Meet Sam Derose Jr.

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sam Derose Jr. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

I think the word “generosity” is really a derivative of what truly makes a person happy. The Yin and the Yang of “Service To Others” verses “Service To Self”.

People focused on helping those around them will be in a classified frequency of “Service to Others”. Whereas people focused on only their own needs and ambitions will be in a classified frequency of “Service to Self”.

I have always resided in the “Service To Others” frequency. Helping people and sharing my life with others and seeing those I’m involved with achieve their goals and aspirations has always brought me the most satisfaction.

Their accomplishments, triumphs and victories in turn become my conquests as well. These shared wins are the building blocks that make up may character. Small and large fulfillments that nurture confidence and self-esteem and are the corner stone of my happiness as a human being.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I have a new single coming out that will go to commercial radio in January 2025 through Sony. The single “Sarah” will go to Top40, Adult Contemporary and Modern Rock radio stations across the United States.

We are in the process of shooting the official video. The video features all the latest and greatest special effects incorporating some of the most beautiful and breathtaking sets we have ever worked on.

In addition to radio and social media the single “Sarah” will be promoted through live performance on television and in the larger venues throughout the US. with a European festival tour to be announced.

The new single “Sarah” was recorded and produced in London England at the world- famous Abbey Road Studios in Studio Three by myself with Gordon Davidson. The song was initially recorded in all analog and sent straight to tape.

For production it was produced using the Abbey Road SSL G-Plus mixing desk, then mastered by Andy Vandette in New York’s Engine Room and eventually converted to digital for distribution.

The song is about a girl named Sarah who I grew up with. Sarah was very beautiful and has a twin sister named Katie who was autistic. The two sisters were very close growing up but Sarah always blamed herself that Katie was Autistic.

Katie had an extremely hard time developing and growing up and at times was mishandled. This brought Sarah immense heartache and grief. I used to tell Sarah all the time that she had to find her own happiness and to stop listening to others, listen to yourself instead. She would always say to me I love Katie so much I just want to take her home and disappear with her forever.

Katie had a break through when she was about 14. Sarah and her family with help figured out a way to teach Katie how to read. She couldn’t write but she could type. The first day Katie used a search engine she was frantically searching for hours make pretend real, make pretend real, make pretend real. We all realized that Katie was trying to find a cure for herself.

Sarah explained… Katie is awake but she’ll never be healed.

The two sisters are all grown up now. Katie is very happy and is fully functioning. The love between the sisters was never broken and continues to flourish!

As a musical artist and song writer we tend to get full of ourselves with songs we make and perform. I can’t really take much credit for this song though. Sarah wrote this song. This song is Sarah’s words spoken to me. It’s about a love between two sisters, together unstoppable.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Song Writing

I was a competitive swimmer growing up. I used to swim before and after school every day averaging about eight to twelve miles a day in the pool.

Swimming is the one sport that is silent. Your head is in the water so there is no one to talk to and no one to hear you speak. Also, the only music that plays is the music that runs inside your mind.

I could never remember other artist’s songs so I used to make up my own songs as I swam. Everyday I swam. Everyday I wrote songs to keep my mind occupied. As I developed and became a musician and recording artist the songs came very easy to me because I had already been writing songs my entire life.

2. Recording Engineer/Producer and Musician-

At a very early age I started to play electric bass. I studied violin except I played electric bass in my lessons while the professor would play violin. I would always record my lessons.

Eventually I started to play violin concertos on electric bass and started home recording these concertos on an old 4-Track recorder in my home. For those interested in old consoles and recorders, the 4-Track I’m referring to is the Tascam 246 4-Track recording system, a kind of all-in-one system that came out in 1985.

All sound, noise and solos in all compositions were performed on four string basses tuned in standard tuning. The use of guitars, synthesizers, pitch-shifting and percussion instruments was strictly prohibited. These compositions including ten original pieces have been compiled into a “Seventeen Track Release” titled “Solo Bass” by Sam DeRose Jr and distributed to all the online music platforms.

What I learned about myself was not only did I love playing a musical instrument I also loved recording and the entire process of producing songs. Always wanting to better myself I started interning at some large recording studios in Philadelphia Pa. All things loved started to flow together for me. Songwriting, playing, engineering, producing and recording became an everyday theme in my life.
I have been very fortunate and very successful charting songs on commercial radio in Rock, Pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary.

3. Singer.

As I produced and recorded songs for others I would always end up coaching the main vocalist to get the best performance on tape or I would provide the harmony lines when stacking vocals for the choruses.

I started to get a lot of calls to work with the main vocalist in up and coming bands that were in their recording process.

I began to realize that everything I was able teach I was also able to “do”. After that I started handling all vocals for all of my songs by myself. As a result, my songs have a stronger identity and a signature style reinforcing a modern sound and brand.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

“The You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay

As a Reiki Master, Light Worker and Healer I volunteer at free healing clinics. Spiritually you can only help people heal to a certain point. After that it’s up to the person to heal or not to heal.
To heal yourself is to look and travel inside. For those that want to help themselves I always gift them the book “You Can Heal Your Life” as a lifestyle companion and reference guide for those making the trip inward.

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