Edmonton born musician Sammy Volkov was living in New York when Covid hit and made “ the most impulsive decision I ever made” by coming back home and thus set his path towards the success he is enjoying with his debut album “ Be Alright.”
“ I got the last seat on the last plane back home, gave my landlord my notice, said goodbye to my roommate and packed a carry-on bag. I thought I’d rather be closer to my family than alone in New York,” said Volkov from Penticton, en route to Kelowna on a Western Canadian Canadian tour with Kitty and the Rooster and Jack Garton, which stops by the Slice, Wednesday, April 12 and the Twin Butte Country Store on April 8.
Volkov was born in Edmonton, but lived between Toronto and New York from 2010-2020.
He released “Be Alright!” at the beginning of December where his crooning, referencing classic crooners like the Shirelles, Elvis, Roy Orbison and Lyle Lovett and more modern crooners like Shannon and the Clams and Brittany Howard, immediately found a home and an audience on CBC, campus stations including CJSR in Edmonton and got enough spins to make the Earshot Top 100 chart at the end of the year. CKUA has also been giving a lot of play to the title track and the other singles “ Weather Report” and “ Blue Star.”
He got interested in crooners after a gift from God” in the form of a stranger who gifted a seven-year-old Volkov a 78 record at a yard sale.
“ But I didn’t have a record player, so me and my dad drove around and saw a record player with a “for free” sign in front of somebody’s house and took it as a sign from God. It literally felt like a sign” he said adding shortly after he discovered ’50s and ’60s crooners, Elvis and the Shirelles.
“ CKUA has been playing ‘Be Alright’ a lot and I talked to a couple of the hosts. And I got interviewed for CBC. So response to this CD has been beyond my wildest expectations,” Volkov said, adding none of it would have happened if he hadn’t moved back home right before Covid.
“I met my partner here, recorded the CD here and my place on this tour is because of the most impulsive decision I ever made,” he enthused.
“ Jack Garton has really helped me a lot. He’s really been my champion,”Volkov said.
He released an acoustic folk EP in 2018 called “ Sam Wolf Sings,” which is completely different than the soulful crooning of “Be Alright!”
“ I met bassist Jeremey Witten and recorded the CD just to see if I could do it. So it’s just me playing very rudimentary guitar and Jeremy. But then I decided I wanted to record the type of music I really wanted to sing,” he said.
He recorded both with Edmonton producer Scott Franchuk a the Audio Department studio.
“ The new album is a full band album with lots of guests,” he said. It features background vocals from Dana Wylie, saxophonist Dave Babcock and pedal steel player Ryan Funk, to name a few.
“ We still play one of those songs,‘I Will Follow,’” he said.
He opened the tour with two dates in Penticton, with a solo set , then was joined by Jack Garton and then Kitty and the Rooster.
“ It started out real fun. We got connected with some really cool people,” he said.
“The Lethbridge show and the other shows will be full throttle band shows with Kitty and the Rooster (Jodi Ponto and Noah Walker) playing a headlining set. Jack plays trumpet and accordion. Kitty and the Rooster are the best band and there’s only two of them. They are all disgustingly talented,” he enthused.
“ It’s going to be a combination of Roy Orbison, Elvis with Dick Dale surf guitar,” shouted Jack Garton in the background.
Jack Garton, Kitty and the Rooster and Sammy Volkov play the Slice at 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 12. Tickets are $15 at. the door.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor