Meet Sammy Mitchell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sammy Mitchell.

Hi Sammy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in Oklahoma City, OK and started playing guitar at the age of 10. From an early age, I always loved the way recordings sounded and was obsessed with how music could communicate complex feelings where the spoken word would often fall short. I don’t know if that’s what you’d call a natural inclination, but to me, good music seemed like this other-wordly thing. I’m now 32 years old and still to me, aside from love or a moment spent present in nature, music at its best seems to point to something beyond what we understand. When I was around the age of 14, I acquired some basic recording gear and with some microphones, a guitar in hand… just started trying to loosely emulate the sounds of records I loved. As a kid, I was obsessed with just laying down, closing my eyes, and listening to an album from start to finish. All the intricacies and layers in the recording fascinated me and I began to be able to tell the well made and thoughtful from the poorly made and superficial.

I was a bit of a loner kid looking back… which lended well to spending a lot of my free time trying to teach myself how to record music. I sorta became obsessed and found a lot of meaning in the process. Ages of 15-20 was just spent playing guitar in local bands and messing around with recording gear any chance I got. Grew up listening to all sorts of music and comedy records… always felt the two disciplines were almost kindred spirits. Even now, I get a ton of inspiration from going to stand-up shows at Zanies here in Nashville.

Into my early 20s, I played guitar and toured the country in a band, started multiple projects, and self-produced ep’s for the various projects I was in. I moved to Nashville, TN in 2011 to finish school and after I graduated, and after years of daily co-writing sessions, countless hours spent editing ideas, with various artists and songwriters I was fortunate enough to cross paths with, eventually led to signing a publishing deal with then Razor & Tie Music Publishing, which was eventually purchased by Concord Music Publishing. I’ve had the experiences of co-writing with songwriters or artists who were in bands I grew up listening to… most of the process is a lot of throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks and 90% of the material you work on never sees the light of day. In 2019, I had some success with a song I co-wrote, produced and recorded, and played on called “One Number Away” by Luke Combs. It was certified RIAA Platinum and shot to #1 on the country billboard charts. Something I never thought would happen.

I’ve always been more “creative” than strictly the “music engineer” side of things, I always co-wrote songs for the projects I was involved in along the way, but I had always hoped songwriting would lead to opportunities to develop artists and produce records. The past few years, I’ve been doing exactly that. While co-writing in 2019 or so… I was lucky enough to cross paths with an artist I really believe in named Danny Stevens. We co-wrote a bunch of songs which evolved into me producing and recording the 12 song album. I played a lot of the guitars/instruments on the recording, recorded at a few big studios here in town, and it has some of Nashville’s most notable studio musicians playing on it. I’m finishing that up here in the next few months,

I put a lot of time into editing to get a certain sound and feel. I really try to trust the creative process while editing as much as I would when songwriting or performing. I’m a little fish in a big pond out here in Nashville and I work a little more hands on than most producers… but it’s kinda the only way I know how to make music. This town has a rich history and I just feel lucky to live and make music here, however little I can contribute to the cause of “music” itself, I guess.

I honestly never thought I’d stumble into country music, grew up listening to punk rock bands, classic rock, and hip hop stuff. There’s just something that will always be “country’ about a few people gathered around a guitar trying to write a song and connect with each other, regardless of the genre… and I guess I’ve sorta been doing that since I was a kid. Met a lot of really good people along the way, and some I owe a great deal to. Just trying to hang in there and make music as long as I can. I’ve always been very puzzle-minded since I was a kid, so maybe that lends itself a bit to recording, arranging, and making music. Just trying to stay curious about life and all its mysteries, push myself, and hopefully draw some creative inspiration from ideas that challenge what I already know.

Some more info here:
https://concord.com/roster/sammy-mitchell/
https://www.sammymitchellmusic.com/info
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hear-luke-combs-moody-fan-favorite-one-number-away-116313/

(There’s an artist on Spotify under the name “Sammy Mitchell”, just to clarify… I’m in no way affiliated with that guy or any of his music.)

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think the road is smooth for anyone, I just try to take on each obstacle in life as something important and meaningful to learn from. On the Danny Stevens album I’m finishing up, I really had to let myself trust that by taking the time to get the details right, hopefully it would make a difference in the end. The process of facing creative obstacles each day serves as a growing process. I feel like I’m always learning new stuff. Also, knowing the balance of when to push myself or work at a more steady pace can be a challenge too.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
These days, I guess you could say ‘m sorta at a cross between a record producer/engineer, a songwriter, and a guitarist/studio musician. My studio is currently a wall of tube amplifiers and guitar speaker cabinets, outboard studio gear filling up a desk, an API analog console, behind me a rack of guitars… Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, ES-339, and a Silvertone. Acoustic guitars hang from the wall and the floor is an organized mess of guitar pedals and cables. I work best when I can work one-on-one with the artist writing songs and reflecting on life. I feel being involved that early on gives me a better perspective of where to take the production and what music/instrumental parts to write.

Hopefully, a co-writing situation with an artist evolves into making a record. It takes a while to get the right songs written and to record/edit it properly, but I’d rather take the time and make something right. I’ve found the sounds you’re using and the process it takes to get those sounds can inform the songwriting to a great degree. In the end, I just want to make the best song I can.

I spend a lot of time overdubbing guitars, recording myself singing background vocals, making and layering different sounds, trying to make something that sounds polished and organic. I love the way records like John Mayer – Continuum or Acceptance – Phantoms have a clean and cinematic sound. I’ve learned editing something like that takes a lot of time and patience.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I’m on Instagram @sammymitchell but I hardly ever get on there.

You can find an email link at the bottom of my website. If you’re an artist or for any other reason, feel free to reach out.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.sammymitchellmusic.com
• Instagram: sammymitchell