Sam Hare Continued
BM: Why do you feel that young people are not as attracted to the Blues as other Genres?
Sam: Because they think it is just the cliche that I mentioned in question 5. Too many people make up their minds about things too quickly without really knowing enough about it. You know, a lot of people say they can't stand Country music, but they love the 'Oh Brother, where art thou?' soundtrack, or they confess to liking a bit of Johnny Cash now and again. Many people out there have already made their minds up about what Blues is, because they've heard 'The Blues Brothers' soundtrack or something. Yet, they could walk into a gig and see something really funky or something, and like it - without really ever being aware that it's just the Blues played with a slightly different attitude. Actually,
Seasick Steve is a really good example again - he is playing to the masses all over the world, but they don't necessarily know they are
listening to the Blues. Or, I'm not particularly a fan, but John Mayer is another one... he himself will admit that he is essentially just a blues guitar player who started writing songs outside of the usual blues form, as Clapton did before him I guess. But they've crossed into the
mainstream somehow. When people hear David Bowie's 'Let's dance' on the radio, they don't realise they are listening to the Blues, but Stevie
Vaughan's solo at the end is about as shit-kicking as blues gets in my opinion. I guess the sooner the Blues genre can shake off it's cliched
pre-war image, the better. You know... 'the Blues had a baby, and they named it Rock n' Roll'. Then 'Rock' music evolved from that. I think the
general record-buying public would be less harsh on the Blues if they fully realised that none of The Beatles, The Stones, Elvis or even more
modern bands like The Kings of Leon or Oasis could have ever existed without it.
© Simon Law
spreads. And then, having watched 'The Last Waltz', I went out and bought records by obviously The Band, plus Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, The Staples Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr John, Paul Butterfield and so on. And all the time this is happening, I grew up with my two brothers who were getting into other stuff, and we were always making each other compilations, and playing each other things. So I was then, and am now constantly getting into new stuff.
So, I have what I consider to be a fairly wide and diverse taste in music. But the stuff that gets me the most, the stuff I always come back to and the stuff I listen to the most on a daily basis... is all the stuff that seems to mix Blues with Country, Soul, Folk, Gospel and other things to form a sort of music that defies genre. That is kind of what I wanted to do with my album. To me, you can't really pigeon-hole The Band, Derek & the Dominos, The Allman Brothers, George Harrison's 'All things must pass' album, 'King Curtis at Fillmore West', 'From Elvis in Memphis', 'Exile on Main St'...... that's the music that I find the most inspiring, and seems to have a longer shelf life to me.
BM: What sort of music did you listen to growing up?
Sam: All sorts... a lot of the stuff I've already mentioned. But I was raised on mainly 50s Rock n' Roll. My parents were both big music fans, and some of my earliest memories are of them playing me music in some capacity. A greatest hits of their record collections, and the stuff that I was most into growing up: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Lonnie Donnegan, The Coasters, Duane Eddy, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones....
Through all that stuff, and then getting into Blues, I have branched out
to a lot of other stuff that all incorporates itself into my writing,
singing and playing. To me, there are some very natural progressions: Like.... When you're playing blues on a guitar, especially if you're white and from Surrey, sooner or later, you are going to stumble across Eric Clapton. I got very into the Derek & the Dominos 'Layla' album, and still am. So I discovered Duane Allman, then from there onto The Allman Brothers Band, plus anyone Duane ever recorded with... so before you know it, you are listening to Delaney & Bonnie, Eddie Hinton, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, and then anyone else who ever recorded in Muscle Shoals or Memphis because I became obsessed with the sound of all those records - So it becomes a bit like a virus spreading or something, the way it
BM: When did you start playing guitar?
Sam: I got an acoustic when I was 17, and then my first gig on electric was when I was 19.
BM: How would you like to see music change over the next 10 years?
Sam: I'd just like to see it constantly evolving, but never forgetting where it all came from.
BM: If you wasn’t a musician (in a band) what would you be doing?
Sam: Well, I have been a photographer in the past, and I do extra/acting work now, which I never thought I'd be that into until I did it. I've always loved films, but now I kind of like being in them too. So... That's what I'd be.
BM: You are a singer/songwriter. What drives your song-writing?
Sam: Everything. My life and past experiences, and what the future holds.
Anything I've ever seen, heard or thought of. I feel I have written a fair few auto-biographical songs, so I'd definitely like to start writing with a bit more imagination, more like a story teller. But I don't have any recipe for writing a song - every one I have ever written has happened differently.
Sam Hare - 'Down to the sea' is available from www.samhare.com (for the
6-page digipak) or all the usual digital download sites.
BM: If you had the opportunity to play with any blues artist dead or alive live on stage who would it be?
Sam: Mmm...if I'm only allowed one... King Curtis. If he's not bluesy enough, I'll go with BB King in his heyday.
BM: What do you do to relax when you have some spare time away from music?
Sam: Well, I'm pretty much always listening to music. But I also watch a lot of films, I like cooking, walking my dog, playing poker, playing
Scrabble, driving, surfing, playing tennis, drinking and hanging out with friends.... all the usual!
Thank you for a great interview Sam.
Barry Middleton
Nottingham Blues Society
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