Fun Facts & Influential Songs: Sam Varga
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6 things you don’t know about me…
What story does your family always tell about you? They call me yosemite…..(yose-e-might) cuz I always mispronounce big words…. Which I’m told isn’t a bad thing because it means I learned them reading (haha!).
One struggle I’ve had that has made me who I am is…. I, like so many others, deal with mental health/depression and that’s a constant battle for me — being a different person different days, or seeing the world through eyes that aren’t really yours. I’ve tried everything at this point but the only thing that consistently grounds me and where I feel present and whole is making music. I think I started playing music for the fun/for the dream. I think I’ve grown to need it now, at least the creation of it. But I guess now the two feed each other, it’s kinda like my compass.
Not many people know this about me… I was the Kentucky JR state champ for rifle shooting! I love shooting. I wish I had the time/money to do it more!
One thing I cannot live without is…. Sleep, lol. I am the biggest baby in the world. I would rather be excruciatingly hungover or sick than be tired. The other thing is whiskey/bourbon. I’m a huge bourbon snob and cannot get enough of it….which might contribute to the sleep thing.
If I had to be trapped in a movie or a video game for a day, it would be… Middle Earth/Lord of the Rings. It’s the greatest fictional universe ever made. Feel like me and the elves would get along.
One of my favorite things to do is…. Those high speed go-carts haha. I’m ate up with ’em. My cousin races sprint cars in Missouri and he got me hooked on them.
12 songs that have influenced my life and career…
ACDC — TNT
First song I ever gravitated to on my own and introduced me to rock music/guitar.
Lindsay Lohan/Freaky Friday — Ultimate You
The ending wedding scene made me want to play guitar and be in a band.
Senses Fail — Buried a Lie
Pulled me straight out of oldies and right into the emo scene and I started writing songs. Changed my life.
Jackson Browne | These Days
A magnum opus of writing. And he was 16!?? It’s one of my all-time favorites and definitely something I try to emulate. Reminds me of my Dad, too.
Ruston Kelly — Mockingbird
Heard this and quit doing what I was at the time, which was writing shitty pop country songs. He really reminded me what I loved about music and the type of music that inspired me — gave me permission to really become my own artist.
Lyle Lovett — If I Had a Boat
Reminds me of being a kid, grounds me, comforts me. It’s about the beauty in the ordinary.
John Prine — When I Get to Heaven
His music cures depression.
A Day to Remember — Have Faith in Me
Fuckin classic.
Guns N’ Roses — Sweet Child O’ Mine
Greatest song ever written + solo.
Sean McConnell — Queen of Saint Mary’s Choir
So good. I want to be that good of a writer.
Mayday Parade — I’d Hate to be You When People Find Out What this Song is About
Just a pinnacle of pop/punk ballad writing and arguably the best guitar solo to come out of that genre.
Tedeski Trucks Band — Midnight in Harlem
I mean it’s Derek Trucks….
Sam Varga