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Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist Samantha Fish to play Blues on the
Fox Fest 2018 in Aurora
By Eric Schelkopf
Q – Are you looking forward to coming back to the festival? Did you have a good time the last time?
Q – And obviously a lot of people do think you are on the right path.
This is your second Blues Music award. I know you received the award for
Best New Artist debut in 2012. How do you think your music has grown
since then?
It's obviously changed a lot. From "Runaway" to now, that artist back
then is unrecognizable to where I am now.
I've grown a lot. My style has evolved. I think it's become more diverse
and expansive. I think the records have gotten better, not just
performance wise. The songs themselves are better.
Q – Your music does roam through a lot of genres. In November, "Rolling
Stone" magazine named you one of the "10 new country acts you need to
know." How does it feel to be called a country artist? Do you see
yourself as a country artist, blues artist or something else?
I don't know, man. The whole genre thing is a little bit
mind-boggling.
My favorite kind of music is stuff that sort of pushes the boundaries of
genres, and you don't know exactly what to call it. If you look back at
the history of music, all the most legendary acts do that, put out
something that was defining and new and innovative.
I don't mind not being put in a box, because it kind of pushes me
forward to try and find my own sound and not try to make a record that's
too stylized and something that's already been done.
I just follow my own muse.
Q – Who are your biggest musical inspirations and how have they
influenced your music? How much did your sister Amanda influence you in
wanting to become a musician?
We
kind of found the profession independently of each other, but when I was
growing up, she was one of the first singers I heard. She was so
passionate about it when we were little kids.
Anytime
my parents would leave, Amanda would run into her room and start
singing. It was kind of like a secret that only I knew about for some
reason.
I always thought it was cool. It was like a secret passion that she had.
I think eventually, she would go up in her room and start singing, and I
would hang out in my room and start singing.
It probably did have a lot of influence on me growing up. Her voice is
powerful. She's really into blues and rock and roll. She goes out and
delivers.
Q – A story on you ran under the headline, “Samantha Fish is breaking up
the boys club of blues singers.” Has that been a goal of yours? Do you
see yourself inspiring other women to get involved in blues music?
I think that anytime that you are a female and you do something to get
some recognition, it's like there's some kind of threat to the boys club
or something. I think it's wonderful, because I have women who come up
at shows and they tell me that it is great to see a female up there.
Even now, it's not typical. The music industry is really hard to break
through as a female. I think it's like that with a lot of industries.
It's nice to see young kids and little girls say, "Oh, man, I've never
seen a girl play guitar like that." Hopefully there will be more
kick-ass little girls coming up playing guitar, or playing whatever,
just working and being bad asses in their own right.
Interviewer Eric Schelkopf has covered the arts and entertainment scene
in Chicago for over 25 years. Visit his informative blog at:
http://www.thetotalscene.blogspot.com/
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