I still think that’s the only way to really do it. For us, the way we get new fans is go out and play shows. “We’re kind of waiting for someone to come along and offer to run it for us! But when we have new songs coming out, we try to push it and have made a few videos. “Social media is definitely huge, but we’re not really great at it!” he laughs. Sam Turner and the Cactus Cats are out there in that world. Of course, in 2023, any smart local band (or any for that matter) needs to seize on the many avenues and channels of social media and music websites to get their music out there to potential listeners, customers, and concertgoers. “I’ll take it to Troy and he’ll put his touch on it. Once I have the melody and the groove down, then I’ll focus on the words,” he says.
But it’s usually just me sitting down with a guitar and messing around until something clicks. “I’ve been trying to lean into the more storytelling side of things. Just as important as those songs, though, are Turner’s original songs blended into their set lists like “GS Lament,” “Suzanne,” “Pusher,” “Baby What a Shame,” “Night by Night” and “If You Change Your Mind.” Turner explains his songwriting process. “Just because we’ve been playing together for so long and found our groove, any song we do has just a taste of us, maybe puts a little more swing to it,” he says. Their most recent album is last year’s Rodeo Hound.īut even with their covers, the band wants to put their own stamp on the tunes. The band’s lineup sometimes expands during gigs with Kevin Skrla on steel guitar and new guy Josh Artall on keyboards. The quartet then coalesced as Sam Turner and the Cactus Cats, playing their first gig in 2014 and releasing debut record Wanna Be Your Man in 2017. “He’d be hanging around at the sessions and after about a month, he told me ‘You know I play bass.’ He never said anything to me before!” Turner says. One of them, Michael Trakhtenberg, showed up with a guitar. Soon, the pair began kicking around song ideas and having jam sessions with friends. But while in Houston, he reconnected with a female friend from high school whose boyfriend, Troy Tabner, was a drummer with some skill in home recording. Photo by Hilary Schumacher At first, Turner envisioned himself as a solo act. “But as long as I can strum and sing at the same time, I’m good!” And then I’d very slowly add more!” Turner laughs. My stepbrother-in-law would show me the G, C, and D chords, and I’d find 10 songs to play that only used those chords. “I learned really from just listening to songs and playing them. Playing harmonica was an easy way for Turner to join in, but he was soon asking for a mandolin (figuring it was easier to learn than a guitar) before quickly graduating to that latter instrument and figuring out what to do with it. “My was really into Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark and all these Texas songwriters, and we’d sit out on the back porch in the Hill Country and play guitars and sing songs,” he says. The extended family would often gather at a home in the Fredericksburg, where impromptu and informal concerts were frequent occurrences. His introduction to instruments came via his stepfather’s family, specifically a step brother-in-law who played guitar and gifted young Sam with a set of harmonicas. Turner was raised in Sugar Land and went to Dulles High School (“Well,” he offers, “I went sometimes!”) before moving to Houston at the age of 18. A lot of George Strait, but also the Beatles and Otis Redding. “What I Iistened to growing up is kind of reflected in our set list. They certainly are, right there on the set list amidst more familiar country fare (though with a bit of a deeper cut) by Dwight Yoakam, Freddy Fender, Rosanne Cash, Charlie Rich, John Anderson, Jeanne Pruett and Billy Joe Shaver.įor lead singer/rhythm guitarist Sam Turner, the sonic potpourri is right in step with his mindset. Record cover But aren’t they doing tunes by Otis Redding (“Pain in My Heart”)? The Band (“The Weight”)? And the Beatles (“Don’t Let Me Down”) albeit a bit more…twangy?
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