Sam Acus — 29 January 2020 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour
Sam Acus joined guest hosts Mollie Allen and Genevieve Rossi on ‘Rocket Shop‘, Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9FM The Radiator. Catch up with him a youtube.com.
On Wednesday January 29, Samuel Acus was the youngest person in history to bring his talent into Rocketshop. He was accompanied by his mother Katherine, who brought along her guitar. At just twelve years old, Sam dazzled us with his impressive mandolin skills. His first song, titled, “Lady Be Good” had a upbeat dancing tune and we were mesmerized by the way Sam could strum the instrument so quickly. It seemed like a tune that would be challenging for even a novice mandolinist to play. But here was Sam, a sixth-grader with the ability and grace of a real professional.
It doesn’t come as a shock that he picked up the mandolin at just seven years old. “I started on ukulele. Then I saw my dad playing mandolin and decided I gotta be doing it...it’s gotta be cool if dad does it.” Born in Michigan but hailing from Ohio, Sam was raised into a family of avid musicians. His mother serves as both his lyricist and vocal coach. In one poignant moment, she smiled, reflecting on their past.“The most tear-jerking songs have been when he plays the ones I wrote for him when he was in my belly.” And what is her favorite thing about getting to play with her son? “It’s a blessing and a curse..that he’ll just do anything or try anything, on that razor’s edge of this could fall apart or be stunningly beautiful. I don’t have the skills to follow him where he leads but I sure do try!”
Sam listens to a wide range - 1930s up until the 1960s and so on. Speaking with Sam, you get the funny feeling that he may have been born into the wrong century, with a soul that’s at least fifty years old. He stated, “The first really big influence that wasn’t my dad was Chris Healy, he’s super fast and super clean. And this jazz guy Will Patton.” When he’s not playing the kazoo, Sam practices mandolin at least two hours per day.
“I’ve got to take this seriously so I feel like I’ve practiced a lot harder in Vermont...I just want to practice and get better and I feel like if you practice, you get better. And if you get better you have more fun, and you want to practice more. It’s like a cycle and I want to try my best to do that.” One might wonder, what does Sam like about playing in the Green Mountain state, of all places? “The people here are a lot nicer than they are in Ohio. They are super (super super super) nice here.” But being a little fish in the big pond of older musicians can sometimes be daunting. Sam claimed, “It’s very different (playing as a kid) because of my size - my shortness of stature. People don’t always take me seriously. And they should.” We agreed.
Sam jumped into his next song, a number called “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight.” This one had a lonelier undertone to it, with lyrics like “Wondering about my darling/I can still hear her saying goodbye/The moon grows pale as I sit here/The stars seem to whisper and sing/Your sweetheart has found another and now she’s far away.” Sam’s voice rang out as a pure melody, telling a sweet but sad tale.
What is Sam’s motivation to play? We are charmed by his genuine response: “I want to make people happy. And I noticed that when I play I make myself and a lot of other people really happy so I want to keep doing that.”
Sam is in his own band - Young River Byway - with other kids his age. He is also a part of the Young Musicians Vermont Touring Group and will be traveling to Japan in the near future. You can find him on his Youtube channel or his website samacus.com. Sam’s next show will be at Sweet Melissa’s, but the date and time is TBD. Check out his website to stay posted on upcoming events and information!
Text by Gianna Seaver
Photo by James Lockridge.
