Sarah Sample
Singer/songwriter Sarah Sample has a subtle, yet impressive presence. The first time I saw Sample was not on a stage, it was on an elevator in the Norwegian Dawn (cruise ship) during the second day of Cayamo 2010. She boarded a crowded elevator in the midst of a conversation with another group. Just as quickly as she was engaged in discussion with them, she just as easily brought my wife and myself into the conversations. Not surprisingly she’s just as engaging on stage and with her music in general. After her performance with Darrell Scott on the cruise, I spoke with her briefly and she agreed to do this email interview. We got a chance to discuss her music and her affinity for in-house concerts. Before getting to the questions, consider some of the influences that Sample lists at her Facebook fan page: “Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch, Josh Ritter, Paul Simon, The Weepies, Emmylou Harris, Ray LaMontagne, Shawn Colvin…” My thanks to Sample for the interview.
Tim O’Shea: Can you breakdown the process of how you ended up as a performer on the Cayamo 2010 cruise–by winning the Concerts in Your Home (CIYH)/Cayamo contest?
Sarah Sample: I went on the Cayamo Cruise as a listener last year. My experience being on the boat as a listener was filled with beautiful memories of incredible musical moments; and at the same time it was hard to be a singer/songwriter and not be able to perform. This year I saw that CIYH was doing a contest where you could submit a video performance of a house concert, and the winner got to be an artist on Cayamo 2010. I play a lot of house concerts, so I selected a video of a song called ‘Mercy Me‘ and sent it in. When I got the call that I had won, I started jumping up and down in the kitchen. Really big dream come true.
O’Shea: While you were performing at Cayamo, you also got to play part of a set with Darrell Scott, who you studied under for a period. What kind of songwriting lessons did you take away from a musician like Scott?
Sample: Darrell Scott’s musicality is just astounding. An incredible master of many instruments, gifted songwriter, soulful voice, and talented producer. I don’t think you can teach what he does. The main lesson I have learned from Darrell Scott is that inspiration has to be the starting point and guide for all good songwriting. To play a song in his set was more than a highlight of the cruise, it was a highlight in my whole career. By the third chorus he was singing along, and I wished I could stay in that moment longer than 4 minutes.
O’Shea: Last year was a busy year for you–you released a new album (2009′s Born to Fly); and experienced a variety of successes including being a 2009 Kerrville New Folk Finalist and playing on the 2009 Storyhill Festival Main Stage. In a creative field like yours, there are many highs and lows. Do you try to remember the highs more, so as to make the lows a smidge more tolerable?
Sample: When you are an independent artist the motivation to continue your career all comes from within yourself. I’ve worked very hard this last year being happy where I am at and grateful for all that I have. It has changed a lot for me. I’ve had the best year of my life. And I think that all starts with deciding to focus on the positive.
O’Shea: On Twitter, right after Cayamo, you wrote: “…Most incredible week ever! Got to hang with my hero’s.” Care to divulge who some of your heroes are?
Sample: Can I just say the whole Cayamo lineup! Emmylou Harris, Darrell Scott, Brandi Carlile, Rachel Yamagata, Edie Carey, Katie Herzig, Gregory Alan Isakov, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Miller, Jay Bellarose (drummer with Buddy), also Doug Lancio (guitar player with John Hiatt) etc. To be honest, some of my favorite moments on the boat were hanging out with some of the listeners. Like John and Noleen from Ireland, they are at heart Lyle Lovett fans but have flown overseas for all three Cayamo Cruises. The group of fans who come on the boat are pretty amazing people; the audiences that were at my shows were responsive, kind, funny, and respectful.
O’Shea: How much have social media networks (twitter, facebook, myspace, youtube) helped you to build a following for your music?
Sample: I use a lot of the social media network tools…I think it is just one more way to make connections and let people know when you are playing music. Also, with all of the status updating, I think it allows people to get a glimpse into the everyday life of an artist.
O’Shea: How does your Mormon faith influence your songwriting, if at all?
Sample: My faith has a lot to do with the person that I am and who I strive to be and therefore is a part of my creative process. I don’t write ‘religious music’ but I’ve had many songs that I’ve written that feel like a prayer in some ways. Spirituality and inspiration feel very connected.
O’Shea: Your song, Never Close Enough, finds it roots in a former boyfriend who struggled with addiction. With a song like that, that touches upon a painful stage in your life on some level, is it ever hard to perform a song of that nature?
Sample: Of course. And yet when you write the truth than it moves people. The songs where I try to be really honest in the writing process are the songs that listeners end up wanting to hear more of.
O’Shea: Please tell me about your BA in Music Therapy?
Sample: I received my undergrad degree in Music Therapy several years ago. I spent a year in Austin practicing Music Therapy. I think that creative therapies benefit many people and I loved watching music change lives in a therapy setting.
O’Shea: You often do house concerts–from the audience’s standpoint the positives are pretty obvious, but from your perspective as a performer what do you view to be beneficial about the experience?
Sample: I love how intimate the setting is in someones home. Everything feels connected and I feel like there is a lot of joy in the room. To be part of a music gathering in a living room is energizing to an artist. Playing a loud bar compared to playing to a room of new friends…. I know what I will choose everytime.
O’Shea: What’s creatively on the horizon for you? Is there anything you’d like to discuss that I neglected to ask you about?
Sample: Yeah, I hope that every year of making music is better than the one before. I am writing right now in hopes of making a new record this summer. And a new album always brings new opportunities, new audiences, and is one more chance to make a difference in the world.
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