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Samantha Fish
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I turned off news altogether. I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people.
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We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.
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Buzz Knight
I'm Buzz Knight and thank you for joining the Taking a Walk podcast. If you like this podcast, tell everybody about it. We would really appreciate it. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast and rate us. Suggest maybe some guests that you'd like or maybe even tell us who your dream walk would be with now on this episode today. She grew up in Kansas City. She picked up a guitar at 15. She hasn't stopped moving since. A two time Grammy nominee, one of the most electrifying live performers in roots music today, and a guitarist who critics have called savage and an absolute must see, Samantha Fish has built her reputation the old school way. Night after night, city after city, stage after stage, after her 2025 album Paper Doll earned Grammy award nomination recognition. And now she's doing what she does best, bringing it all to life. Her official live album, Paper Doll Live drops in June via Rounder Records, recorded at the historic Bijou Theater. And by all accounts, it's something special. Joining us on Taking a Walk next, Samantha Fish. We're so lucky today to have Samantha Fish on the Taking a Walk podcast. Welcome, Samantha.
Samantha Fish
Hey, how's it going?
Buzz Knight
It's going great. Thank you for being here. So do you remember the first time you were impacted by music and that it cemented your career in music and your love of music?
Samantha Fish
I remember like a first positive memory with music was like riding somewhere in the car with my Aunt Linda and she was singing like on the songs on the radio. And I just, I remember being like, you know, I was like, oh, music is happiness, you know, music is joy. And that's like a first real association. I remember listening to the radio in the car with her when I was a kid. But as far as like positive moments that impacted my career, you know, or kind of set me on the path, I was really an introverted kid. When I learned how to play guitar, I was just kind of doing it for myself, you know, And I was singing and playing at the same time. I think there was like a part of me just wanting to break out, but just this shyness, this like fear thing was kind of keeping me confined, you know. But I had an opportunity that just happened so organically. I was, I was at a party where a band was playing a little like a trio. And this guy had a cool guitar. Greg Camp had a really cool Gibson Chet Atkins model guitar. And I went to look at it during their set break and he's just like, here, throw it on. And he just had me, he just kind of threw it on me and said, play a couple songs, you know, for the People, and I don't think I ever would have gotten on stage of my own choice, you know, and maybe. I don't know, maybe that's not giving myself enough credit. I mean, I did walk up there, you know, there was something in me that walked up there that day.
Buzz Knight
So this is your first official live album. Congratulations, Paper Dolls. For an artist who's been touring as hard as you have, what made this the right moment to put this out now?
Samantha Fish
I mean, we are live act, you know, And I know that sounds kind of redundant to say everybody's a live act, but I mean, to say is that we spend most of our time touring on the road. And when people come to see our shows, the main. The main request that I get is I want to take that, what I just saw home with me. And, you know, people want that. There's something about a live show that, you know, stokes this very human connection. And, you know, there's an energy to it that sometimes I don't think always gets fulfilled in the studio setting. You know, it's really. It's just about the memory. You know, they. I think they. People want to take that memory home with them. And that's something that I've been aware of for a number of years. And this last studio album, I feel like it probably had my most stage, live feeling in the studio to date, you know, like, and I owe a lot of that to the fact that I played on that with my touring band, and my producer, Bobby, definitely leaned into just making things feel raw and, you know, kind of frayed like they do on stage a little bit. And I. You know, it just felt like the right time. But these set of songs, they naturally, you know, transitioned from the studio to the stage pretty easily, and it just. It felt like the right time to capture it.
Buzz Knight
You recorded it at the. The Bijou Theater in Knoxville, Legendary spot there. What was the night like there? Did you know at that moment that you had something clearly very special?
Samantha Fish
I mean, no, I walked away nitpicking every detail of, you know, my little. I was like, I surely screwed this up in, you know, a thousand different ways. But that's. I generally, to be fair, I walk off stage a lot feeling that way. You know, I'm a perfectionist. But that's, like, kind of the opposite of what a live record is supposed to be about. You know, you want. You want there to be some edges and mistakes and thing, you know, energy that just happens that, you know, is out of your control. And I think that's kind of like, what the live thing is, it's not controlled. It's. It's the moment, you know, But I walked off feeling. Yeah. You know, like I had a big question mark in my head about how. How it would turn out. And then when I heard it, I had a little bit of time to, you know, release the insecurities of what it might. You know, all these little things that I thought went wrong, I forgot about most of them. So by the time I heard it, I'm like, oh, okay. It was a good night. That's good.
