I had the opportunity to sit down with Sam Choate in his home recording studio, Deeper Recordings, and visit about his thoughts on music, his journey, and his business. Sam is originally from Crane, Texas (just south of Midland and Odessa) but moved to Lubbock after being invited to join the Texas Country group Dix Hat Band. After touring with them for the wildest 3 years of his life, Sam has now moved forward into a prolific career as a music producer, as well as a performing and recording artist.
Sam began teaching himself guitar at age 12, and it wasn’t long before he began begging his parents for a variety of instruments including bass guitars, keyboards, drums, and eventually, a computer for recording. Sam recently studied guitar under the one and only David Brandon, but is largely self-educated with a sharp business sense and an incredible drive to not only make, but to produce music.
Sam’s journey hasn’t always been easy, but he’s worked hard to create a good life with his wife, Ariel, and is content to be on the other side of the strife. Some years of struggle have led this Lubbock musician to a place where he can look back on times where he didn’t make the best choices and realize that life was perhaps the greatest teacher to a young artist.
A guitarist, singer, bass player, key player, percussionist, and producer, Sam is a whirlwind of talent, enthusiasm, and energy; and most importantly, optimism for what the future holds. He has played and toured with many bands and opened for some of the biggest names in Texas music in his career as a professional musician. Having struggled in school and worked a variety of dead-end jobs, Sam has longed for stability and the opportunity to make a living sharing his deepest gift: bringing people together through his music.
Deeper Recordings is the name of his creation, and he is consistently busy recording, mixing, and producing music for other Lubbock artists, as well as himself. Often hired to play guitar for other musicians, it only takes a few minutes of his mesmerizing guitar playing to realize the talent he possesses. But it’s not all talent, Sam shared that he is constantly working and watching others to learn new techniques and sharpen his skills as a musician and producer. He loves to learn. He shares that it can be difficult to refine your own ideas and musicians often benefit from having another trained set of ears to help them through this process. He provides his clients that trained ear to help them craft the “perfect” product.
He shares that his own self-doubt has at times pushed him to work towards an unrealistic goal of perfection and has even created the hashtag #perfectionistsfinishlast to encourage others to let go of their own unhealthy, perfectionistic ideals and instead embrace their own imperfections as a means to achieve greatness. He says, “Perfection keeps you toiling away in the dust forever. Greatness gets you in the ring and empowers you to learn from your mistakes and move forward.” In fact, he’s looking forward to releasing his single “Born Fake” on May 21 and to premiere it, he’ll be taking the stage at a venue he’s opened countless shows at: The Blue Light Live. Only, this time he’s headlining on a Friday night. That’s one show you won’t want to miss. You can check out his music on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube via TTU Public Media’s Sound on Tap Sessions. Links to his studio website, social media, and YouTube channel are below:
https://www.deeperrecordings.com/
