Interview with Sam Kogon: ‘I self-titled the EP because these four songs represent me sonically more than any others’

New York-based Americana singer and guitarist Sam Kogon released a self-titled EP earlier this month, giving us four tracks that chart different points in his life in his trademark, humorous fashion.

‘It’s definitely a newer sound for me,’ he said. ‘It’s leaning into my Americana rockabilly, it’s like a British interpretation of Americana!’

The four tracks on the album all tell a distinct story, from ‘Barbed Wire’ and ‘City Kidz’ which reference his childhood to ‘Find Out’ and ‘All I Wanna Do’, which are about wanting to get to know someone: ‘I self-titled the EP because these four songs represent me sonically more than any others,’ he said.

My favourite track on the EP is ‘All I Wanna Do’ with its 70’s vibe and infectious, singalong chorus and it turns out that it’s his as well: ‘I wrote it here in my apartment, I moved here in 2018, slightly out of Brooklyn,’ he said. ‘I believe the apartment has a ghost, I mention it in the song, I’d always wanted to whisper at the start of a song, so “there’s a ghost in my house” was a fun way to start! The ghost opens and closes doors, it makes things fly off the shelves. I can see something out of the corner of my eye sometimes! I was really into Lindsey Buckingham at the time and listening to how he crafts his songs and I thought it would be fun to do a Lindsey Buckingham style track. I wanted the wall of guitars and that’s just me on the sleigh bells. I love The Beach Boys and they used sleigh bells a lot. It came alive in the studio.’

As the song kicks off: ‘Been feeling stuck in time. Can’t get you off of my mind. I got a message from above. And now I want your love.’

‘All I Wanna Do’ was both inspired by his resident ghost and the idea of being ghosted: ‘I’m playing with the idea of being ghosted by someone,’ he said. ‘I’m singing about a guy, saying “leave your girlfriend for me”, it’s kind of an indie rock version of Ariana Grande’s ‘Break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored’ (laughs).’

‘The song is sort of a love song to New York and all the things I love about it’

Kogon grew up in the Hudson Valley in the state of New York, a region known for its vineyards, orchards and farms and says that moving to New York City after college was an eye-opener: ‘The Hudson Valley is a famous, beautiful area – Woodstock happens up there. Moving to New York was such a different experience. ‘City Kidz’ is about being a bit late to the party! Kids in the city, they grow up so much faster. The song is sort of a love song to New York and all the things I love about it.’ The song, which has a glam rock feel to it with a pinch of country, kicks off with a Danelectro sitar guitar. It references sex and drugs not being a crime in New York and heroin being cool again and when I mention this he laughs: ‘Yeah, all the kids are going to rehab rather than their bar mitzvahs,’ he said mischievously.

As the song goes: ‘Well the kids are getting older. Faster and faster. Leaving this world behind. And all the drugs and sex, you might think it’s a hex. But in New York, it ain’t no crime.’

He continues: ‘I came here when I was 20 – I’m 30 now – but I’m toying with the idea of going back to LA, I lived there for 5 months recently and I loved it. Right now, as a society, people are more into music in LA than New York, it seems. You’re set up for a better scene there, the weather makes it easier for outdoor shows to happen. It’s a little cliquey in New York.’

Kogon is a big fan of Newbury, UK, 60’s inspired teenage band, The Station, who actually introduced me to him. “They’re soooo good!,’ he enthused. ‘There was a Kinks musical in London a while back, their sound reminds me a lot of them. I think it’s the time now for nostalgic songs, there’s a demand for them. People want real instrumentation and rock ‘n’ roll.’

His love of George Harrison has also influenced the EP, particularly ‘Find It’, which reminds me of Harrison’s Cloud Nine album (1987), albeit peppered with glam rock: ‘I wanted to do something T. Rex- like with the guitar part,’ he said. ‘The country vibe to it happened when we took it on tour, it was better that way when we played it live, so we tried to emulate that in the studio. We were going for a ‘Garden Party’ Ricky Nelson vibe! For the guitar solo, I wanted something chunky. It’s fun, some of the lyrics are a bit risqué! The song’s about the first feelings of a crush. It’s more about the feelings you have, I didn’t really base it on someone.’

As it goes: ‘I don’t have no reservations. I don’t even know your name. I’m so glad you stopped to talk. And I want you back again.’

Kogon wrote and made demo recordings of all four songs at home on his 4-track tape recorder. The songs were then arranged with his band, featuring Grennan Milliken on drums, James Preston on bass, Graeme Gengras on keys, and Kogon on vocals and guitar. The EP was recorded and produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile) at Stewart Lerman’s Hobo Sound Studios in Weehawken, New Jersey. His partnership with Agnello came about in a somewhat roundabout way. After coming off three self-booked US and Canadian tours, Kogon was cast as an extra in Martin Scorsese’s crime movie The Irishman as a backing musician for Jerry Vale, played in the film by Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band. He hit it off with music supervisor Stewart Lerman and, after sending some demos along, received a recommendation for working with Agnello. ‘I was on set of The Irishman for a week. It was a total dream,’ he said. ‘I play guitar and mandolin in the scene I’m in. I got to hang out with Little Steven of The E Street Band and shared a green room with Anna Paquin and Ray Romano. Between filming takes, I almost tripped going up some stairs and Ms. Paquin caught me from behind. It was embarrassing!’ 

