Karyn Roy Smith Inspired, Changed

Sarah McLachlan and Tori Amos Give New Direction With Songwriting

Sep 25, 2007

Karyn Roy Smith is inspired and changed by two female songwriters - Sarah McLachlan andTori Amos. Smith finds a new direction for her songwriting.

In this fourth part of our discussion with Karyn Roy Smith, she talks about the time when she was spiritually dry. This time in her life was a crucial part in leading her to God’s current plans for her.

Karyn Roy Smith Inspired by Sarah McLachlan

During the time Smith turned away from the Lord, she found inspiration in other music. She turned to secular music and found a kinship in the music of Sarah McLachlan. Smith says, “I stopped listening to Christian music, I completely stopped listening to Christian music, and during that 3 year period or so, a friend of mine introduced me to Sarah McLachlan and I fell in love with her. I mean I just went crazy.

“I went from Amy Grant to Sarah McLachlan and I went to Lilith Fair and all the lesbians were there. My friend got hit on by lesbians, (laughs) all of these crazy things, you know. They all drank too much, but it was my, kind of, emotional rebellion, and we saw the Indigo Girls.

“What that ended up doing for me is it opened up a new thing about song writing. I saw these women and these people writing on a different level. It was very emotional, it was very raw. It wasn’t all wrapped in a pretty bow and, just the place where I was at, it just spoke volumes to me.”

Karyn Roy Smith Changes Careers and Finds Tori Amos

In this time of her life, smith decided to go another route with her career. She became a masseuse. This path led her to stumble across another talented songwriter, Tori Amos.

Of this time in her life Smith tells, “And then in 99, I went to massage school. I left teaching and all of that and became a licensed massage therapist… A friend of mine from massage school, she was crazy. I mean they’re crazy in massage school. New agers, they’re just so weird.

“She took me to see Tori Amos. I loved Tori Amos, but I wasn’t super familiar, but I liked what I heard. I love Crucify and all of those off the little earthquake album. I went to this concert at the Greek Theater in LA, but it’s outdoors, an outdoor venue, and I showed up with my friend Katherine. It was a full moon that night and I think it was right around my birthday. It was around August or September.

“And there was a full moon, and I sat down, and I had never really been to a secular concert other than that Lilith Fair thing but that was still like a festival thing. I walked in this place and sat down with her and there were the craziest people that I had ever seen. There were fairies in the front row with their wings and there were kids that were punked out and they all looked like they were from a different planet. Then the music starts and her band comes out, but she didn’t come out right away . The band’s going, it’s getting you emotionally frenzied, and it was like a wall of sound. It was so loud, and just the whole ambiance and atmosphere. And she came out sat down at the piano and it was like taking off in a space shuttle or something. It was a totally transcendent kind of experience.”

The copyright of the article Karyn Roy Smith Inspired, Changed in Christian Music is owned by Shane Werlinger. Permission to republish Karyn Roy Smith Inspired, Changed in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.