Biography
As the music on The Beginner clearly shows, Samuel Stewart has a unique new pop music voice. The album’s five songs are richly atmospheric - now ominous, now dancing wildly out of control with an irresistible energy that’ll have you up and moving in seconds. Classic pop songs that sound like they’ve come from some forgotten 30s musical, rub shoulders with unruly gypsy punk rock rave-ups and heartbroken love songs that recall a melancholy French chanson. “Like many Englishmen, I have a dark sense of humor,” Stewart confesses. “In England, we’re bred guilty. I’m not religious, but the images and issues of Catholicism and sin are very interesting. I like darker songs, songs that can get you moving and make you think.”The songs on The Beginner are the work of a master musician. The album’s darkly humorous lyrics, vibrant arrangements, and Stewart’s tough, but vulnerable vocals, produce music that sounds both timely and timeless. These are messages from the front lines of love’s ongoing battle, where men and women join in battle trying to discover some meaning in the insanity that surrounds us all.
Samuel Stewart is the son of Eurythmic Dave Stewart and Shakespeares Sister Siobhan Fahey. “I grew up in North London with my brother,” Stewart recalls. “There was a lot of music playing around the house, but I relied more on my friends for my musical education. My mom has great taste and introduced me to Roxy Music, T. Rex, and the Stones. Since she was in the original wave of punk rockers, she was obsessed with the Clash, Blur, Pulp, Mazzy Star, and Black Grape (Shawn Ryder’s band after the Happy Mondays). When I was 12, my mom’s boyfriend got me into Smashing Pumpkins, and the Pixies. Siamese Dream and Doolittle became my favorite albums. I discovered Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Morrissey, The Smiths, and Bowie too.
“I don’t remember this, but when I was two, my parents bought me a miniature drum-kit. They say I used to play along to my favorite records until I started (grammar) school. Then I decided to be a film director, which lasted till I heard Nirvana’s live album, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. My dad bought me a nylon-string, mini-acoustic guitar and the From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah songbook. I got serious about playing.”
Stewart and his best friend, William Cameron, started jamming and put together Blondelle with two other pals, drummer Mike Deegan and bass player Rory O’Donnell. By the time they were in high school, the band was getting playing gigs. “I dropped out to study record production when I was 16,” Stewart says. “It was a total waste of time, although it helped when we produced our albums.
“(Blondelle) started like Nirvana, then got into metal, then indie rock like proper teenagers. At the end, we all liked different music and were moving in different directions. We got signed by Columbia, Japan, and did really well, with a Top 10 record. We got signed in Europe, where we toured a lot. We did well everywhere except the UK. We all lived together in a house in London, but the end, when we were home, we were all in different rooms.
“I was the one who said I’m gonna leave the band. It was obviously over; I’d just broken up with my girlfriend of six years, and I was bored with music and the London indie scene. I planned to visit my dad and my younger brother in LA for a week, but I liked the town, so I went home, got my stuff and moved here in late 2008.
“The first friends I made were Josh and Justin who have a band called The Petrovic Blasting Company. They’re from Nashville, but play Eastern European and Balkan gypsy music using accordions and percussion. They were a big influence on me when I started writing songs.”
Stewart’s brother had a band called Django James & the Midnight Squires. Samuel agreed to produce some demos for them. “My brother has an amazingly soulful voice and writes great lyrics and arrangements. The band was really talented, but when the demos were done, Django went back to London. On the bright side, some of those musicians are now playing with me when I do gigs.”
In LA, Stewart’s songwriting took off and he quickly moved from Garageband demos on his Mac to a proper studio to record The Beginner. Stewart’s gigs, both with his band and as a solo acoustic artist, have been getting good notices. He’ll soon be hitting the road for a national tour to support The Beginner. With another EP finished and an album in the works, Stewart’s ready to take his show on the road and make his mark.
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