Sam Small of Highland Park on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Sam Small. Check out our conversation below.

Sam, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I just released the debut single, “Sometime In December”, and its music video on October 14th. It was a process that took a few years, from writing to Covid delaying recording, and then funding and producing a video, all while juggling a busy tour schedule. It’s been amazing getting that out to the world. Also, the video still makes me laugh in its funny moments, so there’s that too.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and poet living in Los Angeles. As a songwriter, I aim to blend everything I love about the lyrical folk music of the past with bits of psychedelic rock and the earworm-forward melody writing of modern indie. More often than not, I am accompanied by my eclectic band/collective, Drugs Bunny. I also play as a sideman in Man Man and Tyler Ballgame and do session work on the side. I am currently in the early stages of releasing a couple of singles from my upcoming album, which is scheduled for release in 2026.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I think I’ve always been me. The world (capitalism) has made me various things throughout my life. I’ve worked in kitchens as well as on pot farms. None of it really made me happy, so I kept pushing back and chasing every opportunity I could that paid me to have an instrument in my hands.

When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I was incredibly shy as a kid. The combination of finding a caring and kind friend group and discovering some self-power through music did wonders. As I got older, I found myself pushing myself towards forcing myself out of my comfort zone more often, and over time, much of that fear and social anxiety subsided.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
On a grand scale, it’s when it says AI isn’t a threat. While it can’t play a live show with a band or “get drunk and destroy a hotel room”, it can divert heavy amounts of passive revenue away from musicians and give it right into the hands of the owners of streaming platforms. Without getting too into the weeds, it’s really bad, and we need to push back against it with everything we have. On a small scale, we need to stop lying to ourselves that amp modelers sound as good as the real amps.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
Easily, being in nature. Top of a mountain, next to a river, deep in a forest, you name it. It allows me to turn off all the noise in my head. Reminds me, on some nervous-system-mellowing level, that I’m part of something bigger. I find a state of flow in writing, and sometimes it feels serene, but often it feels like I’m kicking my own psychic hive for a little bit of musical honey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://samsmall.bandcamp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samsmallsamsmall/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samsmallsamsmall/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@samsmallsamsmall
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/samsmallsamsmall

Image Credits
All photos by Laura Moreau