Stub Lee on Samantha Fish
Samantha fish is definitely a strong player in the blues world but like everyone, she had to start out somewhere. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Fish started playing guitar and singing fairly early.
The first time I learned about her was her YouTube video of her playing Shake it On Down on a cigar box guitar. It had a great tone, and she played her version of the song with a steady groove and an awesome blues feel.
Cigar Box Guitars are a thing? I wondered. I was hooked and thought that I’d like to build something like that. Hers had that piece-it-together homemade look and isn't something that you run down to Guitar Center to pick up. That’s part of its charm.
She plays the hook of the song which carries the whole song. It’s a great look into modernizing an old-school song and making it more relevant to today’s audiences I think. That’s commendable. She’s taking a chance- but the blues nowadays is a smaller niche genre than it was many years ago. It’s cool to do something different and to throw your own spin onto the music you make and draw attention to this music.
She inspired me to build my own cigar box guitars (I’m up to 7 already).
I think that the fans are pretty hardcore and are open to blues history, its unique power to tell a story that many understand because it’s relevant to them. Everyone has the blues at one time or another.
Something I like about Samantha is that she’s always pushing herself musically, you can see that in her videos and hear it in her music. She’s willing to experiment and has even leaned into a vintage sound and dipping into Jazz and Rockabilly on her Chills and Fever album. Even when straying from a traditional blues sound and surrounded by saxophone and trumpet, you can still hear her blues influences when she would solo.
She’s growing and she’s played with all the greats which is another cool thing about blues players…they promote each other. It certainly doesn’t hurt to be seen playing with the likes of Eric Gales and Joe Bonamassa and many others. It’s all about broadening the music and adding to the audience.
“...expand into different genres while retaining the roots I’d built in the blues world.”
In 2020 she sponsored the NOLA Cigar Box Guitar Festival, so it seems she’s definitely into the music, the preservation of the history, and the spreading of the niche as she draws the crowds. She’s helping get the word out about CBG’s.
So what would I say to Samantha if I got to meet her? I’d tell her thanks for the constant feed of great music, I’d tell her that I appreciate her efforts and her willingness to grow as a musician and leading the way in keeping something like Cigar Box Guitars in the eyes of many so it’s not lost.
The other thing I’d do is apologize to her for the rude and crude comments left on her videos by people that have no manners.
She doesn’t need people to pervy comment on her looks and all the other things that guys hiding behind a computer screen say. I’m quite sure she wants to be appreciated for the time she spends on her music and her talents, not all that other stuff. I am sure she has a certain thickness to her skin about those things but if it makes me cringe she probably rolls her eyes at all that stuff too.
Samantha if you happen to see this, not all of us have forgotten manners and much respect for you for what you have accomplished. Keep bringing us great music, and keeping the blues alive. I hope to see you in concert soon. C’mon down to Texas!