Buzz Knight
Do you think imperfection needs to be embraced more in performance?
Samantha Fish
Absolutely. I think imperfection is what makes things unique. You know, there's things that, you know, I make mistakes in the studio all the time, and my first instinct is to recut it and to not have that mistake on the record. And I've been really lucky to have some great producers who are like, hang on a second, let's take a walk. You know, and then I go outside and I come back and he goes, now listen to this. You know, they'll be like, listen to this. This thing you just did. And I'm like, there's no way in a million years I could ever recreate that. If I tried, you know, what I was going to put it down was going to be so much more sterile. Sometimes I think that there is a special energy in a mistake. Mistake, a flaw, whatever, you know, the imperfection that I just. I don't think it can be replicated on demand, and that's what makes it special.
Buzz Knight
So you use taking a walk to be able to go off and recharge or flush something out with one of your co conspirators. Is that what I heard you say?
Samantha Fish
Occasionally, yeah. Like, I mean, if I'm like, really fighting against, like. No, no, no, that's not. I can't live with that. They're like, I should go take a walk for five minutes. You know, come back. You know, come back in a couple. Taking a walk is helpful in so many different instances in life. For me, it has been. You know, anytime things get a little too much, you know, it's good to just go get a perspective, like another perspective, come back, see how you feel later.
Buzz Knight
You know, you've said Paper Doll really lends itself to the stage, that every song works when you bring it to a live audience. Why do you think that record translates so well in terms of the live piece of it?
Samantha Fish
I just think that there's some magic to it. You know, we didn't. We kind of Abandoned. Like, you know, on a. On a very basic level, we abandoned a lot of, like, the studio tricks that I think would kind of make something sound more sterile, slash perfect. You know, there's no click tracks involved on this record, so there's natural fluctuations in tempo that to me, sound really real, very human. You know, a lot of my favorite records, like, you know, like Led Zeppelin, you know, they. They start a song at one tempo and then by the end of the song, it's totally different. Ten, you know, it's at a different bpm. But they were chasing the energy and the feeling of those songs. And I feel like we did that on this album. We allowed ourselves to be imperfect. And when you. When you kind of allow that and everybody's, you know, everybody's good. So it's like it wasn't that we were being sloppy. Everybody there is talented and totally capable of perfection. But when you. When you're, you know, I've got such skilled musicians in my band. Just allowing there to be this extra room for. For movement, I just think makes things feel more alive. When you listen to it, there's a pulse to it. There's an organic nature that you're not hearing the click track, you're hearing the drummer keeping time and, you know, and it's human and it's going to move. And I just think there's something special about that. And so I think that because we allowed that room on that record, these songs just kind of felt more, you know, just. Just. Just like a. Like. Like a live band, you know, you've
Buzz Knight
said that Paper Doll was a declaration of artistic power and. And that live aspect of it is the sound of that power unleashed. That's a bold statement. I love that statement. Can you.
Samantha Fish
I said that.
Buzz Knight
I think you did.
Wells Fargo Advertiser
Wow.
Samantha Fish
To me, it's the. It's the evolution of a studio record. You know, like we. We take. We take these songs. Like, there's some songs that, you know, kind of naturally, we faded them out on the record so live, it's like, well, what are we going to do there? You know, we have to go somewhere. And that's where, like, you're continuing to write the song in a way now. I'm like creating different melodies and counter melodies to. To build off of guitar solos or building up different vocal part backing vocals, like, you know, leaning into the hooks to create something even broader than what was on a record. We don't. We don't stop writing just because we're out of the studio. You know, we gotta keep we gotta keep building on these songs and, and this is. That's just the next evolution of what they. They become when you play them night after night after night on stage.
Buzz Knight
You've carved out an audience not only in the United States, but globally, which I think is really fascinating to observe here. Was that a conscious decision? And what are some of those places abroad that your audience is building and growing that maybe has surprised you?
Samantha Fish
I want to get out to as many people as I possibly can. I. I want to get to where people are listening to our music, you know, or where we think that we could create. Create a place for us to play, you know? And I'm also, like. Part of me is just a tourist and a. Like an explorer at heart. I love going to. To new places and seeing different parts of the world that I could never dream of going to in the past couple years. Like, we went to India a couple years ago to Mumbai. I was blown away that our music had made it, you know, to this place that I never dreamed of going to. We. We just. We did Japan for the first time this year. And by going over there now, I'm seeing there was fans. We had fans come from all over the world to season two. We had some. Some folks come from China to see us. Like, okay, so there's potentially some interest there as well. You know, let's. Let's. Let's see where we can go.
