive, who would be your dream musical collaborator?
WM: I think Janis Joplin would be my first choice, with Jimi Hendrix. I’d take the 2 of them and I think we’d have a great song. I’m not sure I’d have to say anything at all. It would be incredible to work with those people.
There are so many living legends as well. I love the Merry Christmas song with Elton John and Ed Sheeran. I was a big fan of how that collaboration came out. You never know, there are so many great artists. You never know who you could pair with. It would probably come out quite good, as long as they’re a passionate artist.
Like many forms of entertainment, the music industry is very competitive. What advice would you give to anyone looking to pursue music professionally?
WM: I think everyone has a completely different journey, especially when it comes to a dream chase. Ultimately, they have to be prepared. If you’re an artist, you need to be prepared to fail. You need to be prepared to be vulnerable. When you are prepared to do these two things, you’ll probably start to see some growth. You’ll probably start to see some big things happen.
I see a lot of artists today focused on online plays, or whatever. I think it’s really important that artists get back to fundamentals. Never forget how important it is to get out there and get those reps. Have fun with it. I think a lot of times, people look at songwriting as a real chore.
When I first started, I’d look at Bob Dylan. I’d look at his lyrics and be like, “How did he figure out all these lyrics?”
What do you personally hope to accomplish in 2022?
WM: We want to tour, we want to get going touring and play a lot of dates. Then, I’d like to work hard towards being able to play in Europe in 2023. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun for us. I think it’s more realistic for us to dream about playing in Europe right now than in the United States. It is so difficult to get that going. That’s also part of the goal, part of the dream.
I’d just like to keep going in the direction that we are. COVID has shut down a lot of bands or slowed them down to a crawl. Our band is still very united and very active. We just want to keep finding ways to connect with people.
Thanks again for taking the time, Warren. Take care and stay safe!
WM: Thank you so much Conor, thank you very much for having me on. We really appreciate it.
