Samantha Fish talks blues roots, new album, pandemic touring
The Samantha Fish Band was on a European tour when the pandemic shutdown began in March 2020, requiring a 40-hour journey through Russia to get back home to New Orleans.
It brought the tour cycle for her sixth album, “Kill or Be Kind,” to an abrupt halt.
But Fish and her band have been itchier than most to stay on the road. They played drive-ins and socially distanced indoors shows over the summer and managed a 16date tour in October.
Now, they are among a handful of national acts out there this spring. In a phone interview last week, Fish said the tour is part of a needed injection to the club scene.
“They just rolled out this shuttered venue government financial aid, but what is it, April 2021? It’s about a year late. It’s been very difficult for these people. Part of playing these mini tours — it’s been great to get some revenue for the band — but it’s like trying to get this very small injection of funds into the music industry. You know, there’s booking agents, there’s managers, there’s clubs and crew and bartenders and all kinds of people that rely on this industry to stay afloat.”
Since breaking on the blues-rock scene in 2009 at 20 years old, the charismatic singersongwriter-guitarist from Kansas City, Mo., has built her career as a road warrior while making records that venture into R&B, soul, roots rock and swamp rock.
Along the way, she’s earned the respect of legends like Buddy Guy and won 10 Independent Blues Awards, including Artist of the Year. It seems like just a matter of time until the big breakout comes.
Maybe it happens with album No. 7, which she teases in this interview.
So you put out “Kill or Be Kind” in August 2019. I assume that you weren’t able to do all the touring you wanted to do behind it before things shut down.
It feels so weird because I didn’t even realize that until this year. I’ve lived with that album for such a while now, and then when I actually thought about it, I realized we only really got like six months of actual touring on that album cycle and the pandemic happened. And it was kind of hard to decide, like, are we going to just put a pin in this and pause and then wait for things to pick back up, or do we just move forward and make a new record, and I chose the latter. So, yeah, it feels a little strange that I’ve got a personal relationship with the record, and we didn’t really get to play it very much.
So, it sounds as if you did some more writing during the break?
Yeah, that’s what I did. We still had dates for July on the calendar, and it kind of hit me in June, like, “Oh, no, this is real. You’re in for a while, girl. Get comfortable.” So I really just focused on being creative and writing, and I’ve never been able to do that because, generally, we do tend to tour a lot, so a lot of my albums are written in hotel rooms and between shows, so to have an entire year in one spot to focus and write, I ended up recording an album in December in LA, and it’s done and it’s coming out this fall.
Great. What approach did you take on it?
It’s definitely guitar-heavy, and the songs are really focused in a way that maybe they weren’t so stylized before. I worked with this producer named Martin Kierszenbaum. He kind of works primarily in the pop world, so I definitely think some of those production treatments have worn off on it. But, to its core, it’s bluesy, there’s rock, there’s a little bit of mainstream pop sensibilities to the songwriting and the structure.
I’m just really excited about it. I think thematically, lyrically, I was a little surprised at how fun this record was, ’cause I really thought I was going to write, like, a dirge after 2020, but I feel like when I listen to these songs, I was writing from a perspective of being empowered and kind of in control — you know, wishful thinking. I think when it comes out, it’s going to be right on time with that theme.
It seems like there was a time where, if you were a blues-based artist, you were supposed to stay in your lane. Do you think that’s changed?
There’s a lot of commentary to be made on what’s accepted in a traditional blues format and what’s smiled upon and frowned upon, but in my personal perspective, my guitar playing is deeply rooted in blues music, and I feel like that kind of paints everything that I do.
I grew up listening to all different kinds of genres. I grew up with the radio — classic rock and pop and alternative music and hip-hop — and all that kind of stuff colors my music. I really got into soul music when I started singing, people like Etta James and Otis Taylor and Aretha Franklin, and I just liked the timeless, classic sound. All the great guitar players, they learned how to play guitar from listening to blues music. It’s like the foundation of everything we do, so, for me, it’s just a part of everything that I do, even if it’s not necessarily at the forefront.
If I’m not doing a standard shuffle or 14-5 blues song, I still feel like the way I express myself on my guitar and with my voice, it comes across bluesy. I try to
bring that Junior Kimbrough, that R.L. Burnside and rough it up a little.
Do you find it a challenge to write in this genre where so many classic songs have been written and so much of it has been done with the form?
