Permission to be creative pays off for singer-songwriter Sam Lynch
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 18:00:22 +0000
Sam Lynch
When: Sept 21 & 22 at 5:40 p.m.
Where: Malkin Bowl
Tickets: starting at $49.50 at ticketmaster.ca
Although Sam Lynch doesn’t have a full-length album out yet, the Surrey-born-and-raised singer/songwriter is getting attention for atmospheric, vulnerable folk-pop songs like Not My Body.
This month, she’ll introduce her music to some new listeners when she opens two outdoor shows headlined by popular Vancouver band Mother Mother with Vancouver’s The Zolas and Toronto’s Tokyo Police Club are also on the bill. We talked to the 27-year-old about this golden opportunity, as well as early inspiration and her upcoming album.
Q: When did the music bug take hold?
A: It’s always been a part of my life, but on the periphery. I did musical theatre when I was growing up, and I was in concert band and jazz band where I played tuba and trombone, albeit not very well. It wasn’t until 2015, 2016 when I shifted it more into the forefront.
Q: What did that look like? Were you writing more songs, playing more often?
A: A lot of it had to do with the way I viewed time that I spent on music. And it’s still something I find challenging sometimes. When you live a majority of your life viewing creativity as a privilege that you can connect with when everything else is taken care of, it takes a little bit of time and intention to shift away from that. For me, it was more that I allowed myself the time and space to just sit and write and not feel guilty about that. Every now and then it still floats into my consciousness, like there are other things I should be doing.
Q: When you did decide to take music more seriously, were there any particular artists who inspired you?
A: When I was in high school YouTube was really taking hold of all of our young minds. I would spend hours in front of the computer watching videos of people playing. (Toronto singer-songwriter) Leslie Feist was a huge one for me. I listened to a lot of Fiona Apple. But then I also listened to what my parents were listening to — to this day I still love Fleetwood Mac and I love James Taylor, music that is more on the classic rock, classic folk side of things. I was always just drawn to people who seemed like they were doing exactly what they wanted to do with a little bit of sass behind that.
Q: Where are you at in regards to finishing your album?
A: I have a couple of singles out, including Darkest Places. Then there’ll be a full-length project in January. I started recording in February in Montreal, with a good friend of mine, Sam Woywitka, producing. And I’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible musicians whom I didn’t ever really dream I would have the opportunity to work with.
Q: Opening for Mother Mother, The Zolas and Tokyo Police Club seems like kind of a big deal. Is it?
A: Yes for many reasons. The venue is a dream, especially for someone who’s lived in the Lower Mainland for most of my life. I’ve seen many shows there, and it’s a classic space. And I’ve been listening to the music of all three bands for 10 years. When I was spending time on YouTube, it was right around that time that (Mother Mother’s) O My Heart came out and I saw The Zolas for the first time and I discovered Tokyo Police Club. More and more, these kinds of full-circle moments seem to be happening. It’s a very humbling thing to experience. So much of all of this, pursuing music, feels quite intangible at times. Shows like these put a time-stamp on things. I think about reaching back in time and telling my teenage self that this would happen one day.