BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Despite hitting No. 1 on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart with his 2019 debut disc, "The Wrong Impression," and racking up 8 million song streams since, punk-reggae singer Joe Samba views his first headlining tour as something of a tryout.
“It feels like a test: Do the people really like me?" Samba said in a recent call from his home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
"What I’m looking forward to doing is seeing some faces, seeing if people are digging our live show and whether they’ll come to see me as a headliner rather than just opening for someone else."
"That’s probably the coolest part. It’s crazy, it’s surreal. I kind of waited my whole life to say this is my headlining tour. So it’s pretty exciting.”Punk-reggae singer/guitarist Joe Samba
Samba will get more of that feedback when he plays a free show at 8 p.m. today, Nov. 29, at Rising River Brewing, 1955 Willow Lane, Macungie. Doors open at 3 p.m.
It's looking like Samba is passing his test. Now halfway through his tour to promote his sophomore disc, "Far From Forever," Samba said, "So far, just seeing some of the ticket sales and some of the markets I’ve only ever been in once or not at all, people seem like they’re excited for it.
"That’s probably the coolest part,” he said. “It’s crazy, it’s surreal. I kind of waited my whole life to say this is my headlining tour. So it’s pretty exciting.”
Creating something all over again
A lot of exciting things are happening in Samba's career these days.
Ever since he channeled the punk-reggae vibe of legendary band Sublime on his breakthrough hit "How We Do," Samba has tallied more than 2 million streams of "The Wrong Impression."
He's also toured nationwide with acts such as Pepper, Badfish: A Tribute To Sublime and Shwayze, and opened for Sublime With Rome and Ziggy Marley.
"I’m such a fan of John Brown’s Body. Like, diehard reggae fans, they know who John Brown’s Body is, and me being that ... it was an interesting way to have access to him."Punk-reggae singer-guitarist Joe Samba
But Samba said one of the highlights was his recent collaboration with Elliot Martin, vocalist for the veteran chart-topping reggae band John Brown's Body on a remake of his song "Create Something."
"I’m such a fan of John Brown’s Body," Samba said. "Like, diehard reggae fans, they know who John Brown’s Body is, and me being that ... it was an interesting way to have access to him.
“On a whim, I messaged him on Facebook, like, ‘Hey, do you want to do this,’ thinking he won’t get back to me. But within a few minutes, he was, like, ‘Hey, huge fan of you. Yes.’ And I was shocked, but it came together."
Samba said the duet “was more organic than I ever imagined, where he had been following me to my surprise and agreed to it. And he doesn’t do a whole lot these days, so the fact that he was into it just means a lot, ‘cause I’m a huge fan.”
Samba said he viewed the experience as another test.
“After he agreed to it, my thought process was, ‘OK, I get to expose John Brown’s Body to a lot of people who may not know how legendary they are on the reggae scene,'" Samba said.
"So I guess that was kind of the goal because the original version of ‘Create Something’ is one of my top three songs.
“And to release a different version of it … I thought was kind of unique. And John Brown’s Body kind of explores that kind of reggae — minor chord stuff — and I thought it would be perfect to have them on it.”
'A huge factor in the success'
Putting unusual twists on reggae is something that has gotten attention for Samba.
He said his style of combining punk and reggae came from his being “a mangy teenager, and I was really into metal and hard core and punk and you name it. So I came from that background. It was a really strong, like, hard core metal scene.
“I always go back to Sublime, and I really liked how [that band's late singer/songwriter] Brad Noll used all of his influences into this genre. And it was a kind of happy, island, reggae feel that was still this kind of angsty thing.
“And I personally could relate to that — a lot. So it’s not that I purposely made it that way, it’s just that the influences of the music that I was exposed to."
Samba said he come "from a very musical family — like the funk, soul, R&B. My dad’s a bass player, so I got a lot of that from there.
"And it’s just what comes out naturally and I like to express myself in that way. It’s the best way I can.”
Truth is, Samba said, he's still surprised at how he found success with his debut disc.
“I had written and recorded it myself and funded it myself, and I was just going to release it myself."Punk-reggae singer-guitarist Joe Samba
“I had written and recorded it myself and funded it myself, and I was just going to release it myself." he said.
"It was really LAW Records reached out to me — they heard the record, they asked to me to do their compilation album. It was a bunch of Sublime cover songs.
“And that’s what kind of initiated a connection with LAW Records. And they helped put a lot of the pieces together, as far as they know the ins and outs of how to get playlisted on Spotify and the connection to getting on these tours.
"They kind of got the ball rolling in that department. And from there, I got a booking agent, a manager and they really helped turn it into a real release instead of just me independently putting it out.
"That was definitely a huge factor in the success of it, for sure.”
A sophomore disc — and more
After the success of "The Wrong Impression," Samba faced the hurdle of coronavirus lockdowns as he contemplated his sophomore disc.
“I kind of locked myself in a room during COVID, mostly, and half the record was kind of just me on my own in a recording studio — me and my buddy, a studio called Revelry Studios in Manchester, New Hampshire.
“And everything was on lockdown, so like me in my parents’ basement, I just locked myself in the studio and started creating it.
"I was going through a lot of personal stuff at the time, as a lot of people were, and I just kind of explored more about myself and how I look at music and what my plan was and how this thing kind of put a screeching halt to the progress I made with my first record.
“And it was nice because it kind of gave you that freedom again to write, not selfishly, but write for myself. And I feel like that was a great ingredient for people to relate to it and get the response that it has since it’s been out.”
"It’s a little different from the last record, where I kind of had the freedom and the time to put together this record where I recorded it myself."Punk-reggae singer-guitarist Joe Samba
Amid his first headlining tour, Samba said he's working on his third album.
“I just got back from Los Angeles," he said. "It’s a little different from the last record, where I kind of had the freedom and the time to put together this record where I recorded it myself.
“In this case, I’m working with a couple different producers, and they’re people I wanted to work with since I was a kid. And the process of seeing how they work, it’s super motivating and inspiring.
"I get to work with these people and see that they’re huge fans of the new music.
“Just having different brains involved in the process and the purpose behind it is more worldly — it’s more for everyone else.
"And it's some of the greatest songs I’ve been able to put together. Having other peoples’ brains involved in it had been super fun and new for me as far as the creative process. It was awesome.”
