Interview: Sam Sample at the Bitter End

Sam Sample at the Bitter End by Matthew Foster

Host: Susie Buckley

Transcribed by: Rory Perez

Date: 6/27/26

Sam Sample shares the behind-the scenes of her songwriting, the emotional journey of creating her new album, together with the artists who inspire her. From her late-night voice memos to navigating through creative setbacks and preparing for her Homecoming Tour, Sam opens up with her process, passion, and why making listeners feel less alone is the center of everything she creates. 

Susie: Hi! It’s Susie with Muah Music Media, and today I’m with Sam Sample! I know you’re very invested in your songwriting, do you have a specific routine for that? Like writing daily? Weekly? Or just whenever inspiration strikes?

Sam: Oooh! Great question! I write whenever inspiration strikes! I’m often waking up in the middle of the night and recording like a really rough audio note laughs I tried to do some programs with the artists’ way- the Julia Cameron book. So morning pages are good. I have a physical notebook that I write in a lot. 

Typically my process is I will either write in the notebook or record an audio note sitting with my guitar. But I’ll get it to a place eventually where I’ll come back to it, you know then make a demo and bring it to a producer and that’s typically what I would do and I’ll often have ideas for references or other tracks. 

I’m starting to experiment a little bit with my own, more hands-on engineering stuff, normally I’ll engineer my own vocals and guitar but I won’t do drums and bass stuff myself. I’ll work with someone to help me mock it up, but I’m trying to get to a place where I can mock it up myself.

Susie: Is your songwriting primarily driven by personal catharsis, or do you write with a specific audience in mind?

Sam: That’s another really good question. I think that it’s personal catharsis, but the audience I always write in mind for is like me in middle school who was desperately needing music in middle and in high school. It really reached me in a way that nothing else was at the time of my life, and I feel like it’s a great honor to contribute to that. The audience is kind of the people like me or who felt like I felt at that point of my life. But it is also personal catharsis. It’s very, part of like, it’s how I process. I think big emotions since you’re right about it yeah. 

Susie: Where would you say your inspiration mainly comes from when it comes to writing your most recent songs?

Sam: Mmm. I’m so excited about my new album. It spans a lot of ground. There's an emotional answer and there’s a sonic answer. 

Sonically, I’ve always considered myself like a folk rock artist, or an Americana rock artist. I think that my first album was a little heavier on the Americana and folkside.  I’ve gotten to lean and explore more of the rock side on this album too, which is good. I still think it’s very balanced, but it’s closer to the kind of genre space I'm trying to explore which is cool.

I grew up on a lot of 90s country, like Shania Twain, Martin McBride, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, and Chicks. Then in high school I got really into Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, and Gregory Alan Isakov. There’s Young the Giant and Imagine Dragons. I’m really into Catfish and the Bottlemen and Sam Fender. I think a lot of British rock really influenced the rock side of my sound. 

I’ve always loved really good songwriting, like lyrically Pinegrove. Jensen McCrae right now is crushing it too. I think those are a lot of the inspirations. I was actually originally gonna call the album “On Longing”. It’s about longing in different forms. 

In the title track “Go Go Go” it explores themes of ambition and chasing your goals and feeling really trapped by your schedule and the constant duties and responsibilities of life. Wanting to rebel against that longing for a time where you can kind of escape that, like capitalist machine and the social media of it all. And there’s some romantic longing songs. There’s some longing for answers- types of songs. 

I went through a really unexpected and painful friend breakup- a best friend of mine for 20 years and it was really hard for me and I wrote about that a lot and the processing of that which definitely found it’s way into the album. There’s some family stuff, as always some kind of personal stuff. There’s always songs about depression and emotion. 

Susie: Who are some artists that serve as huge inspirations to you as a singer and songwriter?

Sam: Yes! We did talk about Catfish and the Bottlemen. Love Catfish and the Bottlemen. I’ve been listening to The Killers lately. I just listened to their vinyl. 

I love Mgkee. I love Mgkee! He’s doing such cool stuff with the baritone guitar. My lead guitarist, a performer, lead guitarist and producer who produced a lot of the songs on this record is really into that sound too. So it’s like something we both have really liked and leaned onto. There’s a lot of baritone guitar on this record. 

Been getting into a lot of Radiohead. Leon is a Swedish artist I really like. I’ve been listening to her a lot again these days. Keo in the U.K. I’m obsessed with them. I got to hang out with them recently. They’re awesome guys. They remind me a lot of Wunderhorse who I also really like. They were definitely a reference for some of the songs on the b side of this record. 

It’s always Catfish and the Bottlemen. I’m wearing their shirt. I’m going to wear it tonight at the show. They’re like my favorite band of all time. 