Transcript Editor/Note
I don't know.
Samantha Fish
I just. I feel like I'm in a touring band and I, I want a tour. You know, you want to. You want to get to where people want to hear your music, and that's, that's what it's all about for me.
Buzz Knight
Since you're such an amazing live performer, who are the artists or specific instances with live performances, concerts that you went to that impacted you? What was your first one, and what are the subsequent other shows that just, you know, you can't get out of your head? There's so much of a great community, and they're so contagious of an experience. Wow.
Samantha Fish
Well, my very first concert, which was like, life changing because I remember I was like 13 and my dad's like, we're gonna go see Cheryl Crow. And. And I was like, I have that cd. Why would I go watch somebody play the cd? You know, I was just a dumb kid and. And I went. And it just. She blew me away. Watching her on stage, the command she had of the audience. She's got such an arsenal of songs. The way she moved on stage from instrument to instrument it was, like, so powerful. I was like, oh, my God, this. It changed my life, you know, it changed how I thought about music. And that was at 13. And since then, I've been really lucky to see incredible shows. Big and, you know, big shows, small shows. I think there was a point that was really impactful for me. When I was like, a late teenager, I started going to hang around this club called Knuckleheads in Kansas City. And there was so much, you know, local, regional, and national talent that would come through there. And it was like country bands, Americana, you know, bluegrass, blues, the spectrum of American roots, I'd say. And getting to watch those, you know, different bands play there, like Tab Benoit, Nice and France, for instance, and, you know, and Paul Thorne. It was like, okay, there's. There's a way to do this that's not just like. I think as a Midwestern kid, like, I was. I always had this practicality thing, you know, drilled into me that, you know, being a musician, that's not. That's not practical, you know, like, how do you get from A to B and that. That Knuckleheads Going to see the shows. At Knuckleheads, I saw that there was a way to build something grassroots, and so that was really, you know, affected me. Other performers that blew me away. BB K, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, and I guess most recently, I saw Nine Inch Nails a couple months ago. And, you know, it's nice to still be blown away at concerts, and it was amazing.
Buzz Knight
I love how it goes from one side of the musical territory to the other, and it's like. It's like a. A crash course in. In music history. I love it.
Samantha Fish
Good.
Buzz Knight
Who's. Who's not on that list, but that you'd like to see that you haven't seen?
Samantha Fish
Oh, well, man. Like, most of my. Most. The people I missed out on are gone now, man. Who. Who do I want to see? I was really. I didn't get to go see Lady Gaga's Mayhem Tour. That one's still kind of. That one's still kind of sticking with me. It's one of the major pop acts I love to see. I never got to see R.L. burnside. Kind of breaks my heart. I. I missed a lot of the legendary blues blues players, and, you know, I. I just get to hear the folklore of that now. Like, I would have loved to have seen Freddie King, you know, or How Wolf, you know, I would have loved to have seen Aretha, you know, one of my favorite singers in the world. So, you know, I. Those are the ones to regret are the ones that are no longer with us. You know, if you can still see a show that they're still here, then you know, there's always possibility you got
Buzz Knight
some guitars in the background there. For those that are watching this on video, what are some of your. Your favorites up there? And is that an impossible question? Because they're all favorites, right?
Samantha Fish
Yeah, I mean these are. These have been kind of just hanging on the wall for a while. They're not the ones I take on the road with me. The ones I got on the road are I guess would be my. My favorites I like. So I'm kind of known for playing sgs. I've got a couple of those on the road with me. That's kind of my go to guitar. I got this 335 recently that has, you know, also become a favorite. It's a silver sparkle Gibson custom shop. It's just gorgeous. My cigar box guitar is a favorite. I've got like a 1950s Supro Belmont. Yeah. A couple customs, you know, like a. Yeah, like a custom made Delaney guitar. This guy in Texas builds those. Got a Firebird I'm really partial to. I don't know. I got. I got. I got a few things in the arsenal that I like to play live.
Buzz Knight
That makes it extra fun. Right? That's the added. The added intensity but also spontaneity.
Harley Davidson Advertiser
Right.
Samantha Fish
Well, we keep the guitar tech very, very busy. I always call. It's like the guitar rodeo.
Mazda CX5 Advertiser
And.
Samantha Fish
Sorry. Boo wants to be in the interview now too.
Buzz Knight
We welcome cats dogs. They're all. They're all welcome. I. I have two dogs in the house, so I'll keep them away during the interview.
