Samantha Margret Feminist gf Interview

Samantha Margret is dedicated to confronting social problems through her music. "Feminist gf" was inspired by a frustrating Zoom meeting with a man who claimed to be a feminist, but his words/actions during the meeting didn't show that. "After the call, I was mad at him; I was mad at myself," Margret explains. "Sometimes it cuts deeper when that kind of patriarchal hurt comes from someone you think is on your team. I think of myself as really outspoken and try to be the first to speak up when another woman is in trouble, but I sometimes have trouble when the comments are directed at me."

Samantha Margret is an indie-pop artist who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Raised on an eclectic mix of country lullabies, folk songs, and radio pop, Samantha's music seeks creativity, originality, and sometimes even a good giggle. Her soulful ballads convey the power of the female voice, and tell stories about mental health and acceptance; her uptempo pop songs are not afraid of a good time.

Hailing from San Francisco, California, Samantha started singing and writing at a very young age. Her parents have always been huge supporters of her creativity and music, and helped her embrace her music career. After graduating and becoming a teacher to support herself, Samantha was miserable without music. After a long talk with her partner, Samantha came to the realization she needed to pursue her music career. After that, there was no turning back. Samantha started performing at open mics, competitions with West Coast Songwriters, and performing at her own shows at local venues. Meanwhile, she also traveled to LA and Nashville collaborating and writing with other songwriters and musicians. As someone who is passionate about social causes, Samantha has partnered with and volunteered her time at SafeHouse San Francisco, an organization that empowers and supports womxn who are experiencing housing instability due to domestic violence, sexual exploitation or trafficking. She is also an advocate for empowering women in her community.

Samantha Margret began her music career playing the piano as her main instrument, but transitioned to using the trigger pad as a primary means of accompaniment. The trigger pad gives her creative freedom and total control of her music by being her own band. Reminiscent of artists like Julia Michaels, Marian Hill, Sara Bareilles, and Andra Day; Samantha blends unique production with raw and intimate lyrics. Samantha brings unusual production and creative lyrics to the pop and singer-songwriter genre that's fresh, fun, and original. For more information visit SamanthaMargret.com.

Interview with Samantha Margret

Question: How would you describe your music?

Samantha Margret: Originality is really important to me, but I'm a pop artist, so I also want people to feel immediately at home in the songs. I write and read a lot of poetry, so lyrics are really important to me. I think we become infused with what we listen to and read (even if we don't process it consciously), so I write songs with positive messages. That doesn't mean they're always happy. "Feminist gf" is definitely dark, but it's empowering. I write songs hoping that people soak them in and feel better about themselves and more powerful.


Question: Can you tell us about Feminist gf?

Samantha Margret: Of course! Sometimes I write from a place of fantasy"the emotions are real, but the story is made up. "Feminist gf" is a completely true story though. I was on a call with a guy I've known for a while, and we were talking about Instagram. He said, "I love it when hot b*tches fail." It caught me completely off guard. I mean, I expect that kind of thing from some random guy working the sound board at a club, but not from my own community. I'm usually pretty quick with a comeback, but I was just too surprised.

After the call, I was mad"mad at him for what he said, mad at myself for not responding"just pure rage. I sat down and wrote "Feminist gf" start to finish. Pretty quickly after that, I made a demo and started playing it for friends. My producer, John Caviness, got really excited about the bass line and created the whole track around that intensity and vibe. Shame doesn't like to live out in public, so sharing the song lifted the weight of that initial rage.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Samantha Margret: I write a lot about mental health and acceptance. Even though this song is a little more in your face than some of my others, I think it fits that same lineage. As a listener, I try to curate my music so that it lifts me up and makes me feel more powerful, more whole, more seen. I hope that my music does that for other people. I want them to walk away feeling joyful and empowered. My aim is to be on the playlist someone puts on before a job interview or after a really tough day.


Question: What was your first performance?