Susie: If you could collaborate with any artist right now — someone who would push you creatively — who would it be and why?

Sam: Catfish and the Bottlemen- they’re not active right now but that would be awesome. I don’t think they do much collaborating even if they were together. 

Sam Fender has been a huge favorite of mine for a long time. I consider him an indie rock artist but I think he has some folk elements and I think he’s just a really masterful songwriter and guitar player and I would love to write with him. 

I got to spend time with another favorite artist of mine, Josiah and the Bonvilles recently and that was really cool. I grew up on a lot of his music. 

Hmmm this is such a  hard question. I was thinking about that recently of what would be my dream artist and there’s so many that come to mind. I think of all the ones I mentioned of my childhood favorites: Young the Giant and Imagine Dragons and how they were just so inspirational to my sound and the music I love and really connect with.

Susie: How have your past experiences or creative setbacks shaped your current writing style ?

Sam: Also this is way back in the first question about my songwriting process. But I very much start from a place of emotion? And being like “What is this emotion? What does it sound like? What should it feel like when you’re listening to it?” 

Both the instrumentation, sonic world, and the lyrics. Sometimes you’re doing something like an intentional mismatch because it’s gonna make someone feel a type of way. I very much lead with the emotion and have a lot of intention behind each song with what emotion it is trying to convey.

Which is not how everyone writes, which was kind of surprising to me actually to learn what because to me, that’s so paramount to make music and some people they just kind of go with the vibe a little more. Which is cool and I'm trying to open my mind to that a little bit more too, but I’m very emotion led. 

I think that one big music industry learning I’ve had and you know, I’ve started doing this three-ish years ago, three to four years ago. Would be maintaining the attitude of you have to have such a delusional self-belief that you’re choosing to believe. A music career will workout and it makes it easier to deal with the minor setbacks because every closed door and you’ll get a lot of closed doors doesn’t feel like a signal that it’s not going to work. It feels like a random speed bump on the inevitable success that you’re going to achieve. I think that mental game is actually really crucial and that I’ve really shifted my mindset recently. As someone coming from my day job in tech, I didn’t have anyone in music that I knew at all and just kind of had to figure out one step after another how to make a music career. 

I think where I’m at right now is that I can be very prone to chasing after things. Whether it’s an artist I like that I want to be their friend or I want most of my music or I have an idea that a label could sign me. I could not have to be working so much and spend more time making music. I’m really working to adjust my mindset of I actually have everything I need and that it’s just about continuing to keep going, try to write as much as you can, be the best songwriter you can be, improve at the craft, keep doing it for a long time and believe that it’ll work out. 

I think that’s the right attitude to have and believing that your people will find you. It goes for the fans and your team. You want people that find you because they believe in it and they believe in the music and how it connects with them, not the people that you had to convince to be your friend which is a fact about life too. 

Susie: This is related to the next question. Do you have any songs that have required a different approach from others?

Sam: There’s a variety.  Sometimes I like this song with an acoustic guitar but I don’t know what the studio recording should sound like. You’d have to experiment a lot more and try different things. Sometimes you’d get it wrong and sometimes you aren’t working with the right producer and have to work with a different producer and try again and you’d have to stick with it. 

There’s a couple songs on this record that are like that. “Straight Talk” has taken me like ten years to get it right. That was one of the first songs I ever wrote. I got to meet Rainbow Kitten Surprise at one of their small shows in North Carolina in high school or early college. That song was inspired by some of their earlier stuff, and I’ve reproduced that song so many times. I’ve overproduced it and then had to strip it back, then the guitar sounded too night, then it just didn’t have the right emotion and then we finally nailed it which was awesome. I worked with producer William Gabori on that. He’s been so patient. We meet up every Monday after work in his home studio in Brooklyn.

There’s some others that need different approaches too. The third track off the record Violence is one I did with Zephyr Avalon who is a really talented artist. He plays bass in Zach Bryan’s band. He is really fun to work with and we met through a mutual friend and he’s been an awesome music friend and mentor. I got to go out to LA and record drums with one of his friends Cassidy and working remotely like that. He ended up going back on tour and I ended up finishing it up with Atlas here in New York. We changed a decent amount of it but it took a while to find it’s way to that song.

So I think there are some that end up being more like challenge tracks where it’s like “This is going to be hard” and we’re going to have to figure out by being like: 

Yes

No

No

No 

Yes 

And others where I know exactly what I want for this and we just have to execute it.

Susie: Do you have any exciting plans for your upcoming album?

Sam: Yes! We’re going on tour which is so exciting! We’re going to be playing in my hometown of Atlanta for the first time which I can’t wait! It’s called the Homecoming Tour and it really is a homecoming tour for me because we’re playing in a lot of places that are near and dear to me. 