Yeah, when I write a song, I’m not trying to write a blues song. I’m just trying to write a good song. And it’s the same with any genre. I’m not sitting here trying to write a good rock song or a pop song or something. I’m trying to just write a song that’s lyrically meaningful to me with a melody that I think is catchy and hooky, and when I put my guitar and my voicing on it, that’s when the blues part comes out.
How did you go about learning to play and did it come naturally to you?
My dad showed me how to play chords, and then he showed me the blues scale, and then it was kind of like, “You’re on your own.” I just started diving into different recordings and watching videos of, like, Freddie King playing in the 1970s. I focused on his hands. It’s different with singing — I actually went and took lessons with singing, ’cause that’s something that you feel, and you can’t watch somebody sing and figure out how they’re doing that. That took some coaching, but with guitar playing, I could watch somebody and see how they move their hands and the intensity with which they go after certain things, and you learn about phrasing.
I feel like my relationship with the guitar has been up and down. There’s been times where I felt like this real fluidity, where it comes really quickly, and then other times, I want to throw it down the stairs because it’s so frustrating. Probably every guitar player will tell you that. The relationship is very much a push-pull. Sometimes, you hit these walls, where you’re like, “I can’t possibly learn anything else. I feel like I’m stuck.” Then, something shakes loose, and you feel enlightened again and you’re empowered to keep going and you’re learning more things.
Did you have female role models? Like Bonnie Raitt, for instance?
I wish I could say I had more. Then you realize as you start diving into music that’s not so mainstream you start seeing that there’s actually a lot of female instrumentalists out there, just not quite at the mainstream levels of these mega male guitar heroes. But, yeah, Bonnie Raitt, definitely one of them. She has such a unique voice with her slide. I can tell it’s Bonnie. If I turn on the radio, I know it’s her and, my God, that’s the goal for every musician, I think. I don’t care if I’m the fastest or the best — If you can hear somebody and know it’s them, you’re winning as a guitar player. You have a voice.
That’s tough to do.
It is, but there are a few of them out there. I can think of a few contemporaries. Derek Trucks is one of those guys — you just know it’s Derek. Tab Benoit, I know it’s him.
Jack White.
I was just about to say Jack White. I love Jack White, and honestly, he is a blues nut. Everything he does is blues-oriented in a way. He’s one of those guys that I feel is almost overlooked sometimes by the blues world just because he came up in this alternative rock field, but he’s keeping it alive in his incredible way. It might not be like the most technical thing, but there’s this gut, raw feel that’s got so much personality.
By the way, “Sticky Fingers” is one of my favorite albums, too.
Ah, yeah! It’s like my favorite band. Just perfect rock ’n’ roll to me.
Their guitar sound is unreal. So much swagger to them.
Again, a guitar player who’s more about the feel and soul and the passion and the voice. Keith [Richards] has a voice, for sure. They’ve come up with some of the best rock ’n’ roll riffs, most copied, and people can’t do them justice because they don’t have that back swagger kind of thing. He’s got it.
I just saw them a couple of years ago in New Orleans, and like, something happened where they were messing up and Keith got them back on track, but it was so awesome to see a band at that level like [messing] up a little bit but then finding their way back. Man, that’s rad.
What was it like when you got to play with Buddy Guy?
The first time I played with him, I was so nervous, I don’t really remember. The second time [while on tour with Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd], I was more calm, and we actually had like a conversation with our guitars, which was really cool. You know, he’s a master at that, the conversational back and forth with another guitar player. His phrasing is like a human voice. It’s really incredible. So, I mean that was really special. I hope to do it again someday, but I’ll remember that forever.
I was going through your records, and I was thinking about the Grammys, how there was such a lack of musical talent and thinking you’re an amazing guitar player, you have an amazing voice, you’re beautiful — Why aren’t you up there? So, like, how big are your aspirations?
Everything happens in its due time. I feel really confident about the new album and the people I’m working with to hopefully carry across that next level. I mean, my aspirations are bigger than they’ve ever been. I don’t think I ever could have imagined when I was 18 years old, starting this journey, that I’d be doing what I’m doing right now. I mean, I’d love to go and do that, but I’m also thankful for what I’ve been able to accomplish and the journey that I’ve been on. I’m really lucky.
You know, it’s hard in the music world to get any kind of notice. So I feel blessed. And I’ve got some really incredible fans that have been so supportive, and album to album, they’ve stuck with me, so, God willing, we’ll all make it up to that stage.