Les
Sampou is
a Boston-based Rounder Records recording artist known for her powerful,
lyric-driven music. She's won many prestigious awards including The New Folk
Songwriting Award at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, Best New Artist
from WUMB FM 91.9 FM in Boston and finalist in the Acoustic Underground
competition. I
enjoyed chatting with Les about “the business”, the blues and much more!
Hey
Les! Where and when did you make your first appearance?
I was born on November 4, 1962; Monday I think. Early morning, about 3am. Way
too early in the morning!...poor Mom.
[I
now live] in Boston, Massachusetts.
How do you find
the New-England Blues scene?
I"m more of a folk singer who does the blues, so I can't comment on the
blues scene per se; however, the House of Blues is sure alive and well in
Harvard Square and there's a cool blues festival at the esplanade every
summer. Lots of good blues radio on WGBH and WERS!
Where did all that musical passion come from?
It must be in your roots…
My family was musical in a down home way; Mom played a little Fur Elise, and
Dad played three chord songs by Joan Baez & Peter, Paul, & Mary. We
would sing together on car rides and around the kitchen when Dad was
practicing those three chords, but that's about it. I loved to sing since I
was very little but really found music late in life; I started playing guitar
and seriously getting into music when I was 25 years old. A late bloomer.
A
late bloomer?? Not hardly!
I was given extra drive when Ann Rabson (of Saffire the Uppity Blues
Women) told me that she didn’t start playing the piano until she turned
35…
…I think the most poignant musical memory in my childhood was memorizing
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone," by Pete Seeger. I was about five
years old and I remember working hard to memorize it. Going through each verse
from the flowers to the young girls to the young men to the soldiers to the
gravestones to the flowers and understanding the concept as well as learning
what made up a song lyrically. When I was able to sing the whole thing, I must
of sang it for a week straight after that.
Pete Seeger was and is phenomenal.
I was so blessed to get the chance to sing with him last year…
Because
we never had TV growing up, we listened to my parents music. I would have to
say Joan Baez was my biggest influence until I became a teenager, and then
Bonnie Raitt and Led Zepplin took over.
I know that you are adept at several
musical genres. Do you consider
yourself a blues or folk music artist?
I
considered myself a singer-songwriter who "specializes" in country
blues. I play the classics by Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Fred McDowell,
John Hurt, etc. and I also write blues songs. I do the blues the best
probably, it's easiest and come naturally. In addition, I have three other CDs
that are eclectic: pop, folk and rock. I like it all. But lately, with this
last CD "Borrowed & Blue" I've really gotten back into the
blues. Paul Rishell and Annie Raines are two blues friends of mine here in
Boston. I learned a bunch of songs from Paul way back when I was first
starting out.
What
about blues and folk attracted you? Did you ever consider doing the
"pop" thing?
I would have loved to have done the "pop" thing and tour around in a
big luxury bus with tons of cute little roadies and huge audiences, but it
wasn't meant to be, and I didn't want it THAT bad...I preferred actually, to
play alone. I did a band thing a few times and it was a hassle all the way
around. Playing solo is dynamically so wonderful; plus you can make a living.
You perform a lot of music that is
usually the stomping ground of male artists...what special interpretation do
you believe you bring to the songs of Mississippi John Hurt? Blind Blake? ,
Etc...?
I think I bring to the "male-oriented songs" of Blind Blake and John
Hurt, for example, the gender-bending attitude that any human being with spunk
and cockiness is entitled to, but that women sometimes don't rise to the
occasion for. And I like to treat men that way--with spunk and attitude…
You
go girl! J
…it's
like saying "Be good, or I'll walk out on you First and don't you forget it, cuz I may Want you but I don't NEED
you! The great blues singers like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, and
KoKo Taylor all demonstrate this. I'm a lot more subtle, but it still comes
across I guess.
There are so many great women blues
artists, yet it seems that women are often not featured as often as our male
counterparts. In your opinion, is
being a woman an asset or liability?
Being a woman in this business is neither an asset or a
liability. I don't find it hurts or helps except in the area of booking maybe;
I probably get more jobs than a male blues guitar player because there are not
that many women who play country blues guitar.