Samantha Margret: Well, there were a lot of elementary school spring musicals in my early years, but the first time I played my original music in public was at a little open mic in Redwood City, California. The open mic was in the upstairs room at an Italian restaurant, and it was on Tuesdays, so there were only three songwriters and the host who showed up that night. I was so nervous that I had to start over twice. Pete Sommer, the host, was very kind. He told me that my song was great and encouraged me to enter the West Coast Songwriters competitions. That kept me going for a long time. When I was starting out, there were so many things I didn't know, and I was really isolated. Those competitions helped me form a community and learn my craft and my business. Thank goodness Pete was such a sweetheart or who knows where I'd be.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Samantha Margret: I love the quiet part of a show when everyone has had a drink or two (one Kahlua and Baileys if you're me), and we're all ready to really listen. In my set, that's when I play my song "Mine." It's a ballad, and I always play it acoustic"just me and a piano. I know the song inside and out, and there's no complex accompaniment to worry about. That's when I get to experience the audience the most. I can get out of my head and share the moment with everyone in the room.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Samantha Margret: Okay, this is going to sound cheesy, but definitely my dad. He's the ideal audience member. He doesn't play any instruments; he doesn't sing outside of his house, but he really loves music. He listens like a writer listens. I can't tell you how many conferences I've gone to where they say that the only people looking for new music are 15, but I know that's not true because my dad searches for new music all the time. He's not taken in by fancy lights or really loud speakers, he's all about the song and the feeling. So, when I walk off stage and he's excited, I know it was a great show. It's hard to find someone who listens like that. And, it's harder to find someone who believes in your music enough to tell you that you had a bad night. But, man, it's the best when you can see on that person's face that you had a great night.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Samantha Margret: I'm motivated by creating something unknown. I love that feeling when the song is finished, and I take a step back, and it totally surprises me. One of the reasons I love co-writing is that it adds a secret ingredient. In a co-write, there's my writing ability, my co-writer's ability, and the secret sauce of the two of us getting together in a room.
During COVID, I've written a bunch of new songs that are cheeky and uptempo. I've been calling them my "little weirdos." I think I just needed a fun surprise. There's so much going on in the world right now" illness, fires, injustice"to shut myself in a room and write something fun was a delightful surprise, and it kept me coming back and writing more.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Samantha Margret: I'm always listening to new music, but, of course, there are some standards that live on repeat. I love Selena Gomez's album, Rare. Lizzo and Maggie Rogers are also always on in my apartment. I just introduced my mom to Ingrid Andress. I love her song "Lady Like." My friends Deza and Eva Snyder both recently released absolute bops. That's the best part of knowing artists: hearing songs go from little, acoustic babies to full grown, pop masterpieces.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Samantha Margret: That's such a tough question. Sara Bareilles was a huge writing inspiration. My grandfather was a diehard lover of musical theatre who thought Liza Minelli was the gold standard of performance. My dad used to sing me to sleep with sad country ballads. A lot of people inspired me and contributed to my musical growth. But, honestly, for most of my life, I didn't think that the music industry was an industry. No one in my family plays music or is a professional artist. Music, no matter how much I loved it, always seemed like a hobby.

It took trying to do something else (I was a teacher very briefly) to realize how much I needed to do this. I liked teaching; I got along with my students; I even enjoyed lesson planning, but I was totally and completely miserable. Music is just it for me. It's the thing I need to do. I'm a big believer in callings, and this is mine. I feel incredibly lucky that when I shared that truth with my family they dove in with me. None of us knew what a musician even did all day, but they got behind me, and I figured it out.


Question: Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry?

Samantha Margret: Totally! I had heard Ke$ha tell a story about hopping the fence and breaking into Diddy's house to sneak him a mixtape. I thought it was going to be like that: make some demos, pull crazy stunts to get them in front of people, sign a contract. Of course, now I know better. The best opportunities I've had in music have come from one of two places: my own two hands or someone who really loves my songs. It's a lot less about breaking and entering and a lot more about getting to a point where the music is so good that people are excited to give it a spotlight.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Samantha Margret: I have a morning routine. I wake up, brush my teeth, stretch a little, make a smoothie, meditate, and write my morning pages (a journaling exercise from The Artist's Way). Some days that looks a lot more like brush my teeth, stare at my phone for 30 minutes, and frantically make a smoothie while I become increasingly late for an appointment, but, hey, we're all on a journey. From there, the days tend to look really different from one another. A couple of times a week, I have a co-write scheduled. That means hopping on Zoom and writing a song. Other days, I spend time doing project management, following up with bookers, producers, graphic designers, and my publicist. Then, of course, there are days where I work in my home studio, writing, producing demos, or recording vocals. I've started doing this thing on Mondays where I spend the morning in "think space" reading about music or thinking through challenges ahead, and I spend the afternoon creating content for social media. It gets a lot of the big picture stuff out of the way before the week heats up and I get busy. My partner works 9-5; when he's done with work and I don't have a show, I try to sign off. We watch a lot of the Great British Baking Competition and we're trying to get all the way through Naruto.

Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Samantha Margret: Collaboration took me a long time to figure out, but now I'm so grateful for it. I'm a really independent person, and when I was in school, I dreaded group projects and didn't like team sports. When I wrote music, I went off into my room and shut the door. But growth is slow when you're on your own. Now, I'm surrounded by all of these talented friends, and I can feel how much that helps me push myself. When I'm cowriting or collaborating with a producer, I'm also taking mental notes about how they tackle a problem. What do they do when the melody is just not sticky enough or they can't find the perfect rhyme, but they love the line? Sometimes you come out of the collaboration with a great song, and other times you come out a better writer. Either way, those days are the most fulfilling for me.


Question: What's next, for you?

Samantha Margret: Well, I have a new single called "Saucy" coming out in December. I wrote it with my friend Eva Snyder about a year ago and then it just took on a life of its own. It's gone through a couple of production versions, and it has a rap feature from Son of Paper. I don't want to give away too much, but I just ordered 200 of those little to-go packets of ketchup, so I'm definitely having a good time with this one.


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)

Samantha Margret: Of course! Thanks for asking. Here you go:
Spotify  
Instagram  
Youtube  


Interview by Gwen van Montfort