Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Clawson
Hi Sam, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I don’t come from a traditionally musical family, but growing up I listened to a ton of punk rock because that’s what my older brothers liked. I grew up in a small town called Decatur, Illinois, which was once a booming industrial city, but had long since left its prime. And when I was a kid, Sufjan Stevens released his Come On! Feel the Illinoise! album, which featured a song about my little hometown, called Decatur. The chorus literally says “Decatur, Decatur, why do we hate her?” Anyway, because of that song, I started listening to Sufjan Stevens and a ton of other Americana.
In middle school, I picked up the tuba, not entirely sure why I was drawn to it, but it ended up being providential because my middle school band director, Everett James, happened to play tuba himself and taught me lessons. The school didn’t have money for a half-size tuba, and I couldn’t set the horn on my lap because it was too heavy, so we actually placed a trashcan upside down and used it as a stand. Despite working with very small budgets, our school, with about 250 students, had a phenomenal arts program, thanks to Mr. James and our choir director, Christopher Weisenborn. This was the start of my love for music.
I’m going to skip about 15 years now, but ended up going to school in Utah at Brigham Young University, and studied commercial music. I found my passion for film scoring and graduated last spring. Since then, I’ve been working at a music studio called Amphibious Zoo.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Choosing to pursue music full-time has been an incredibly difficult decision for me. I’m married and have a 1 month old son, so I feel a lot of pressure to contribute financially to my family. My wife is super supportive, but since graduating from school last spring, I felt like it would be best for me to get a day job, something in the music industry where I could learn a ton, but that would also help us pay the bills while I’m trying to make a living as a composer. The balance has been tough, but we’re figuring it out!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a film composer at heart and currently work for a production music library, Amphibious Zoo Music. We specialize in music for advertising and unscripted reality TV shows in particular. I’m obsessed with the neoclassical and minimalist movements. I listen to a ton of Arnold and Max Richter, so at my heart I love to write music in that style. But as a film composer, of course I have to be willing to write in all styles. Right now I’m working on a feature film that has a totally synthesized score, taking inspiration from M83 in particular.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
If the pandemic hadn’t hit, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to study music. At the time I was taking pre-med classes, but the world’s slowing down gave me more time to explore my hobbies, and I started writing music for fun and scored a student documentary. I fell in love with film scoring during COVID.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://samclawson.com
- Instagram: @clawmanmusic
Image Credits
Brady Sillito