Samantha Fish
He just. He busted his way in here. I've been trying to keep him out. He only wants to do this when I've interviews, so it's totally.
Buzz Knight
It's totally fine. What's your cat's name?
Samantha Fish
Boo.
NBC News Announcer
Boo.
Samantha Fish
Yeah. And he wants to be known.
NBC News Announcer
Boo.
Samantha Fish
He wants to be known.
Buzz Knight
He's known for sure. Tell me about the road and your love of it. You obviously are one of the hardest working artists of. Of all time. And there must be some love of the connection. Love of the road. Why is it so special to you?
Samantha Fish
Well, I mean I like. Like I said, I mean my. My first love in music was really like that. That first thing that ignited this passion in me was getting on a stage and performing. There's. There's just something about performing for an audience that you just. There's nothing like it, you know, and it was my first love, you know, my. Something I was just really passionate about. And. And then it just sort of became like the business model. And, you know, I hate to. I hate to talk about passion and love and then go into this, you know, the necessity part of it, but, you know, as a whole has changed a lot. Like, when I got into it, things had already begun to change. And all, you know, all the old timers that came up around used to tell me, like, how much better it used to be, and I was like, well, I don't know. This is just my experience. So I don't know what it used to be like. But I do know that, you know, now it's like I got a tour and work to, to. To keep the business, you know, part of it going. That's, that's really where the. I think the industry is for the most part. You know, unless you're like a huge pop act or massive rock band who's making money off of streaming, Most of us are. You want to, you want to go make money, you have to go out on the road and see fans one on one. And it's very grassroots. But I, you know, so part of it is like necessity of the business, but the other part is I'm lucky that I do love the stage.
Buzz Knight
I'm shocked to hear you say that. You can't get rich off of the streaming services. I can't believe that.
Samantha Fish
Samantha, your shots.
NBC News Announcer
Me too.
Samantha Fish
I'm shocked too. I think I'm the only one who has this problem. It's been something that's like, you know, it crept up. It crept up quick, but it's just something that, you know, we're still feeling it. I mean, it's just we have to evolve now with. Everybody has to evolve quickly. You have to be really flexible in this industry, and I'm sure in any industry really, you know, with technology changing how, you know, how viable it is to do certain things, you know, we've just had to. To become flexible. You know, now you're. Now we're on social media more now it's. Now we have to get content shot. You know, it's. It's like the job is constantly changing. You just have to, you know, but my main love is the stage, and thank God I can make this other stuff work around it.
Buzz Knight
So regarding the road, how do you keep yourself healthy on the road?
Samantha Fish
I mean, I wish that there was like a, A one approach that works because, I mean, I've gotten sick before, you know, sometimes you just get sick. Sometimes the demand is there and the interface with one too many people, you know, it just. It just happens sometimes. Sometimes you get run down. For me, like, it's. It's just trying to get rest. I mean, rest is paramount. That's the most important thing. Hydration, you know, drinking enough water, as a vocalist, you know, that's everything for your stamina. So not get exhausted, not get dehydrated. But then, you know, to not get sick. I try to work out, I take my vitamins, I wash my hands a lot, I sanitize my microphones. You know, there's. You just have to be aware of it. You know, I kind of look at like a tour like something that I'm. I'm like, okay, I have this many dates, I gotta. If I can just get to this point and not get sick, then, you know, it should be. We should be okay. You just have to be on top of it. It's more and more. It's something I have to just work at, but sometimes it happens anyway, so, you know, what can you do?
Buzz Knight
You started on drums, which I think is so fascinating, and you switched the guitar at 15, right? Your early influences included Bonnie Raitt and DV Ray Vaughan. When did guitar stop being something you played? And. And then it started being something that you were.
Samantha Fish
I'll be honest, I think that kind of happened pretty quickly. So when I started on the drum, I was like, everybody in my family was playing guitar. All my dad's friends, my uncles, everybody. My sister was playing, my dad was playing. It was just. I felt like I wanted to be different. I didn't want to do what they did. So I. I was like, I'm gonna be the drummer. And, you know, playing drums was really fun, but at 13, when I was learning it, it required a certain amount of discipline that I, as a 13 year old just did not have within me. I. I remember having drum lessons and, you know, half an hour before the drum lessons on Monday, I'd be freaking out trying to do the homework that I was supposed to have done the whole week before. You know, it's just. There's a lot of stuff going on and, you know, and you're a kid, you got all kinds of little kid responsibilities. But I think that, like, that discipline kind of, you know, it changed my passion for it. But whereas with guitar, when I sat, I could kind of just do that at my leisure and sit down with it and, you know, and I was learning chords and I was actually learning how to sing simultaneously and I just sort of found that, like, doing that kind of helped me engage more with the world and gave me a sense of self and purpose. Like, in a way, like, I was really a shy kid, you know, and it just. It helped me build confidence. And it's not even something I recognized till later, like, years and years later, but I'd say pretty much right away, it just sort of became this thing that was really important to me. And, like, you know, I wasn't just Samantha kid anymore. I was. I was. I was this, you know.
