337. Sam Koon, Bringing Fatherhood and Rock To Country with Great Vocals!

Sam Koon is a guitarist, songwriter & powerhouse vocalist. Originally from Central Florida with roots also in Georgia, Sam originally performed out of Nashville as the lead singer for touring act & country crossover artist, Jessta James ...but it wasn’t until just a few years ago Sam decided to release his own original music. As a songwriter, Sam received his first major label cut with Sony/RCA recording artist Andrew Jannakos’ single “Somebody Loves You” which debuted as the #1 trending TikTok sound in May 2021. Sam also has 2 recent cuts with “Running Out of Roses” & “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” landing on Big Yellow Dog’s Brandon Davis’ debut album “Hearts Don’t Rust”. “I’m so excited to continue to release original music”, says Sam, “I have several songs I’ve written in the past few years & I can’t wait to continue to release more. As an independent artist, I’m thankful for some of the opportunities that have come my way & look forward to sharing more.” Sam continues to grow his audience and plans on releasing several songs this year in hope of a full-length project So strap up your seatbelts and let’s take a ride to Georgia on this episode of the dHarmic Evolution podcast. As a Preview: In this episode, we speak to rock turned country music rising star Sam Koon. We explore everything about Sam from his time as rock lead singer for Jessta James, his personal writing process detailing from song conception to completion and how he got into co-writing. Also, we touched on Sam’s experience in vocal training, its importance for other artists and his vocal influences. Finally, we had  a quick story of James doing a gig with his son Trevor, all here on the dHarmic Evolution podcast. More about Sam Koon Find out more about Sam and hear his music through different platforms. All the links are provided below! Check out his website, social media pages and music platforms that you can visit. Quotes: “I think I’ve always written ever since I picked up the guitar when I was fifteen”-Sam “It was a pleasant transition to country music for me”-Sam “Don’t get me wrong, coming from rock, I like having some loud guitars but the dynamic of the song, I like those choruses because they really can soar”-Sam “The song seems to always have a mind of its own”-James “‘Cos a lot of time you can get boxed in your head, and can’t break through to the second verse”-Sam “No matter what you do and how bad you think it is or how bad you think you are, like it’s really gonna be alright. It happens to the best of us; we're all human. We should love each other and support each other.”-Sam “It’s worth it to me, even losing money because I like to go out there ‘cos of the experience and the potential that one day something could happen”-Sam “When I get an idea, I like to start at the last line of the chorus that’s the tag”-Sam “There are so many techniques, ideas, tricks and hacks of songwriting… it’s one of the most freeing and creative things you can ever do”- James  Time Stamps: 00:56 Introducing the country star, Sam Koon 04:10  How Sam got to join Jessta James 06:02 How Sam almost got arrested 06:37 How Sam discovered his song-writing ability 06:56 Sam’s short stint in Rock n Roll 08:28 Behind Sam’s debut country song, “If Heaven has a backdoor” 09:56 How Sam got into co-writing 11:57 Best of us starts playing 15:22 How Sam created Best of us 18:23 Which performance does Sam prefer: Solo or Band? 19:09 How Sam got connected to writer’s round 21:50 Sam’s experience opening for big acts with a band 23:48 Sam’s vocal training 24:43 James’ self-consciousness during vocal training 26:12 Sam’s writing process 29:15 Every other weekend from Sam Koon starts playing 33:06 Sam’s vocal influences 35:45 How vocal coaching was important for Sam 37:14 What is Sam’s favorite thing to do at chill time 37:58 What does the future look like for Sam 39:48 Two Dads hitting it off together 41:12 What is Sam’s band support structure 42:08 What is Sam’s favorite band set up, four-piece or five-piece? 43:06 Sam’s closing statement 44:26 Listen to Ride On from James Kevin O’Connor   Spotify Playlist:   Make sure you’re not missing out on all our “Rising dHarmic Stars Spotify Playlists”. We already have four (4) playlists where you can find over a hundred songs from our very own dHarmic Evolution alumni .Don’t forget to share them with your family and friends as well and let the world support these amazing indie artists! Check out the links here:   dHarmic Rising Stars: Aquila   https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4loDaYF0OuWRjZeMXvEjK4   dHarmic Rising Stars: Orion   https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5CnL9tl0xbU4oDh6jtJBZx   dHarmic Rising Stars: Lyra   https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ov0OqNMJmPhHrxZjsXthS   dHarmic Rising Stars: Scorpius   https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5oQ4Sc4LAJSexsDgDcixt8   dHarmic Evolution links:   Stay up-to-date with our new releases! You just simply need to go to dharmicevolution.com and subscribe to your favorite podcast platform – there are a lot to choose from! Let me know what you think as well by leaving comments or reviews! And if you’re digging this show, please share it with somebody either on social media or just forward it to a friend and let them join the growing community of dHarmic Evolution!   Hey, do you know someone who is suffering from anxiety and depression? Please help them out by suggesting the book “7 Steps to Mental Freedom.” It will be a great read for them. You can easily find it as well on the main page of the website or you can just send them to https://tinyurl.com/yc4wuwbf   Keep yourself updated with what’s going on with dHarmic evolution; check out our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dharmicevolution and, if you are an artist, an author, or a keynote speaker, who is trying to find a safe place to post your content to, you can check out our own Facebook community page and let the world support you! Check out the link here: dHarmic Evolution Community.    Special Links and Mentions   Jessta James  If Heaven has a backdoor by Sam Koon Co-writing Best of Us Alex Smith Jeffrey Steel Writer’s Rounds  Cadillac3 Dave Matthews Steven Tyler Every other Weekend by Sam Koon Ride On by James Kevin O’Connor   Connect with Sam Koon   Website   Facebook   Instagram