Artist's Avenue: Sam Irons

Sam Irons is Albuquerque’s foul-mouthed acoustic act. His song titles include, “I Want to Hate F**k Your C**t,” “In Case You Die (I Hope You Get Pinkeye)” and the “F**k You Song,” all of which polarize the audience in any venue instantly he said. Still, Irons said he has a following of people who aren’t close friends who come to see his shows. Check out his performance at “Noon Time” on Aug. 24 at Cornell Plaza.

Daily Lobo: So let me get this all straight in my head. The name of your solo act is Sam Irons and the Blank Stares, right, with the blank stares being the audience?
Sam Irons: Yeah, that’s my shtick.

DL: Yeah, that’s a pretty good one. So what are you doing solo-wise these days? I heard you’re working on a folk album. I think that’s pretty interesting that Sam Irons would be working on such a thing.
SI: (Laughs) I understand that. I am not a folk artist, I don’t think, but around town I get booked with a lot of folk acts because the solo acoustic thing is kind of hard to find for an artist like me to play. Playing with them for the last couple years and trying to mold my styling to what the rest of the night was going to be — I’ve started writing some folk songs and I have gotten into it.

DL: Yeah, that’s kind of what I love about your music. It’s all about pushing that metaphorical envelope, but if you push it too far then you won’t have anywhere to play, right?
SI: Yeah. It’s a real fine line.

DL: How do you walk that?
SI: Um, I don’t think I do a very good job of it (laughs). I’ve been pretty much blacklisted from Blackbird Buvette, and so I can’t play there now because I pissed off the booker. I think you have to figure out who to be nice to. I mean, half my act is kissing ass to the bookers and the sound guys and the managers that are nice enough to have me out. I know it’s a risk for them. I mean, they aren’t really making a lot of money off of me (laughs).

DL: Any other blacklists?
SI: Not recently, but when I left Las Cruces I left a lot of bad tastes in people’s mouths. Before I moved up here was when I started developing my particular style. But when I was 18 and I started wanting to play my music, I pissed off a lot of people. It was a lot more angsty back then. It wasn’t as well-directed, but now I think I have spent a lot time making it more artsy, instead of just being angry and making it into something people can relate to.

DL: So your reception is definitely better here in Albuquerque, then?
SI: Albuquerque receives it tremendously better. People are awesome here. If you can’t take a joke, f**k ’em, right? And that’s how I feel about Cruces.

DL: So tell me how does one develop this sort of offensive, vulgar music? No offense, of course.
SI: Well, I had a band forever, and when I moved I didn’t have a band. I was playing in my dorms alone for hours really depressingly. I decided I wanted to start playing solo, and being in the solo environment and how nerve-wracking (it) is. My humor is, when I am nervous, to make people laugh. The vulgarity started out as part of the stage act because I was just playing instrumental tunes. And after a while — when I started getting good receptions from managers and things — they enjoyed my schtick between songs, so I decided maybe I can meld that into the music I play. And when I took my time to write humorous but very true songs it was really cool.

DL: Do you ever find that your schtick overpowers the craft of the music? Or does it even matter?
SI: It depends on the crowd, you know. I’ll get away with whatever I can get away with, and I’ll push it a little further than that if I have the opportunity to. It comes down to if I still get applause, if someone is still there to support it.

DL: But I guess my question was more; Would you prefer to be known for the craft of the music or the offensiveness of the subject matter?
SI: I would prefer to be known for the craft because I’ve played guitar for over a decade. My guitar playing is built on three different principles: lead, rhythm and percussion. I try to play all three of those at once or an intermix between them all to create the sound, and I have been honing in on that for five years, so I am really impressed by it. For me, the vulgarity is the shy, don’t-know-what-to-do-on-stage sort of kid.

DL: Great, now as sort of a wrap-up question. I try to ask artists what their dream project would be if they had no fiscal or time constraints? What would it be for you?
SI: I am going to be the one who doesn’t have that. Have you ever seen “Synecdoche, New York” where he just drains himself to death on his art until he dies? You got make time for life, man. If you have one overarching project that would require unlimited time and resources — constraints are suppose to be a source of inspiration, not a death to your project. You should be able to work within your constraints and produce something you love. The challenge of it is better.