‘I had the line “tyres burn first on a Mercedes Benz” for a couple of years but I didn’t have the chords or the chorus’

Some tracks, such as ‘Barbed Wire’, which is distinctive due to the fuzz pedals and distortion from the amp, have been years in the making: ‘That one leans on nostalgia with the lyrics, it’s about childhood, it was one of the first ones I wrote,’ he said. ‘I had the line “tyres burn first on a Mercedes Benz” for a couple of years but I didn’t have the chords or the chorus but flash forward a couple of years and it all came together. It was just going to be a test but it came out well, so I kept it.’

As the song goes: ‘Well, the hardest rain couldn’t put out the fire. You run just fine but you’re a better liar. And the walls we climbed seemed to get higher. And once we reached the top, we were met by barbed wire. Once we reached the top, we were met by barbed wire.’

He released his first full-length album, Psychic Tears, in 2016 but has barely scratched the surface when it comes to releasing songs: ‘I’m sitting on a catalogue of songs!,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘I’m notorious for sitting on things and not putting them out. I’ve got hundreds of demos of songs. I feel that now I’ve primed the pump a bit, we can make another record this summer. I’d love to tour as well but it’s so hard with COVID, you have to figure out if you can afford to lose thousands of dollars if shows get cancelled. I’d love to tour but I’d rather make a record.’

Next up will be a cover of a song by The Nazz, an American rock band from the 60’s: ‘I sing it for the company Eventide (an American audio, broadcast and communications company). I asked them if it would be ok to release it as a single, it’s a fun cover but I don’t think I’m allowed to say what it is. Todd Rundgren from the band has listened to it and approved it. I might release it on my birthday (17 June). I’m also considering releasing a couple of other tracks that I recorded in Sweden before COVID. They’re called ‘I’m Glad You Told Me’ and ‘Little Black Dress’, they’re acoustic ballads à la Jim Croce and maybe a little Leonard Cohen.’ 

‘The chords are close to another song on the record, ‘My Love It Burns”

Understandably, he is less pleased by how he sometimes gets pigeonholed by the media: ‘Someone, in an article, called me “a queer, country crooner”, which I thought was a bit simplistic,’ he said. It’s also not a very accurate description, given the different influences in his songs. His debut album has a 60’s vibe, mashed up with Britpop, especially on songs such as ‘The Way to Talk to Boys’. I tell him that I love the chorus and ask what chords he uses. He grabs a guitar and starts playing and singing it: ‘It IS a bit 60’s and 90’s, isn’t it?,’ he grinned. ‘The chorus is G, F#m and A. It was the last addition to the record. The chords are close to another song on the record, ‘My Love It Burns’.

Typically, he writes his songs on the acoustic guitar or piano. ‘I might think of a random melody in the shower (laughs). When I’m alone in a new city, maybe on tour, I like to go for walks and get ideas for songs.’ I ask if he’s one those people who sings into his phone and he laughs: ‘I AM one of those people, I have no shame, just singing into my phone on the street!’

He grew up listening to 60’s music, including The Beatles, in the car: ‘The Beach Boys was my first concert when I was 5, that runs deep,’ he said. ‘I heard a lot of Fleetwood Mac and I’ve been getting into more classic country like Glen Campbell. It doesn’t get better than ‘Galveston’. I love Cat Stevens and The Mamas & the Papas. And now The Station! I was taken aback by how good their sound is.’ He is also a fan of his friend Jumi behind the Brooklyn-based folk/new wave band, War Violet: ‘I produce and perform on a single she’s got coming out. I write songs with some of my friends, like Patty Smyth in LA, she had a band in the 80’s, they had a Go-Go’s sound. She gives me some really good tips about songwriting. You have to be open when you’re writing with someone else and you have to listen. You have to be good at letting go of an idea. Sometimes, you might try different things but end up going back to the original idea (laughs), anything can happen.’

‘Paul McCartney, he’s so interesting. He can still do ‘Helter Skelter’ like it’s 1968!’

His dream line up would appeal to a broad audience: ‘I guess it would be really fun to open for Perfume Genius (an American musician) or Orville Peck (a South African country musician based in Canada), who are doing it on a major level. I’d love a full 10 piece band with back up singers,’ he said, getting really into it. ‘Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe would be good. Ooooh and Paul McCartney, he’s so interesting, he can still do ‘Helter Skelter’ like it’s 1968!’

If he could hear one of his songs on any show, he picks The Graham Norton Show and we chat for a while about what a brilliant interviewer he is. ‘I’d love to play ‘All I Wanna Do’ on his show,’ he said happily. ‘He’s soooo good, even if someone’s being an idiot. He reminds me of a French teacher I had at school, it’s the way he speaks, even though my teacher didn’t have an Irish accent (laughs).’

They’ve had some funny moments on the road as a band, and getting muddled up, geographically, is par for the course: ‘We were in Eugene, Oregon, playing the last show of the west coast tour supporting Doug Tuttle, and I said “Hello Eureka”, which is a town in California that we never technically played (laughs)! The crowd laughed it off and luckily we played it off but my band to this day makes fun of me for saying “Hello Eureka”!  It goes back to the EP, you have to see the humour in everything, don’t you?’