Sam Raines

I have been raving about Sam Raines for a while now and I’m very pleased to say that I got to interview him last week. I had been listening to one of his songs, Metaphysical Mine, and I knew I couldn’t keep it to myself, I ended up telling everyone about it! I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say Sam’s whole album Minutes Left is brilliant and he is a very talented musician. If you haven’t heard any of Sam’s music, I’ve put two of his lovely tunes at the bottom of the interview with all his links, so make sure to check them out!
What type of music do you play?
My own description of the genre that the music fits into vascillates between Singer-Songwriter and Indie Folk, though the word “Indie” really only describes how the music is produced or released rather than what it sounds like. Ah well. We’ll go with that.

How did you get into music?
I was always surrounded by music growing up but just as an observer. My brother, Eron, played a mean electric guitar, and I didn’t really understand how, even on the basic chord changes, he could put his fingers in the right spots in time. My dad played guitar, too, and both my parents hosted a house concert venue at our home, which they named Blue Sister Concerts. As for what I was into, I can remember falling asleep to The Beatles every night. And I fell in love, unabashedly, with the movie Moulin Rouge!, which sort of… set the mood for my life for a while. Is that strange? Anyway, so music was all around, and I even took some guitar lessons when I was younger, but I just wasn’t interested in playing at that time.

When I was 16, I heard some demos that my friends had made, and I was envious. That was the first time I thought I might like to try songwriting myself. So maybe I was just driven to create music because of envy, or maybe I just felt envious because it felt like the right fit for me.

Where are you from?
I grew up in an old farmhouse in Malesus, Tennessee, which is just outside the city limits of Jackson, the same one Johnny Cash and June Carter were singing about. Malesus is beautiful.

I absolutely adore your song Metaphysical Mine, what inspired you to write it?
Thank you. I’m really glad you like it. The chorus just kind of happened one day. I remember that I was in my room, and then I just started singing “You should know I should know better” like I had heard it somewhere else and it had been stuck in my head. Problem was, I thought I might have actually heard it somewhere else. The scary thing for me about songwriting is not knowing for sure if an idea is original or if I’ve actually heard it before. At this point, as far as this song goes, I think I’m in the clear.

The inspiration behind the first verse was wanting to express the feeling of being in love only with the idea of being in love, which conjures up a whole lot of emptiness. It’s frustrating to not be able to give direction to or find reciprocation for this basic human need. So you’re more or less grabbing and grasping at nothing and needing the nothing to be fulfilling, and it never is. And then in the second verse and bridge, even with someone to focus on, the tone of the song doesn’t change. I’ll leave that up to the listeners to interpret. On the album, Metaphysical Mine bleeds into the song right after it, which has a similar theme but expresses that theme a little bit differently.

How long does it take you to write a song?
I wrote my most recent song in one three-hour sitting. However, the one before that had been on repeat inside my head for about a year before I could pull it out. So, in short, it depends.

Who in the music world do you look up to?
I have an incredible amount of respect and admiration for Josh Ritter. I’ve been tuned to his frequency for a while now. I think only he has the ability to come up with the words to describe just how good of a songwriter he is, but his humility would prevent him from using them.
I will always love the playfulness of Regina Spektor, the darkness and depth of Radiohead, and the scrappiness of Modest Mouse. Aside from musicians who have an enormous following, some of the people I look up to either don’t have or don’t want recognition. My brother, Eron, and my friends Garrett Hinson, Hope Montgomery, and Landon Shivley have written some of the best songs I have ever heard, and getting to hear all this great music that no one else knows about is like being in on a big secret.

What sets you apart from all the other musicians out there?
Well, in spite of what I might think is unique to me, I would not ever interpret that uniqueness as meaning I deserve more attention or praise than anyone else necessarily. So now that I have put that qualifier on there, I would say I’m just way better than everybody. I’m kidding, of course. Actually, to be honest with you, I’m the musician who doesn’t feel like a musician. Getting called a musician always feels a little wrong to me. I guess it’s because the music, to me, is more of a delivery mechanism, if you will. I’m more interested, and feel more connected to, what it is I’m actually trying to communicate.

Other than music, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
My parents fostered a love for hiking in their three children, so now the Great Smoky Mountains feel like a second home to me. I also enjoy canoeing and kayaking. I really like playing baseball or wiffleball or some variation of either of them. It’s great just to be outside, really. I go on walks to relax. I also like good movies, TV shows, and even video games as well. Much alone time is needed. And game nights, especially poker night. I love poker.

Where can we hear your music?
My website, SamRaines.com, which was just finished, as well as Facebook, YouTube, and SoundCloud.

Do you play live? If so, where?
Yes. I mostly avoided live shows while I was working on the album, but the open mic at the Downtown Tavern is a place I would continue to frequent to get performance practice and to test out new material. Aside from that, I’ll be working on booking shows all over West Tennessee and perhaps beyond that.

What does the future hold?
I would love to play music, and I would love to keep playing music until I can’t play music anymore. If people like this album, maybe I could do that. But I don’t know, and I think it’s more exciting not knowing. I’m just happy to have had the chance to do what I’ve done so far.

Describe your style of music in just 3 words.
Sorrowfully hopeful musings. - PVB Daily (Jess)