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in winter..
.. it's like drinking black coffee trying to stay warm and keeping the cold out. the rain falls, the wind blows. some of you even get to see snow.in autumn..
.. it's a backyard in the suburbs, and hundreds leaves covering the green grass.in summer..
.. it's a night-time thing. out on the balcony (porch) with some beers and your friends.in spring..
.. it's the hope for a brighter day.
Interviews & Articles
Sam Shinazzi tells Claire Stuchbery about being shy.
Sydney singer/songwriter Sam Shinazzi was previously known as the C-Minus Project, but decided to dump the moniker in 2004 and record his most honest, brittle and moving album to date. 'Stories You Wouldn't Believe' is a collection of tales about life and heartache. Sam is a curious juxtaposition of being weathered and naive.
Sam Shinazzi is best known for the raw emotion in his songs, songs that everyone can relate to because they're about everyday things. "I think they're just about daily life and everything that goes on within it", Sam says about his song topics."Whether it be relationships or experiences. I'd love to write about politics but I'm just not very good at it". So they're mainly about heartbreak. "I don't know if I feel more than someone else, or if I just express more than someone else", he ponders.
Sam has also been developing his writing skills by co-writing with Jenny Queen, who is now living in America. "I'm not the most outgoing kind of person", Sam admits, "but when we were put together in a room we clicked as people and as musicians. We're doing some stuff for her next record and I'm trying to write without any real contact with her. So I'm thinking about what she'll like and what she won't like and it just expands on how I would write songs. Even from the fact that I'm writing, not from a female point of view, but for a female to sing the song".
It might be a slight contrast to believe that someone is a retiring type of person but is happy to perform solo on stage in front of thousands of people, but that's Sam. "Getting onstage used to really, really scare the hell out of me", he states. He was also really scared on first day of recording 'Stories You Wouldn't Believe' and found travelling on his own for an American tour a growing experience. "I was put on a plane on my own and had to travel everywhere on my own, and it was minus 10 everywhere and that really made me grow up and get some responsibility. It couldn't have come at a better time really. So it was a great trip all round".
As well as making an impression in America, 'Stories You Wouldn't Believe' is getting some rave reviews throughout Europe and the UK where it has been released. Sam is hoping to get over there soon while the album is in the spotlight. In the meantime he's been supporting acts like Jose Gonzalez here in Australia and notes the difference between this week's gig and his support for Evan Dando years ago. "I felt like I should be there with him, like it wasn't some sort of practical joke", he compares. "Evan's pretty high on my list of heroes. It was one of the greatest nights of my life, but I didn't sleep at all the night before. We played really well that night and it turned out to be a great success, but I guess I was worried about failing in front of my one my heroes. I probably felt like I didn't really belong there, whereas last night I was ready to play to Jose's audience and they liked it".
Sam Shinazzi and band launches 'Stories You Wouldn't Believe', out now through Laughing Outlaw/Inertia, at the Rob Roy on Saturday December 3 with Heligoland, Oliver Mann and The Red Tree.
