THIS PAGE IS ALL ABOUT THE BACKSTORY OF THE

SARAH ARTHUR PROJECT

The Story Behind the Story

The Sarah Arthur Project by Alan Graf (producer, composer).

What I and my fellow musicians have been doing for the past six months, or perhaps a lifetime:

A few of my musical friends and I have spent the entire winter finishing off a folk musical, entitled Sarah Arthur, the Spiritual Journey of an American Jewish Woman. a Folk Musical.

It is a story in narrative form connecting fourteen tunes that I wrote 12 of, George Gelish co-wrote one with me (Let There Be Peace), and Stella Trudel wrote --Moses and Buddha. Charlie Shew co-produced the musical and played as an instrumentalist on a number of songs. He, like the rest of us, cares a lot about the state of things in the world.

The story goes back more than 35 years to when I was in law school and met Maria Callahan (of The Turntables), one of the singers in the musical. We played in a band together but also did stuff like playing guitars without strings in front of Nordstrom’s in Portland, Oregon to protest the forced removal of street musicians by the city. Some of the songs on the album were written back then. Activism in music runs in our blood.

The folk musical has various themes which include a search for meaning in life, working for the rights of others including refugees, looking for a place where you feel at home and fighting against tyranny and fascism. Sarah's story in part resembles my own story combined with that of the fictional character Siddhartha, from Hermann Hesse's book, to put the story together.

The entire project, is part of the Sarah Arthur Project’s ongoing effort to effectuate positive change in the world. Our hope is that people, particularly in this troubled world will resonate with the struggles of this fictional woman, and through the songs and narrative, find hope and meaning in their own lives. Any profits made from this musical will be donated to various charities doing work particularly with refugees.

Because this is the story of a strong yet vulnerable woman, I enlisted the help of my women friends to sing the songs and tell the narrative. It is a woman's story, but yet it is all of our stories. When I say all-I mean those of us who care deeply about the world, about each other, and about the fate and future of the planet.

We are hoping that this becomes more than a musical—perhaps a movement. If you are inspired by the message and the music, pass it on. Hand the torch over to your neighbors and friends.

The digital versions released on July 4th will be followed by a two album vinyl record from Citizens Vinyl. We have included a pre-order link below for those of you who are interested in getting the first batches of the vinyl. I have a deep nostalgia for vinyl because that was the first way I was introduced to music. Buying a vinyl and looking through the cover, photos and stories inside the cover was a special treat before I actually laid that vinyl down on the record player.

If you do pre-order, for what its worth, I will send you a personally signed and written letter of gratitude for ordering the record in advance of its publication--because I know that you get it, you get that we are all in this together, we all care about each other, and we will do our very best to make sure the world survives for our children and grandchildren.

Love and mutual respect,

Alan Graf