SAMANTHA STOLLENWERCK
BIO HERE
ALBUM: "Square One"
LABEL: In the Pocket
RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2005
PRODUCERS: Jordan Feinstein, Stollenwerck, Gregory A. Hardan, Jim Greek
TRACKS: "Missed the Sunset," "Don't Ya Know," "Frank Sinatra," "Aseop's Fables," "Icicles," "Her Style (Diamonds)," "Anything for That," "The Party Life," "Thousands of Ways, "Happily Married, "Square One."
HEAR HERE
TOUR DATES HERE
WEB SITE: samanthamusic.com
PAUSE & PLAY: What exactly is Cali-Soul?
STOLLENWERCK: "Cali-Soul is folk, R&B, Americana and rock and pop music all mixed up. I
grew up in San Diego, where 'culture' meant rapping Spanglish with
locals and reading Surfer Magazine. The only music scene I was exposed
to was my friends' punk bands that played in the empty lots around my
high school due to the recession at the time. Don't get me wrong, I
loved it, but I had to discover Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers,
gospel and blues on my own, since everybody I was hanging out with was
into Blink and Buck-O-Nine."
PAUSE & PLAY: Is there anyone else you would say is/was Cali-Soul?
STOLLENWERCK: "Even though she's not roots California, I could see some of Sheryl
Crow's music being on the line of Cali-Soul-pop-rock behind really good
songwriting."
PAUSE & PLAY: What's your favorite line on "Square One"?
STOLLENWERCK: "(At) Easter, I saw a bunch of my family and my little sister
was singing a line from 'Diamonds,' which is partially about her - 'She's
a diamond in a mountain of pearls, there's so many good friends in the
world' and then my mom chimed in for the three-part harmony, so I would
say that is my favorite line on the record. We like to sing in our family."
PAUSE & PLAY: How did things go at SXSW?
STOLLENWERCK: "SXSW was a huge learning experience, as most festivals are. I saw so
many bands and loved all of them. It's overwhelming. So I came home in a
full sweat, like 'I've seriously got some work to do!' "
PAUSE & PLAY: Comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin - that's pretty heady stuff.
Is it a little daunting?
STOLLENWERCK: "Yes! People always try to compare me to Janis since I have this really
raspy voice, plus I live in San Francisco so all the older hippies love
that analogy. Joni was a big reason I picked up the guitar in the first
place, but I would never compare my style of music to hers; she's in a
class of her own. 'A Case Of You' is one of the strongest songs I've
ever heard."
PAUSE & PLAY: Who would be your dream collaborator?
STOLLENWERCK: "Two people come to mind - Van Morrison and Warren Haynes, since theyıve
been in my blood from the beginning of time. I'd love to see what
OutKast is like to make a song with. Oh, and I would give an arm and leg
to be in the same studio as Lauryn Hill - she's amazing. I just listened
to the 'Miseducation of ...' again and cried. A woman who writes, produces
and arranges all of her own music is an absolute queen."
PAUSE & PLAY: Out-of-left-field question: In the wake of the Terri Schiavo case, have
you considered getting a living will?
STOLLENWERCK: "That's funny you ask that since my mom just called me up this morning
and literally ordered me to do a living will - she wouldn't want me
hooked up on life support or something! Hey, don't do me any favors by
keeping me alive if the grass is greener on the other side, ya know?"
PAUSE & PLAY: What's the first record you've ever bought?
STOLLENWERCK: "The first record I ever bought was - obviously! - Madonna, 'Like a Virgin.'
I didn't even know was a virgin was back then and had to ask my dad - he
was like 'Samantha, a virgin is a child that comes to Earth on a
shooting star.' It is?"
PAUSE & PLAY: What's the first record you've ever bought?
STOLLENWERCK: "My first concert was, yes, George Michael. All I remember was this
little guy standing on the huge stage all by himself, dancing around. We
were in the nosebleed section and we rocked out to 'Faith' and 'Father
Figure.' Some damn fine songwriting!"
PAUSE & PLAY: What's the worst job you've ever had?
STOLLENWERCK: "My worst job experience was most definitely post-college, doing data
entry at a structural engineering firm. What better way to crush a
spirit then to reconfigure a the current system's database to Oracle
when all you want to do is wail on your Stratocaster. I did secretly
make fliers for my shows with the company's copy machine, though, so it
wasn't a total waste of time."
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