-What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Well…There have been many little glimmers of knowledge imparted to me by many wiser folk than I over the years but, although it has nothing to do with music, I believe the best was from my dad when he said, “Sam, love isn’t about perfection all of the time, it’s about compromise.” Then again I guess that it does apply to music if it’s looked at the right way.

-Who are your greatest musical influences?

Bass players:
Mike Gordon, Phil Lesh, Charles Mingus, Chris Wood, Paul McCartney, Bootsy Collins, Victor Wooten.

Composers/songwriters:
Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Lennon/McCartney, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Jeff Tweedy, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock.

Bands:
Phish, Beatles, Grateful Dead, James Brown, Funkadelic, Pink Floyd, Wilco

-What do you find to be the most difficult thing to do musically?

I find that getting out what I’m thinking or feeling without letting my ego or sense of self get in the way is that hardest thing to do in music. There is so much ego in rock and roll that it’s hard to find that pure source for sound, but those few times it does happen leave you forever trying to find it again and again. It’s also very hard in my solo work to find other musicians to play what I can’t or what I want them to. On my last solo record I ended up playing all of the instruments for this reason alone.

-What’s the greatest compliment you have ever received in music?

Some of the compliments I have gotten for my last album were great but the best as a bass player was when the Ben Shippee Band opened for the Marshall Tucker Band and after our set I walked off stage sweating profusely and their bass player came strolling up to me. He’s a big southern man with a thick drawl and he looks at me and says something to the effect of, “Man, you guys were great! That was some mean bass playing man!  Man, you bass playing “was” that band.” I had never realized it till then but a touring professional had just been listening to me play and thought that it was worthy of a stroll over and a handshake! We then talked about basses and the like till I was yelled at to start taking my gear off of the stage. Great moment, great compliment.

-What’s your goal for 2005?

My goal for 05’is to make music my profession. I have been at this for so many years in so many forms that I do consider myself a musician but to actually make a living doing what I love would be beyond words. The number of people that I and in turn we as a band would be able to reach would expand exponentially therefore bringing more people together for the sole purpose of enjoying themselves through their shared love of music. It sounds a bit hokey but I see myself as a happiness engineer of sorts, and to be able to share my love for this thing with others love for this thing while being able to support myself would be a dream come true and a definite goal above all other goals.