Name: Sam Bradley
Career: Musician
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/sambradley06
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/samueltube1

Sam Bradley

How have you found it different between London and Vancouver, music wise?
Well I was only just starting out when I was in London. I worked - I was a waiter, in a restaurant. I moved around to different venues with what was basically a showcase my mom ran, and I was kind of around it in that sense, but I never played much in London. I think I did like, two open mics. I haven't been playing for that long, I've only been playing for like five years.

What made you pick up the guitar in the first place?
My mom's a singer-songwriter, Lee Lindsay. She bought me a guitar when I was sixteen, and I didn't play it for a year. Probably in reaction to sort of, "I don't want to be like my mother". Though that's not the case, I always wanted to be a woman. No, I'm joking. Joking, joking! [Laughs]. So yeah, she bought me a guitar, and I didn't play it. And Marcus [Foster] was playing guitar, at the time, and he was really, really good. And I just thought, well, I want to be like that. I sang, but not properly. I sang R Kelly songs. Do you know the song Bump N' Grind?

Did you take voice lessons at all?
No, I didn't take guitar lessons, either. I pretty much taught myself. My mom's ex-boyfriend helped me a lot; he's a bass player. He was just strict on how I should do things, but he didn't give me lessons. I got to watch him, and he was one of the best.

So when did you get started with a band, and how has that changed the dynamics?
Four, five months ago? And, well, it's louder. [Laughs].

Does your band contribute to the song-writing process at all?
I write the songs, but we play as a group some of the songs they've written, and I had no part in those. They're all very talented.

How did you get started with them?
Well, my drummer was one of the people I met in high school, but I didn't really speak to him for three years. And then three or four year later I just called him, and said "Hey, would you like to play drums?" He said, 'Yeah, I know a bass player". I knew a guitarist... and we jammed, and that's it.

You have a few shows coming up in December, right?
Yeah, I've got a couple of shows coming up. They're really small shows - even the one on New Year's Eve is in a really quaint, homey pub. It's really cool. My bass player, his dad owns the pub.

Are you planning on recording an album?
Yeah, I'm planning to go to Paris. Basically, it's the producer that I want, and that's where he is. He might come here, but I'd rather go there. Why not record an album in Paris?

You say you have twenty to thirty songs - have you recorded most of them?
No, I've only recorded seven or eight. I recorded an EP, like four years ago when I first started. And it's good, just not what I'm about, so I'm not really happy with it. I like some of the songs, but I've developed a lot since then, too. That's why I have the YouTube channel.

What's your favourite song that you've written?
"Scared", maybe. It's not my greatest performance on YouTube, but I like the song. I like "Sea Blue", too. I also have other songs that people haven't heard that I really like.

So have you been keeping tabs on how many fans you have on MySpace everyday?
No, but I do check it. I mean, before the soundtrack, I was getting - on a good day - probably thirty or forty plays. The other day I got 4000.

Does that make you nervous, at all?
Yeah, I wish I had stuff recorded that I like. That's what it makes me think. I really wish I had my best out there, because it's a lot of people listening. So there’s an idea to create a database of e-mails, just for myself. I can't respond to everyone. I want to, but I can't. So the idea is that I can just communicate directly by sending the songs out. I'd like to send them all out, but I can't. The only thing is, I don't really want people to have songs that I don't like, or that I'm not proud of. I have to be proud of them – otherwise, I just feel guilty.

You wrote 'Never Think', on the Twilight soundtrack, with Robert Pattinson - and then you apparently went in completely different directions when recording it. How did that happen - is there an original version?
The original version is just sort of bits and pieces of when we were writing it. So, no, there's no real original version. What it is, is we wrote a song... I came back to Canada, and kind of switched it up a little bit for myself. Melodically, what we originally wrote is probably closer to my version. But Rob, when he plays music, he's really in touch with what he's doing, so he plays a song differently every time. Any song, it'll never sound the same. It's really cool, he's really in the moment. So the recording of Never Think that he did will never sound the same again, which is kind of interesting. Lyrically, though, it's similar.

It's funny, because you can never understand what he's singing. So it's really interesting to listen to your version and say, "Oh, that's what he's saying!"
I don't think anyone has guessed the lyrics right yet. I've been on YouTube, and I've been reading what people think are the lyrics. Even the first line, I don't think I've read the right first line yet. I mean, he sings it like that because that's how it comes out. I personally love it. I mean, I know what he's saying. There's a feeling behind it, like he's singing it to that person that he's talking to.

So, what was it like, sitting in the theatre and watching the Twilight premiere... and then hearing the song being played?
I've seen the film three times now. It's pretty exciting. I went to the LA premiere, and then I went to London. And then I took my mom to see it in Vancouver. But yeah, I was sitting with Marcus and Bobby [Long] at the London premiere, and we started like - aaah! - jumping up and down.

Their song is great, too.
Oh, the best bit of the film. And Rob does such a good job with it.

That's a great part of the film. I really liked the movie - it was quite the experience, seeing in a theatre full of pre-teen girls, screaming.
I didn't get any screaming girls. I wanted to. When I went with my mom, I sat at the back, like - [He beams.]. Just 'cause I was with my mom, all happy and proud.

Sam Bradley

So what has the release of the soundtrack done for you as a musician?
What it's done for me is - I'm now a published writer on a huge selling soundtrack. Huge selling soundtrack - went to number one. I have that fact, and it's pretty powerful, as far as publishing goes. I'm going to be able to make my own album in terms of funding my own album, which is something I never could do before. And I get to talk to people like you! I never did that before, I get to have interviews. Oh yeah, and I have a manager now, which is really cool. He's a good guy, and he's looking out for me. I'm not the most business oriented individual, but now I have a business.

Are you getting a lot of people calling to book gigs?
Not so much gigs. I mean they're mostly all in America, which I want to do on the tour, basically. It's difficult to just go for one show.

There was so much response for the tour idea [with Marcus Foster and Bobby Long].
I know, I know - which is really good. I've got to get those boys in. I'm really into it - and they're really into it, too. It's just like - I mean, Marcus is at school. He goes to the Royal College of Art, which is like, the best. He's a sculptor, and it's very, very interesting. And Bobby's at school, too, doing - something musical.

So, if you do start this tour next year, when will it be?
August. That's a pretty accurate guess. August, September. We'll see how long we tour for... it depends on how many places we book. I mean, we want to kind of go as... across the board as we can. I mean, I really want to do Canada, as well. I think in Canada it will have to be mostly major cities.

Do you know when you'll have more details about that?
Well, now is the time that we're organizing it, but we're all working hard on making it happen. Marcus has been working a long time on this, and he's got it together. He's written some amazing tunes. His lyrical content is... outstanding. And Bobby, too - so good.

Related Websites who've promoted this interview:
RobPattinson.Com
His Golden Eyes