RDU Presents: Joe Sampson

This year Joe Sampson, with his new project Joe Sampson & Friends, released Unfinished I, a collection of previously unfinished tracks from his huge back catalogue. They are DIY rock songs that draw from his time fronting the noisy Flying Nun group T54 as well as the janglier, poppier songs of Salad Boys, who he also fronted. They’re mature songs of a writer who has refined their craft over years of writing and multiple projects. Joe founded DIY record label Melted Ice Cream and now releases his music under Oh Yea, Haha., another indie label he created for his own releases. 

Joe Sampson was the first name which came up when we were discussing artists to feature with the RDU staff. When we told Simon, the station manager, that we were chatting with Joe he exclaimed “The King!” before launching into an enthusiastic endorsement of all of Joe’s projects. From a distance, Joe seemed like an interesting character. Someone who had stuck to his stylistic guns from day one. Someone who had built multiple projects, signed to Flying Nun, toured the country countless times and even toured overseas. Joe has been prolific. He has been writing songs for decades and still writes music that is fresh and inspired. When I listened to Unfinished I, the 2021 release from Joe Sampson & Friends, it struck me as the work of an artist at their creative peak. Joe was in control of that album and its energy from top to bottom. Joe has been on a creative journey that has taken him from the raw energy of T54 to the balance and maturity of his recent releases while still maintaining the same influences and approaches that he started off with. I was very much looking forward to meeting him.

Flynn and I had agreed to meet Joe at 5pm, two minutes down the road from our place in Richmond, Ōtautahi. Somewhat surprisingly, we turned up on time. Meandering down Joe’s driveway, the first things we noticed were the three cars. A BMW 318i and two Holden Berlinas, one of which was under a cover. We knocked a few times on Joe’s door but nobody came to answer. . We knocked a few more times and still nothing. Shortly after, a blue 1990 Toyota Corona pulled into the driveway. A fourth car. Out stepped Joe, dressed smartly in a collared shirt and sweater. We were intrigued by the car collection, so it didn’t take long to establish that all four cars in the driveway were his.

His windows were lined with seedlings germinating in every available sunny spot, presumably waiting to be planted in the veggie garden that was nestled at the back of the big section. A woodshed filled with split logs sat against the back fence. Inside, the house was lined with interesting stuff; an original playstation, a tape duplicator, and all manner of music equipment.

You’re obviously into a lot of things - the cars, the veggie garden, your original PlayStation. What draws you to all these things?

I think it’s really important to have diverse interests, if nothing else to distract yourself from music. It’s good to not have all your eggs in one basket. I drove a forklift for five years, which was very satisfying. Maybe it’s because it’s an easy success. I spent a lot of time thinking out every detail of my approach to things in music, so after feeling like you might be failing in music or something it’s nice to have an easy win. With something like driving a forklift you can get to the end of the day and see the tasks you’ve achieved. So I guess it’s nice to be able to take your mind off things.

Where has your musical inspiration come from? Has that inspiration changed at all over the years?

I started my first band when I was really young, 11 or 12. The format was three people with me singing songs that I’d written. I’ve kind of stuck with the same genre and format from the start. There have been times when that’s been less popular and times when that’s been more popular, obviously styles do that, so the stuff I’ve done has been more popular and less popular at different times over the years.

When I was in my early twenties I started T54. We were really into post-punk and shoegaze. My Bloody Valentine was something we really got into. That would’ve been around 2009-10. 90s music was making a resurgence and becoming cool again. We did really well. We made a couple of albums and signed to Flying Nun. We did an Aussie tour and lots of New Zealand tours. After that I started Salad Boys, which was an attempt to be a bit more like the Flying Nun jangle pop thing, as well as our usual influences too. That coincided with that style of music becoming popular again and many of the Flying Nun bands becoming popular again overseas. I was the only constant member and most of the stuff was recorded at my house. Most of the stuff I’ve recorded has been in various lounges and bedrooms. I haven’t really done much in actual studios.

That was in its prime from 2012 until about last year. We did a US tour. US touring is different, you have to take your own gear to every gig, every night. So every day we all piled ourselves and the kit into the van and got on the road for about 8 hours a day. I really love driving, so I drove for most of the tour. 

Joe points to his four cars in the driveway.

We made a rule that every night all of the gear came out of the van to avoid it getting stolen. It became a bit of a badge of honour really, loading all the gear out into a motel room or wherever we were staying. One of the headlights cut out about a third of the way in, so we were scared we were gonna be pulled over. It was great though, I’d love to do another US tour some day.

Your recent album was released under Joe Sampson & Friends, why this instead of Salad Boys?

It wasn’t an easy decision to make. It’s not an easy thing to come to terms with, actually. It’s a question I ask myself a lot. When you’ve got a band it doesn’t matter if you’re doing 90% of the work, people’s expectations still hinge on the whole band and what that looks like. It’s difficult. Sometimes you just have to make a decision and roll with it.

The new album is Joe Sampson & Friends because that’s exactly what it is. It’s mostly me and Brian (Feary, who played in Salad Boys). This collection of songs didn’t really have an attachment to anything else so I decided to put them out together.

What are your priorities with your music and the moment? What is it you want to achieve?

That changes over the years. Generally, over time your standards become more realistic. When I was a kid playing in bands in the early 2000s digital music hadn’t completely taken over. People were still making money from selling records and rock bands still got really famous. There were bands like Franz Ferdinand, the White Stripes, and Queens of the Stone Age who were really famous. At the time I assumed that’s what I was bound for. Factors like being in New Zealand and not making particularly commercially viable music play into that as well. Over time my priorities shifted to making music I’m really happy with. All I want is to have a following that gets excited when I put out new music. That’s the most satisfying thing. I just want to put music out and have fun doing it. There are still gonna be those moments where you go crazy perfectionist and that’s all part of it. 

Are you planning to continue making and releasing music under Joe Sampson & Friends?

Well, probably. My new thing is rolling with it and just not questioning it. My whole thing until the last year or so has been scrutinising every angle. Often doing that you delay the process and sometimes end up with an inferior result. It can lead to disappointment too. If you approach projects with too much of an idea of what they should be you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. The approach now is to just do this and see where it leads.

After meeting Joe a lot of things made sense. How did he get from his beginnings to where he is now without drying out creatively? Simply, he loves music. He loves working on his craft. He accepts that being an artist is often a struggle. For Joe, it seems like music is something inseparable from his daily existence. He has worked it into his life. Joe has negotiated the feelings of failure and dejection that all creatives feel when times are not easy to come out of the other side in a place most artists don’t achieve; content, creative, and at peace with his art. 

Instagram - @saladboysnz

Spotify - Salad Boys / Joe Sampson & Friends