Short, Simple Music Auto-bio
Sam Masich

In the past several years I have made a committed return to music after focusing for many years almost exclusively on a career of teaching and performing martial arts. My musical journey has been characterized by a lot of starts and stops.

Music for me was originally a way to support and augment poetry. My musical interests lay primarily in the field of songwriting and I find myself drawn to the naked song at its most basic level.

Initially I didn’t have any real ambition to perform music but always wanted to write for other artists. I’ve been gratified over the years to hear my tunes and words come out the mouths and instruments of several incredible musicians, notably Christine Duncan who performed my songs from the mid to late 90’s, and Michael Friedman who I co-wrote with from 1996 to 2005. Christine and Michael have recorded several albums containing my work and this has given me some of my greatest pleasure as a songwriter. Michael’s and my work has now been played by full orchestras in Europe.

As far as my own performing goes, I have worked mostly in solo, duo and trio formats. I toured and recorded with Christine Duncan in the late 90’ as a duo act and in 1999 joined Michael Friedman and Mark James Fortin to form a trio called FFM which continued to write, tour until 2007 and released one studio album Cinematic. Another current duo project Blue Manifesto with myself and master drummer Bobby Kapp.

Just as song writing has led me to performing, it has also led me to producing. Over the years I’ve managed to fit quite a few projects into my schedule ranging from sparse simple albums (eg. Scott Katz WRONG) to larger scale undertakings (eg. Coming Home: Christine Duncan at Christ Church Cathedral, a nationally broadcast concert/documentary featuring Christine Duncan). In 2006 I released the album Cow! under the name 'Aldous Orwell Project'.

Most recently, in México in March 2009 I recorded 'Lucky Time'. Ten original jazz tunes with a phenomenal band; Bobby Kapp (drums), Gabriel Hernandez (piano), Tyler Mitchel (bass), Ken Basman (guitar). The CD features new treatments of several favorite 'SamSongs' previously recorded by artists Michael Friedman, Christine Duncan and Katie Peterson. Songs include: 'Roses on a River', 'Diamond Space' and 'June', as well as unrecorded tunes such as: 'Berlin Boy' and 'Blues & You & Me'.

I also sporadically teach guitar and songwriting, and have been on faculty at the Georgia Straight Guitar Workshop and the Moveable Music School. I enjoy teaching and am always looking for new ways to communicate musical ideas.

I have not yet had the opportunity to write, and see staged, one of my own original musical plays. I still haven’t recorded my quintessential solo album (unless 'Lucky Time' is it!). I’ve not yet scored a movie. So the beat goes on... as the great sage said, “Don’t die with your music still in you.”