Samantha Darnell

Samantha Darnell started singing at the ripe age of three years old. She carried around a little, red tape recorder and taped herself singing her favorite songs and making up her own. She wrote melodies on her Grandmother's old piano and accordion, having no idea she was beginning a career. All she knew is that she loved what she was doing. While other little girls were playing with toys and friends, she was writing songs.

Sam grew up watching her father and uncle play in local bands and was mesmerized with live shows...hearing the crowd, seeing the lights, feeling the energy. She studied programs such as The Lawrence Welk Show, Mary Martin's Peter Pan, the Shirley Temple series, Judy Garland movies, etc.. Anything musical, she practiced to and performed for her family.

At age seven, she was given a life-changing gift: a karaoke machine! She spent every moment she could working on her stage presence while singing with instrumentals and recording her own songs acapella.

In the fifth grade, she was finally able to join the school chorus and received her very first solo. She was beyond excited and after she got off stage, she was instantly addicted. She knew that being a performer was more than just a hobby. It was a passion. It was what she was born to do.

Shortly after, Sam began performing at as many local talent shows as possible, winning several. She also sang at baseball games (including the Cal Ripken stadium) and night clubs, dragging her very supportive parents along the whole way, as she was still very young. She also found a vocal coach and studied pop, Broadway, classical and opera techniques. Wanting to explore deeper into her writing abilities, she made a simple home studio and created demos to send out to management. She caught the attention of, and worked with, several. She signed a short agreement with Charles Altholz, a Chicago based manager, when she was fourteen and recorded her first all-original, professional album and made a music video. But, she felt as if it wasn't going in the right direction and parted ways.

Sam continued music throughout high school, still trying to find her perfect genre and growing as a musician. She was always an outcast and never truly fit in and found comfort and an escape through her songwriting. As soon as she graduated, she joined her first pop/punk band, Rosematter, based in York, Pennsylvania. She fell in love with genre and everything about it. Back then, there was no Paramore. Girl fronted pop/punk bands were a rare breed, especially on the East coast and they sparked a lot of buzz. After making quite a name for themselves throughout the PA scene, the band fell apart due to differences in opinion. Sam was devastated, but was determined to find a new project right away. She formed a brand new band called Beautiful Disaster with another local musician, cut an album and a music video and again made a decent fan base, but she wasn't satisfied with the music and after two years, the band hit a rut that they couldn't get out of. Next, she joined the band Running With Giants. Sam saw enormous potential in the band and was ecstatic about the record they had released. They had done some touring, played major Maryland venues such as Recher Theatre and Rams Head and shared the stage with bands such as Go Radio, Mercy Mercedes, Sonny, Sparks The Rescue, The Scenic, Breathe Electric, etc.. Unfortunately, she felt she was much more motivated than the rest of the members.

So, after three bands, she hit a crossroad. Sam knew if she didn't take hold of her career herself and not allow anyone to stand in her way and hold her back, her dreams may not come true. And Sam's a fighter and will not stop until her dreams come true. She went solo and got a guitar and learned the best she could within a couple months and put out an acoustic/pop/folk EP, which caught the attention of managers Jorge Acosta and Matt Ganzak of The Synergy Agency. After talking with them for some time, they signed an agreement with Sam and the three of them were excited to take things to the next level. She expressed interest in doing a more pop/swing/rock sound with full band/full production. Jorge and Matt showed their full support and Sam cashed in every single cent of life savings she had and went to her good friends and talented producers, Dan Book and Alexei Misoul of Misty Hill Studios based in Pikesville, Maryland and started the EP.

"You can love this record, you can hate this record, you can love to hate this record, you can hate to love this record...but, it will get stuck in your head"-Samantha Darnell