Life & Work with Sam Kogon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Kogon.

Hi Sam, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been playing music all my life. I grew up in Upstate NY where my family had a store called “Sams Swap Shop” (my namesake) which was a major source for my instruments and wonder. I started with classical music, I loved it and my first instrument was a violin my Grandpa Lonnie gave me. Growing up in the 90’s there were great oldies radio stations and I quickly grew an affinity and appreciation for 1960’s pop. Once my mom thought I was “ready” she got me my first Beatles record, “A Hard Days Night”, and from the second I heard the first chord I knew I wanted to be a songwriter. I went from violin to guitar (thanks grandpa), learning all the Beatles songs I could play with my limited chord vocabulary. I loved to sing and would perform at guitar recitals and talent shows in elementary school and middle school. I started winning the talent shows and realized that maybe I could do this for real. I got to college and formed a band called “The Vanderbuilts”, right off the bat we won a talent contest from a song I wrote called “I’m Coming Home” which helped solidify our presence on campus and got local recognition from the radio station.

We even won a SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Awards). I learned a lot from that band: how to record in a studio, how to self-promote, how to act when working with others (and sometimes how not to act.) Once we disbanded, I moved to NYC where I lived and performed for years but nowadays I live in Westchester and go back and forth between there and LA. I’ve done work with Al Jardine of The Beach Boys, fronting the 1960’s revived baroque pop group The Left Banke (“Walk Away Renee”), and have been songwriting with Grammy Award nominee Patty Smyth. I have recorded two albums of psych-adjacent power pop, including 2016’s Psychic Tears (Beyond Beyond is Beyond), which was co-produced by Sam Owens (aka Sam Evian) and features a duet with Frankie Cosmos on the track “I Was Always Talking.”

I most recently shared a brand new self-titled 4-track EP. I wrote and made demo recordings at home on my 4-track tape recorder. The songs were then arranged with my band feat. Grennan Milliken on drums, James Preston on Bass, Graeme Gengras on keys, and yours truly 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, NJ. My partnership with Agnello came about in a somewhat roundabout way. After coming off three self-booked US/Canadian tours, I got cast as a featured extra in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic The Irishman as a backing musician for Jerry Vale, played in the film by Steven Van Zandt. I hit it off with music supervisor Stewart Lerman and, after sending some demos along, received a recommendation for working with Agnello.

I’m now working on my next full-length LP.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If it was smooth, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. Bands break up, shows get canceled, I’ve heard a lot of no’s and a lot of people have passed on my music. Where some might have given up (and believe me I’ve been close) I learned there are many doors that lead to a path. It’s not always a straight line, and not everyone is gonna be on board to help. You just have to keep moving forward.

Everyone I know was affected by Covid, musicians and artists got hit extremely hard because we offer something that capitalism has de-valued: human emotion. As soon as times get tough the “spoils” of living in society seem to go away: art, music, creativity, and culture. For some reason, we don’t acknowledge these things as necessary for survival. It’s pretty ironic considering how hungry everyone was for “live” music at the height of the pandemic. Somehow we got through it and are all now trying to make sense of this new wacky reality we are in. I’ve definitely pivoted my approach to live shows, making less emphasis on touring due to the risks it now involves let alone the costs promoters now want the artists to pay for, etc.

Other challenges are things like streaming music platforms cough cough #CancelSpotify cough cough which have devalued everyone’s music making live performance one of the only ways to make a living as an artist. It’s a bit of a catch 22: spend a year writing and recording an album, kill yourself on a tour just to *maybe* break even, and do it all over again. Doesn’t sound very fulfilling or sustainable to me. I heard that even the major artists are now starting to have a difficult time so that’s really something that makes you think: how and why did we let it get like this?

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have worn many hats in the industry: as a booking agent, manager, radio host, songwriter and artist. I think having the knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes is really helpful and keeps me grounded. I know how to book a tour, I know how to negotiate, I know when to pass. Those are skills that many artists don’t have but everyone should know!

I was delighted to find out Rodney Bingenheimer and Little Steven aka Steven Van Zandt (from the E Street Band) named my single, “Barbed Wire,” as one of The Coolest Songs in The World and featured it on his Sirius XM show “Little Steven’s Underground Garage.”. I’m also very proud of being associated with the 1960’s baroque pop band The Left Banke, known for their hit “Walk Away Renee”, I sang lead vocals in their 2015 reunion and still help managing the groups legacy.

What’s next?
I want to keep writing, recording, and performing in no particular order! No big changes other than always trying my best to put my all into whatever I’m working on. If you don’t feel your own music, who else will?!

Contact Info:

• Website: samkogon.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/samkogon
• Facebook: Facebook.com/samkogon
• Twitter: twitter.com/samkogon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@samkogon1933
• Other: samkogon.bandcamp.com

Image Credits
Color photos by Bo Chapli B&W photos by Adam Lytle Bed photos by Jeff Mertz