Dating back to when this website was a blog on wordpress, we advertised  (art + community + callings + interviews).  Up till this point we had delivered on all with the exception of the interviews.  We’ll I’m happy to say now… it’s really true.

There has been a general lack of posts this week mainly due to the hours upon hours I’ve spent editing my first interview with Caety Sagoian. I’m publishing a very edited interview with Caety as a bit of a teaser, something for everyone to read and get jazzed up for our, wait for it… first podcast.

Podcasts are like assholes, everyone’s got one, and some people are one.  We’re trying to make a good one that can hopefully separate itself from the hoard of other podcasts already out there.  My goal is to have a new one up every week or at the very least every other week, preferably we’ll interview a new secretly-important person each time.  Sometimes it may just be me and some kind of regular guest humorously discussing a topic.

Prior to the release of each podcast interview I will be publishing a heavily edited written transcript of that interview.  This will be something for those who don’t listen to podcasts to read and get some of the high points of the interview, maybe even convince them to check out the podcast. I hope you enjoy.

It occurred to me while preparing to conduct my first interview that the subject is someone that I’ve known for nearly ten years.  Caety and I met at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle our freshman year, we were placed in the same section of the theater department which meant that we had all the same classes together.

From the first time I met her I was a victim of Caety’s instant likable personalty.  I couldn’t help but like her, she probably could have called my mom a whore and I still would have liked her, she’s just that kind of person.  By the end of our freshman year she, our classmate Kevin, and my future wife became very good friends.  The “whoretet”e we called ourselves.  Looking back on it I’m not exactly sure how we all got so close, I think it might have been because all four of us were involved in a freshman theater festival together.

When my wife and I decided to get married we  arrived at the idea of having her be our officiant .  She did a beautiful job and I couldn’t think of anyone better to have done it.  She made quite the impression on our non-college friends and family and twice since our wedding people have inquired to us about her availability for officiating their wedding.

This is Caety the friend.  Caety  the artist is no less likable or impressive.  She has a wickedly sharp tongue and can spit out a phrase that would make you wish you had a t-shirt printing factory on speed dial.  A voice that could rip your heart apart, at our wedding it was my wife’s request that Caety sing a song At Last.  This will sound cheesy and it is, but there was not a dry eye in the house.

When thinking about who I should interview for the website Caety was one of the first people to come to mind, she is the definition of secretly-important.  An immensely talented actor, voice over talent, and singer songwriter, I often wonder why the whole world doesn’t already know about her.

Caety came over to my house on what of course was the hottest day of the year here in the ever cloudy Pacific Northwest.  I had run test after test with the microphone none of them however, with a fan running in the background.  Subsequently when you eventually listen to the podcast you will notice a slight fan sound keeping Caety and I from melting in my not-so-sound-proof office.

She was an absolute pro about the whole thing and after recording for about an hour she had to run out and take her brother to the airport.  She offered to come back afterwards and we ended up recording for another hour and a half.

brian s snider

You were born in southern California.

caety sagoian

I was born in Long Beach and we lived in Dada Point, which is a beach side town in the OC.

When did you decide that you wanted to be in the arts?

I always knew that I wanted to perform in some aspect.  From a very young age I was incredibly performative.  My mom put me in all those clichéd little kid classes, not like a stage mom, in fact the exact opposite of a stage mom.

I remember being in this ballet class and I couldn’t do any of it because my little chubby body could not pirouette.  I remember we had this performance and everyone was in these pink leotards, apparently they didn’t come in adorable chubby baby size.  So I had this green leotard and I looked different from everyone.  I remember really not being able to cartwheel.  I was already not part of the crowd and  us performing and me making the conscious decision, ‘Screw it, I’m going to somersault,’ because I knew I would look good rolly pollying across the floor.  I guess that was the moment I knew I’m going to do it my way.

I think you can tell the true actors when they’re young because they really ham it up.  They go with what they like and if the audience likes it, they’ll do it a million times.

Oh yeah.  I’m sure I was an annoying little kid.

You started acting… when?

The first real acting I did, I was twelve or thirteen, and my mom made me do a summer theater program.  I really didn’t want to do it and my mom said, ‘Give it a week, if you hate it you can stop.’  She’s a genius because I fell in love with the whole process and continued to do it throughout high school.

How did you approach college?

College was really important to me because I looked at it like ‘I’m going to be a sponge.  I’m just going to soak up all the information and I’m going to use it.’  I never wanted to look at it five years later like, god, I regret going there.

 As soon as you graduated what did you start doing?

I was in an internship the last couple of months of senior year at the Seattle Shakespeare Company, we did Cyrano de Bergerac.  It was a really cool experience, getting to work in a professional theater setting while your still in school.  Then I auditioned for the Seattle Children’s Theater in the fall and ended up getting cast.  I kind of came out of the gate getting cast in good parts in professional theaters.

You’ve developed a relationship with the Seattle Children’s Theater.  Over the last five years you’ve worked there a lot.

I’ll be doing my seventh show with them this fall.  (Harold and the Purple Crayon)

How did you begin in music?

My mom and dad said I sang before I talked.  Music has always been maybe the most important thing in my life.  It’s always been my biggest passion, but I always had this voice that never quite fit in any particular situation.  I was never right for choir and I was never really right for musical theater because my voice never really was pure enough.  I never found the musical slot that I fit in very well.

I took a jazz voice class my senior year of college and the final for that class was that you had to sing at a live jazz club.  It was so thrilling  to get to sing and then realize ‘Oh, I can do that.‘  At the same time in college I met Asa Taccone, who became a very important musical figure in my life.  Asa move to LA right after college and he was definitely pursuing music full time.

In the summer of 2008 he said ‘Why don’t you come on down here and let’s make a music demo.’  I went down to LA and I lived with Asa and his housemates for about two weeks, and we wrote and recorded this demo.  I made it in hopes of shopping it around and pursuing a music avenue.

You have a demo, what is the rest of the life of it?

I wasn’t really able to do anything for myself, to give myself a music name.  And really it was because I was in Seattle, and all the opportunities I really wanted were in Los Angeles, I was able to use that demo to book all sorts of other different things.  I was able to get music parts for different commercial campaigns.  Even though it was a couple of years ago I think there is one particular song on there [the demo] that still has a life form. **

This has been a very brief excerpt of my interview with Caety.  The full interview will be available in our podcast later this week. (the secretly-importantcast).  There you be able to hear Caety discuss her college years, working as an actor, how she became a voice over talent, and how her music career began.  You can also hear our discussion about musician and producer relationships as well as Caety’s unbelievable story of being the runner up to Nikki Blonsky for the film version of Hairspray.

You can see Caety performing in Harold and the Purple Crayon at the .  You an also hear her voice over work in various places including the voice of Bowser Jr. in the Mario Bros. games.  She also has a voice over as well as on camera spot on the PBS show Biz Kid$.  Last but certainly not least, if you do nothing else you must check out her myspace page which is the exclusive place to listen to her incredible demo.  I promise once you hear it you’ll want to hear more by her.  We’ll also be playing a few of her songs throughout the podcast.