Samantha Crain

All Music Guide:

Samantha Crain was raised in rural Shawnee, OK, a town whose remote location influenced her quirky, earthy interpretation of folk music. Although inspired by the sounds of her father's music collection, including Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, an adolescent Crain took even greater solace in the music of her home state, from the rootsy Americana of Woody Guthrie to the sonic experiments of the Flaming Lips. She later enrolled at Oklahoma Baptist University, where she spent several semesters working toward a degree in English literature before registering for a semester-long songwriting retreat. Located off-campus at Martha's Vineyard, the program allowed Crain to transform herself into a songwriter with a knack for narrative storytelling. She then returned home, where unpaid student loans convinced her to pursue a career in music instead. Ramseur Records took note of Crain's work schedule, which saw her crisscrossing the country with guitar in tow, and ultimately offered her a spot on the label. The Confiscation, a mature EP featuring harmonica, tambourine, lap steel guitar, and Crain's unembellished vocals, marked her Ramseur debut in 2007.

Wikipedia:

Samantha Crain (born August 15, 1986) is an American songwriter, musician, and singer, from Shawnee, Oklahoma. She is an artist signed to Ramseur Records out of Concord, North Carolina. She plays currently with a rotating cast of musicians including Anne Lillis on drums, Penny Hill on bass, John Calvin Abney on keyboards and guitars, Kyle Reid on guitars, and Daniel Foulks on fiddle. She used to play as part of the Ramseur Records band, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers. Also in the band were Jacob Edwards, Andrew Tanz, and Stephen Sebastian. Other musicians involved in various incarnations of her backing band are Jesse Aycock, Brine Webb, Eric Arndt, Nathan Price, Josh Timbrook, Joey Lemon, James Phillips, Eric Nauni, Ben Wigler, Sherree Chamberlain, Beth Bombara, and Laura Ortman.

Early years [edit]

Crain was born and raised in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is of Choctaw heritage. She attended Grove School in Shawnee, OK and Dale High School in Dale, OK. She also attended and took classes at Oklahoma Baptist University. The start of her career in music came after a 5 month residency at the Contemporary Music Center on Martha's Vineyard, MA.

Studio work [edit]

The Confiscation EP: A Musical Novella [edit]

Crain's first pressed collection of songs was recorded under the watchful eye of Joey Lemon of the Chicago-based band, Berry. The EP is a concept album based around five short stories she had written involving the themes of redemption and betrayal. Ramseur Records took notice of this self-released EP and decided to reissue it in July 2007. This was the beginning of Crain's relationship with Ramseur Records.

Songs in the Night [edit]

Crain's first LP with the Midnight Shivers was the April 28, 2009 release Songs in the Night. The album was produced by Danny Kadar and recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina. Songs in the Night features Crain on acoustic guitar and vocals, Jacob Edwards on drums, trombone, and harmonica, Andrew Tanz on bass guitar, keys, and vocals, and Stephen Sebastian on electric guitar. Arizona's Benjamin Wigler provide vocal harmonies on the track "Get the Fever Out".

Songs in the Night was met with much critical praise. Paste magazine gave the record a rating of 78 out of 100 and featured it many times online and in the magazine. Rolling Stone magazine reviewed it with 3.5 stars out of 5, saying "Her voice is gorgeously odd — all fulsome, shape-shifting vowels that do indeed billow like fog."

You (Understood) [edit]

After the Midnight Shivers disbanded, Crain released her second full length LP on June 8, 2010. The album was recorded in 7 days in Joey Lemon's studio in a white pole barn on the north side of Wichita, KS. It features Crain on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, and keys, Joey Lemon on bass, percussion, and vocals, Arizona's Ben Wigler on vocals and electric guitar, Student Film's Eric Nauni on drums and percussion, and Sherree Chamberlain on vocals on "We Are the Same". Frontier Ruckus's Matthew Milia and David Jones are featured on the song "Santa Fe" with Milia on vocals and Jones on banjo.

The album release was followed with an NPR Weekend Edition feature and favorable reviews from Paste magazine, the Washington Post, woxy.com, and emusic.com.

This album was released in UK and Benelux on November 8, 2011

A Simple Jungle [edit]

Crain released the 7" vinyl single, "A Simple Jungle" on January 10, 2012. It had two tracks (It's Simple and Cadwell Jungle) and was produced by John Vanderslice at his Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco. This is said to be an introduction to the pair working on Crain's next full length record together. It also featured Anne Lillis on percussion and Jacob Winik engineered the session.

Kid Face [edit]

Produced by John Vanderslice and recorded at his Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco, this full length LP was released on February 19, 2013. The album was recorded fully analog and was engineered by Jacob Winik. John Calvin Abney, Kyle Reid, Brine Webb, Daniel Foulks, Anne Lillis, and Anna Ash all contributed to the album. The album got much critical praise from Rolling Stone, SPIN, emusic.com, and American Songwriter.

Collaborations [edit]

Crain has lent her voice to recordings for Murder By Death, The Hudson Branch, Beau Jennings, Stephen Sebastian, Ali Harter, Brine Webb, Matt Hopper, Penny Hill, and others.

Touring [edit]

In 2006 and 2007, Crain mainly toured with Beth Bombara, Berry, and Ali Harter.

In 2008, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers toured alongside Bombadil, Paleface, Justin Townes Earle, the Everybodyfields, Rachael Yamagata, Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Katie Herzig, and Jessica Lea Mayfield

In 2009, they toured with and played alongside The Avett Brothers, William Elliott Whitmore, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Langhorne Slim, Ben Kweller, Josh Ritter, Tyler Ramsey, Sara Watkins, Kaki King, Elvis Perkins, The Everybodyfields, and Sister Suvi.

In 2010, Crain toured with and played alongside Zeb Dewar, First Aid Kit, Murder by Death (band), Frontier Ruckus, Ninja Gun, and Sam Quinn

In 2011, Crain toured with Langhorne Slim, Chris Bathgate, Adrian Edmondson, and Hezekiah Jones.

In 2012, Crain toured with and played alongside First Aid Kit during their European tour. Crain also toured with American Aquarium, Ben Weaver, and William Elliott Whitmore.

In 2013, Crain toured with and played alongside Murder by Death (band), Small Houses, Justin Townes Earle, Man Man, Josh Ritter, Parker Millsap, JD McPherson, and Shovels and Rope.