Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Gucwa.
Hi Sam, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
No matter how it looks, the most interesting person at a concert is *never* someone onstage. I’m often onstage, so I have a large dataset to base that claim on. Since my first gig at 15, I’ve performed at galas, weddings, festival, and a few jazz club sets of my own, and my favorite thing to do is talk to audience members. Every one of them tells a story that compels me: the older gentleman who chronicles his local music scene on his Facebook page; the girl who crochets banners of band logos she loves; the man who sits at the bar facing a wall because he looks at images all day and likes this one hour to just listen.
Music is a form of memory-keeping. ‘The Odyssey’ was a memorized song before it was a book before it was a Christopher Nolan film. Every time I hear Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space,’ I think about my eighth grade dance and cringe (Sorry, Taylor). My highest honor as a musician is to make my listener remember and hopefully not cringe. That’s why the most interesting person is always someone in the audience. It’s their memories and their feelings that make their meaning out of a song. Every person is going to feel it a little differently.
This is the part where musicologists might start arguing with me. Should a piece of music be analyzed by the composer’s intent or the audience reception? I love musicology— you can check out some of my research on YouTube where I talk about how Miles Davis’ wives influenced his music and its reception— but when I’m performing, this question isn’t that important. I’m giving everything I have to my audience, and they give back. In cheers, in dancing, in sharing their life stories after the concert has ended. When I play a wedding, if the song requests are all Taylor Swift, you’re darn right I’m going to play a Blank Space reference over a dance beat!
Research and performance have become the most important parts of my practice. I split time between New York and Michigan consulting for museum exhibitions and performing (and working on an album the Puffin Foundation generously provided a grant for). My favorite thing about both those jobs is being an audience to an interesting person’s story.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all, I’d be bored if it was. I’m still finding the balance between researching and music-making. And I can’t ignore the gender politics of the music industry. When you go to music school, you watch a lot of people who are more focused or more skilled than you quit. In the real world, sometimes you get passed up for bands that you know you’re a great fit for, and sometimes you win an audition where you everyone else knows that someone else played better. I’m partially a researcher; I love obsessively asking why. Some questions just aren’t worth the time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been working on a joint research presentation/album right now that looks at the wives of famous musicians and how they directly shaped certain pieces of music without performing on that piece. You can see a lot of that research around Miles Davis’ wives on YouTube! But one thing I don’t get to talk about as much is playing saxophone with a DJ at weddings.
Since last year I’ve been performing mostly with A-List Event Group at weddings around West Michigan. I get to be a sort of human disco ball! I’ll surprise a reception by playing iconic horn lines from September, Respect, and Fireball, and improvise over the bride and groom’s requests for a soundtrack that’s totally unique to their wedding. On the Floor is one of my favorites. Just like all the other gigs I play, I get to learn about people from the pre-reception speeches and the parent dances. With a wedding reception I get to connect with people on a level beyond a regular stage performance. I can really get in tune with the music you love, the way you like to dance (I will gladly join your conga line!) and be right there making magic with you on the dance floor.
One important note, I will not play the University of Michigan fight song. Sorry!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Brevin at A-List Event Group hired me for my first wedding gig, and he’s my absolute favorite DJ to perform with. Packin’ Heat Party Band gave me my first regular gig in Michigan and got my pop music playing into shape while I was studying jazz at Michigan State. To the West Michigan Jazz Society, thanks for always saying hi at my shows!
Pricing:
- Reach out directly by email or direct message with your event’s location and length of performance for a performance quote
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.samgucwasax.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sams_saxophone/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sam.gucwa.75/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-gucwa-563662205/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3izZ-AAfSl8o6814XC0MQ
