Exclusive Interview with Sam DeRose Jr

Sam DeRose Jr — a multifaceted artist, songwriter, producer, engineer, and bass virtuoso who has made waves across Rock, Pop, and R&B, charting on commercial radio and impressing audiences the world over. Establishing himself as one of the industry’s leading songwriters, Sam has affiliations to leading artist development record labels. He is known for his soulful and modern vocal style, capturing the essence of todays contemporary music. Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Your roots can often shape your journey. Can you share a story or moment from your early life that had a significant impact on your path into music?

Sam DeRose Jr: I grew up in Kansas City. There was a school called The Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation that was originally founded in 1971 by a Kansas City musician Eddie Baker. The foundation was having this three day jazz jam where some of the greatest jazz musicians were flying in from all over to play. My mother called me out of school for three days so that I could have an experience of a life time. There were all these class rooms and rehearsal spots for the musicians to play and speak in. They would arrive and set up and just start playing. Every room was filled. I remember falling to sleep and there would be just piano, double bass and drums playing and then getting woke up by an entirely different lineup with full horn sections and synths. By the end of those three day’s I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life.

2. Did your musical journey begin with formal training, or was it more of a personal exploration? How has that shaped your unique approach to your craft?

Sam DeRose Jr: I started with just bass lessons and learning things by ear. I learned so quickly and had this incredible appetite for music. I was just absorbing everything around me. Eventually I wanted to go deeper and studied music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Later I moved to Philadelphia Pa. and studied privately in advanced composition, classical solo violin as applied to electric bass, and the intricate principles of chamber music and orchestral design for film and television. Learning music theory required me to learn piano and guitar and other instruments.

3. Who were some of the most influential figures in your early musical life, and how did they inspire your sound? Also, what’s the story behind choosing the name ‘Sam DeRose Jr’?

Sam DeRose Jr: As bass is my instrument of choice, I gravitated to bass players who played with a pick as opposed to fingers. So I was always listening to players that played with a pick like Paul McCartney, Bobby Vega and Bob Daisley. Most great bass players I knew of like Jaco Pastorius and Victor Wooten played with their fingers and had roots deep seated in jazz music. Although I loved jazz music, I played with a pick and my roots come from Beatles pop songs, funk music and hard rock. I had studied classical violin but always played electric bass while my teacher played violin. We studied and played everything from Mozart, Bach and Beethoven to Niccolò Paganini and his 24 caprices. The result is I have a rhythm bass style that is seated in pop music but a style of solo playing that is derived from classical violin concertos.

4. What do you believe sets your music apart? How would you describe your sound to someone discovering you for the first time, and what emotions or experiences do you hope to evoke in your listeners?

Sam DeRose Jr: Being an accomplished music producer and recording engineer has allowed me to find my own voice and sound within my music. I have re-designed my own brand and constructed my own style of songs that melds a nuevo pop sound with hard rock underpinnings. I also showcase the electric bass as a powerful solo instrument inside three and a half minute pop rock songs. For me the expression within my music is never ending and I am continuously redefining an artistic brand and new fashion genre. My music is filled with big chorus’s with multilayered harmonies, stylized guitar voicings, analog synths, catchy hooks and featured solo bass in the middle of it all. I started singing right as as I started playing bass. My vocal stylings come from old Mo-Town songs, R&B and 1970’s rock bands.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?

Sam DeRose Jr: I have always listened to all styles and genre’s of music. When I was a kid and growing up I was a competitive swimmer and spent many hours in the swimming pool. So three hours before school and then three hours after school every day even weekends unless I was at a swim meet. Swimming is a lonely sport in that you can’t speak with anyone while you’re training with your head in the water. While I swam I used to write songs in my head. At first I thought I was thinking of other peoples songs and finally realized I was making up my own. Writing songs in the pool is what I did to overcome the loneliness. All of this happened before I knew how to play any music instrument.

6. Music often transcends entertainment. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

Sam DeRose Jr: Music is expression. We all have our own voice and thoughts that make us who we are. I would never sensor myself any more than I would want to sensor or shut down anyone else’s voice or music.

7. Do you feel the rewards of your musical career match the energy and passion you invest in it, or are there different kinds of fulfillment you’re still seeking?

Sam DeRose Jr: Music has saved my life and ruined my life, all my life. Truthfully music has given back so much more than I could have ever invested. My music career has been my own epic movie with up and downs and everything in between. In the end though, music has given me a pure happiness and true purpose and such a better understanding of myself and a happy life.

8. Can you walk us through your creative process?

From the first spark of an idea to the finished track, what’s the most essential part of your process, and how do collaboration or external influences shape your work?

Sam DeRose Jr: I have worked with so many different artists and musical styles. Some artists write the music first and then the lyrics second, for some its the lyrics first and then the music. For me, everything kind of happens all at once. In the end though it’s always just a chord progression and a melody supporting stylized lyrical content. I break things down and make it all very simple. The song has to stand on its own. The only way I know to understand a song is to put on a guitar or sit at a piano by myself and play the chords and sing the melody. After that its all about production, voicing and sound scapes and the studio.

9. What’s been the most challenging hurdle in either your personal life or music career, and how has it shaped you as an artist?

Sam DeRose Jr: The hardest thing for me has always been trying to walk away from the music. Ive never been able to give it up. As a consequence, everything in my life has been a result of music. My friends group, my skill sets, family and life style are all an outcome of playing, performing and creating music. Another artist and good friend of mine “Russell 2.0” describes making music as “The Monster”. “And when the monster roars all reason and good sensibilities completely leave us as we are happily swept down the rabbit hole and smiling we die a happy death among the music notes and poetry”.

10. On the flip side, what moment or achievement in your career so far has made you feel the proudest, and why? And let’s talk about your latest release and future plans.

Sam DeRose Jr: My proudest moment was the first jam session I ever had with other musicians. It was loud, live and like riding lighting and gave me the thrill to last a life time. Currently my latest single “Sarah” is climbing up the Billboard Top40 charts. Sarah was written and recorded and produced at Abbey Road Studios in London, England. “Sarah was one of four songs completed at Abbey Road and was produced in Studio 3 using their custom SSL G+ console and also incorporated a full working EMI TG12345 desk within a pure analog environment. The official music video for “Sarah” was filmed in South West Florida and features “Kaia” on guitar who is a model from Hannah Noelle in New York and Madison Mills on drums who is signed with Wilhelmina Models in Miami, Florida. I’ll be doing some live television performances on late night television in the states as well as selected supportive live concert shows following up with a European festival tour summer of 2025.