Tell us about your recordings…
I have put out four CDs in the last nine years. In 1993, I published
"Sweet Perfume" on my own label, MoNando Music and it was a good
break for me. Got lots of local folk airplay. Then Rounder Records signed me
and I put out "Fall From Grace" which charted high in the Gavin
American Charts nationwide. I won the Kerrville, Texas songwriting award,
which was previously awarded to folks like Lyle Lovett, Nancy Griffith, and
John Gorka, so that helped my career as well. I did a lot of touring around
the time of the second release, all over the country, Canada (Montreal Jazz
Fest and the Winnipeg Folk Fest) and Europe (Prague and Italy). My third CD
"Les Sampou" was my second release on Rounder and my attempt to
reach a younger and broader audience as a result of a bunch of songs that came
out over a two year period that were really rock oriented and demanded a rock
production. In some ways, that is my favorite CD. Then this past autumn, I
released "Borrowed & Blue," which is all blues, no band, just me
and my guitars. It's the way I sound when I tour. So it's real honest and
funny thing, it sold more copies than any of the others relative to the time
it's been released. People love the rawness and simplicity...and the blues! I
love to record, and all the studio experiences were incredibly different. I
had producers for the first two, co-produced the third, and produced the
fourth, so there has been an evolution in my own understanding and ability to
produce as well.
Have
you ever toured in Europe?
Yes, in Italy and Prague, New Czech. I would like to tour again, especially
festivals that promote the blues.
Are you a full-time musician?
I
do music full time, and have been doing it full time for about 8 years now. I
had a part time job for ten years previously that helped me while I
woodshedded and grew my business skills in booking and publicity. Over the
years, I've had four agents, one manager and one record company and I've ended
up these past two years, doing it alone with an assistant
- and I'm loving it that way. I like wearing all the hats and keeping
my career in my own hands. I don't think art and business can be separated for
a working musician unless you have someone working for you that is working FOR
YOU, if you know what I mean.
Did
you learn the hard way, as in did you find that agents and managers were NOT
working for you?
One agent was terrific albeit limited in her venues and ability to grow with
me; all the others were so-so, with one bankrupting me out of sheer laziness
on her part. As for the manager, he was inexperienced but very eager, and the
record company had too many artists and not enough staff. So, to answer your
question, some good people, some bad but mostly I believe if you want to get
it done right, do it yourself. Plus you save a ton of money. However, if you
want to go BIG TIME, you absolutely need good managers/agents and record
companies all of whom work to make the others work like a well greased
machine, which will ideally allow the artist to simply do art. But I am not
too sure that exists at a "folk level." The lack of skilled business
people is a huge void.
What
contemporary female artists do you listen to?
These
days I've been listening to Billie Holiday--she comes in and out of my CD
player from time to time and just takes over. I've also been listening to
Patty Griffin for her incredibly voice and Edie Brickell for her wonderful way
with words and overall musicality. I want to pull out Sarah Vaughn soon--she's
been on my mind. I feel like singing along with her. That's how I learned to
sing. Along with records.
It seems you have learned a lot on your
musical journey. What advice
would you give to aspiring singers?
I would advise aspiring singers to find a really good vocal coach only if they
are having troubles breathing or relaxing, or with pitch. But if you got chops
and know how to use them, stay away from teachers. Find a good safe warm up
technique and sing sing sing! It's
like working out: don't over do it and don't underdo it. Your vocal folds are
little tiny mucus membranes that are affected by diet and everything else you
put in your body. There are very very few really good teachers, who really
understand the physical FACTS of singing and the human anatomy as it pertains
to singing. Most of them show you these funky diagrams but don't have a clue
really how they work, although they sure act like they do. I've been given all
kinds of inaccurate information and found and some teachers can actually hurt
you as in my case. I ended up going to a vocal therapist (in a hospital) for
six months to repair the damage (vocal therapists are the folks who should
really be teaching us singers) and re-learning how to breath and talk
correctly and my singing has gotten a lot more relaxed and much improved. I
learned all about the body and how it produces sound because of that
therapist.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years my recording studio will be done and I'll be putting out more
albums on my own label, touring at my own speed, and hopefully doing some
European festivals in the summers. I'll be a Mom by then, and have a couple
horses, so I'll be sticking closer to home for the most part. I want to keep
writing, keep playing and keep recording, but according to a sane, holistic
schedule.
As
I ask all of the ladies I am so blessed to chat with, how do you want to be
remembered?
I'd like to be remembered as a musician who delivered passion and who wrote
honestly.
Visit Les' website at http://www.lessampou.com