Buzz Knight
I love it. You know, your sound lives at the intersection of blues and rock and soul with all. With this tremendous attitude. When you sit down to write, do you set out with a particular direction in mind, with a particular song you're working on or album you're working on?
Samantha Fish
You know, really, I. I feel like the most authentic way to drive a concept forward is, like, what's coming out of me naturally? Like, what am I writing about? What's happening in my life? You know, I've tried to do, like, a focused concept. Like, I'm going to write exactly like this, you know, like, we did that with Death Wish Blues. It's so funny. Jesse and I had this, like, North Star that we were always looking to and writing to fit within. And it's funny how that could be your goal in the beginning. But then, like, the art just kind of. The songs dictate what they are. And when we got that collection of songs together, we weren't far off of our North Star. And it was good that we had one that we're looking at. But I just really look at, like, these concepts as a loose guide because you still have to produce something that's genuine and authentic. Like, what wells up out of you naturally is that's the concept. That's. That's where you're going to go. I have all kinds of things that I want to do. I have all these different, like, sonic things that I want to try. But at the end of the day, it's like, what happens is what's come, what comes out, you know, what are you feeling? What are you. What are you taking in? Like, you know, what. What's your musical diet? What's your inspirational diet? Like, what. What's. What are you filtering through you to come out this way. So I just try to serve the songs as best as I can, put my best songs forward. I write a lot of trash to go to, not go on the album so that I can get those, you know, 12 to 15 songs that are that are gold, in my opinion, you know, Gold enough for me.
Buzz Knight
I dare say trash might be the wrong word to use. Samantha.
Samantha Fish
Oh, there's some trash out. I've got a trash pile you wouldn't believe.
Buzz Knight
I think the definition of trash. Let's, let's not go there.
Samantha Fish
Okay? Well, stuff that I generate, like, if it's trash, I still recycle. You know, I'll come back to an idea that I thought was garbage five years ago and refashion it into something. I'm like, that's what it was supposed to be. That's.
Buzz Knight
I love that.
Samantha Fish
That's. That's it. Yeah.
Buzz Knight
That's genius. That's wonderful.
Wells Fargo Advertiser
Good.
Samantha Fish
Yeah, I, I mean, that's. I remember I got to open for John Hyatt a long, long time ago, and he was, you know, somebody that I listened to a lot coming up as a kid, and I just, I think he's an incredible songwriter. And I asked him, I was like, do you have bad ideas? Which is like such a little kid thing to ask somebody that accomplished. He goes all the time. He's like, he's like, you got to write those songs to get to the good ones. So, you know, I mean, the best songwriters, you know, it's. It's, it's part of it. It's just part of the process.
Buzz Knight
So, in closing, Samantha, we call this show Taking a Walk. We like to ask our guests, well, let's see, if you could take a dream walk with somebody, living or dead, Samantha Fish, who would you take a walk with? And. And where would you go with them? And what would you talk about? Could be more than one person, if you want.
Samantha Fish
Oh, man.
Buzz Knight
But it can't be 17 people. It could be, if you want.
Samantha Fish
I'd love to go for a walk with Ina Simone as first. First and foremost, I love to go on a walk with Tom Petty. I'd love to take a walk with RL Burnside. I think I mentioned him earlier just that I love Hill country blues music. I always, I, I, you know, I know I'm saying musicians, but it's just, it's relevant to, to me and what I do. So probably be mostly musicians.
Buzz Knight
That's a good list.
Samantha Fish
Yeah, that's pretty good. It's sort of. It sort of encompasses, you know, just some different sides of. Of, you know, what I love. I'm. I think Nina would be a really interesting walk. She probably has some, you know, incredible insights about life, you know, we probably wouldn't talk about music at all. I probably wouldn't Talk about music with any of these guys.
Buzz Knight
Yeah.
Samantha Fish
Yeah.
Buzz Knight
Samantha Fish, congratulations on Paper Doll Live. It's so great to have you on the show.