We’re starting off in Brevard, North Carolina where I used to camp counsel. The camp I grew up going to, the counselors have a night off and they’re coming to the show so that’s going to be really special and fun. I used to play guitar and sing to my campers in my cabin and they told me I should sing and release music and at the time I said no because I was in high school. I think that moment was the first inkling of wait…could I? Is that something I could do? Even though it was something I didn’t take seriously at the time. 

And that’s also where I got my name Sam. One of my campers started calling me Sam from my last name “Sample” and that’s where Sam Sample came from. She’s a musician now too. Her name is Lily McMahan, she’s amazing!

We’re gonna be sharing the album on tour, but the roll out plan is pretty interesting. I wanted to create a way for folks to be more involved with the album and so I’m having people vote on what song should come out next. So the first song “Go Go Go” is out on July 17th. I coded a website for people to come and vote for the next song to come out. There’s some lyric snippets.  

Susie: What does a typical show day look like for you? Any pre-show rituals or things you do to get into the zone?

Sam: That’s a good question. We’re also playing our first festival this year which I’m so excited for! Pre-show ritual would be that I try to get to the gym in the morning, get a good night’s sleep. I usually don’t drink like a week before a show which is a little extreme. I think that’s something you like navigate over time. 

I’m lucky to have a pretty good relationship with alcohol but I’ll have maybe a drink after a show or something but I take it seriously and don’t want to mess up my voice and want to feel confidence up there on stage and stuff. 

I do a vocal warm up and some guitar prep. We try to run some stuff as a band which is nice. I try to get ready and leave plenty of time so that I don’t have to be stressed about time and try not to eat dairy. 

Susie: I know you’re going on tour this summer, is there a city that you’re really excited to play?

Sam: I’m excited to play Atlanta! I’m getting a lot of random people from my high school and childhood like coming out of the woodwork which is cool. I think that it’s really cool that it’s starting to reach more people. I’m playing in Huntsville where my cousin is. I’m playing at the lake that I grew up going to which will be fun. We’ve tried to build a lot of time as a band to enjoy being outside in the nature which will be good for all of us. 

I’m excited. It’s a very emotional thing to put out a record. Taking years to make it and it’s such a vulnerable thing that’s exploring. I’m really excited for the show tonight and I get to do it in a more intimate talk back setting and talk about the songs.  

Susie: When you’re on stage, is there a song that hits differently every night — one that maybe surprises you in how the crowd reacts, or how you feel performing it?

Sam: Great question! “Western Mass” has been hitting me a little bit differently lately. I wrote it about a long term relationship that I was in during the breakup period. It’s about missing someone and wondering why they decided to let go and give up that relationship. Lately it’s been resonating with me with a completely different person situation, relationship and I think that has been hitting me.

I think anytime I’m seeing people singing along, it really hits me in a profound way because that is just truly what it’s all about. Making something that connects with people and you can feel not alone in those feelings, and i know that other people are trying to identify with that.

There's a song called “Rolls” on the new record that’s hitting me like that too. I think of Colin. It’s pretty hard. 

Then in “Loving Memory”, it’s a song about addiction and that one is the one I’m nervous and interested to see how that is gonna feel for me and for people in the room as we start playing that one out. 

Susie: When people walk out of your shows — or finish listening to your music — what’s the one feeling you hope they take with them?

Sam: I hope they upgrade, love. I hope they feel less alone. I think the power of music to be like, a three and a half minute space where you can sit and feel your feelings is a pretty powerful thing. I think now more than ever we need time to like put our screens away and dance and be a human. That's something that makes me feel really good and getting to live in that, provide that for other people and do it together is really cool. 

I hope that people also are, like, inspired by my story of someone who, didn't have parents in music, didn't have any education in music, and is just, like, out here figuring, how does that go?nIt's really changed my life for the better, and I think, If you have that  little dream in the back of your mind, I always, really encourage people to, listen to that. To self-actualize and to action that because it's really easy to make a lot of excuses. I'm such a testament to  how much has changed my life in amazing ways. It has brought incredible people, experiences, expression, and confidence into my life.

Not everyone identifies as an artist. I think it's very human to create things, whether it's something you're calling art or not. I think having, like, an ability to express your emotions through whatever outlet that is, is a really human and important thing. I think we each have really unique perspectives that are needed to be heard by other people and are worth sharing. I think there's a lot of people that keep their art to themselves or their things down because they're like, who cares? I think that's incorrect. 

I think we each have an ability to reach people that other people can't reach. The right thing to do is to put that out into the world to try and help others. And I really believe that.

Susie: Thank you so much for your time!

Sam: Thank you as well! What a great interview. 

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