Samantha Fish
Thank you.
Buzz Knight
You're welcome back anytime. And good luck on the road and stay healthy.
Samantha Fish
Thank you. I'm trying.
Buzz Knight
Yeah, you will. Thank you, Samantha. And thank you, boo.
Samantha Fish
Oh, he's. He's already gone.
NBC News Announcer
That's all right.
Samantha Fish
He got his. He got his 10 minutes. He's good.
Transcript Editor/Note
Yeah.
HomeServe Advertiser
All right.
Buzz Knight
Thank you, Samantha.
Samantha Fish
Thanks, Buzz.
Boost Mobile Advertiser
Bye.
Samantha Fish
Bye.
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Transcript Editor/Note
is a trademark of Google LLC. Sequences shortened and simulated.
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Everyone has free phones. But when I switched to T Mobile
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Samantha Fish
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Episode Title: Buzz Knight Chats with Samantha Fish: Exploring the Magic of Live Music and Iconic Influences in Her Journey
Release Date: June 20, 2026
Guest: Samantha Fish
Host: Buzz Knight
This episode of Takin’ A Walk features a candid conversation between host Buzz Knight and acclaimed guitarist, vocalist, and two-time Grammy nominee Samantha Fish. The discussion revolves around the magic and imperfection of live music, her new live album Paper Doll Live, touring life, global audiences, and the iconic artists who shaped her musical journey. Samantha also shares personal anecdotes—ranging from her first musical memories to her approach to songwriting and the realities of sustaining a career in modern music.
"I remember being like, you know, I was like, oh, music is happiness, you know, music is joy." (04:18, Samantha Fish)
"The main request that I get is I want to take that, what I just saw, home with me. [...] There's something about a live show that...stokes this very human connection." (06:07, Samantha Fish)
"I walked away nitpicking every detail... But that's, like, kind of the opposite of what a live record is supposed to be about. [...] It's the moment." (07:31, Samantha Fish)
"Sometimes I think that there is a special energy in a mistake—a flaw...the imperfection that I just...don't think it can be replicated on demand, and that's what makes it special." (08:32, Samantha Fish)
"You're continuing to write the song...We don't stop writing just because we're out of the studio." (12:10, Samantha Fish)
"We went to India...to Mumbai. I was blown away that our music had made it...to this place that I never dreamed of going to." (13:30, Samantha Fish)
"I went. And it just—she blew me away. Watching her on stage, the command she had of the audience...It changed how I thought about music." (14:56, Samantha Fish)
"I'm kind of known for playing SGs...I got this 335 recently...a silver sparkle Gibson custom shop. My cigar box guitar is a favorite." (18:29, Samantha Fish)
"Now it's like, I got a tour and work to...keep the business part of it going. That's really where the industry is, for the most part." (20:26, Samantha Fish)
"You have to be really flexible in this industry...the job is constantly changing, but my main love is the stage." (21:56, Samantha Fish)
"What wells up out of you naturally...that's the concept." (26:19, Samantha Fish)
"You got to write those songs to get to the good ones." (28:30, Samantha Fish)
On embracing imperfection:
"Sometimes there is a special energy in a mistake—a flaw...the imperfection that...can't be replicated on demand, and that's what makes it special."
– Samantha Fish (08:32)
On the necessity and love of performing live:
"Part of it is necessity of the business, but the other part is I'm lucky that I do love the stage."
– Samantha Fish (21:11)
On the evolution of the artist in a changing industry:
"Now we're on social media more...the job is constantly changing. My main love is the stage, and thank God I can make this other stuff work around it."
– Samantha Fish (22:28)
On song selection and creativity:
"I write a lot of trash to not go on the album so that I can get those 12 to 15 songs that are gold, in my opinion..."
– Samantha Fish (27:53)
On musical regret:
"Those to regret are the ones that are no longer with us. If you can still see a show, if they're still here, then...there's always possibility."
– Samantha Fish (17:58)
Samantha’s stories and reflections are open, self-effacing, and laced with humor. Her passion for live music, commitment to authenticity, and admiration for her musical influences run throughout the episode. The conversation intertwines practical realities with the romance of the road and the transformative power of music.
"You're welcome back anytime. And good luck on the road and stay healthy."
– Buzz Knight (30:30)
"Thank you. I'm trying."
– Samantha Fish (30:34)
For listeners interested in creative processes, live performance, and music industry realities, this episode offers an honest, inspiring view into the artistic life and legacy of Samantha Fish.