Howdy, y’all! Country music’s next superstars, Nik and Sam, are SO cool! They’re only 15 years old, but they write music and sing like pros who have been doing it for years! I LOVE their music and I admire their dreams to be super successful at what they do—just like my dream to be famous! I caught up with Nik & Sam recently to chat about what’s been going on since we spoke to them last year. Read on!
Maeve Kaplan-Taylor: You girls have had a busy year! What are some of the highlights?
Nik & Sam: This past year we made some trips to Nashville and Los Angeles to write songs and do some recording. We performed at a few music festivals. We also kept up our instrument and vocal lessons. The biggest highlight of the year, though, was signing with a major record label, Warner Brothers Records. Now, that was exciting!
MKT: More like SUPER exciting! Has anything funny or unusual happened during one of your concerts?
N&S: One thing we remember that was really funny was when we ended a song, and Sam, while switching instruments, accidentally bumped the microphone stand. It started to topple over! Luckily, Sam caught it before it hit the stage. Can you imagine what kind of sound that would have made? Her expression was so funny! At another show, an unusual thing happened. On the day of our performance, there was a cold front and it was about 20 degrees. It was so cold that when we got up on stage that our fingers were blue! We had to skip some of the fast songs that we jam on because our fingers were so frozen, and Sam couldn’t pick the banjo! The next day, we went shopping and believe or not, it was about 70 degrees and sunny. It was the best weather—on the wrong day!
MKT: Frozen fingers? Yikes! What do you like best about performing?
N&S: The best thing we like about performing is seeing the reaction from people and the look they get on their faces when we sing a song. One other thing that we really like about performing is being able to express our emotions through the songs and being an inspiration to others.
MKT: How do you prepare for a concert? Any rituals before you go on stage?
N&S: We really don’t have a big ritual before we get up on stage. We’re usually in the back warming up our voices, playing our instruments, and getting hair and makeup done.
MKT: What is your must-have item at a show (besides your guitar/banjo!)?
N&S: One thing we have to have up on stage with us is our water. Especially if it’s a really hot day! We also have to have a special ribbon that we put on our mics before we sing. It’s actually a sequin scarf. Nik’s is sparkly purple and Sam’s is sparkly pink. Lip gloss is another thing that Nik has to have and Sam has to have Carmex.
MKT: Gotta have lip gloss! What are some of the challenges you face as a new band?
N&S: Some of the challenges that we face as new artists are learning how to be patient until the time is right. Sometimes we want things to happen so fast, but it may not be the best thing. For example, waiting at home and wanting to get started and get things going like in Nashville or whatever.
MKT: You guys sound super busy. How do you manage recording an album and going to school at the same time?
N&S: Well, last year we missed a lot of school because we traveled. So, this year, since we are going miss the beginning of school right off the bat going out to L.A. for a month, we all decided it would be better to be home-schooled. We will be taking our school work with us everywhere we go.
MKT: What is your personal style at school? Any back-to-school outfits planned?
N&S: Our personal style at school has been a vintage, preppy, urban style with a western flare to it. We love to show our personalities through our clothes and basically having fun with it!
MKT: Cool! That sounds like my style—at the moment! What are your goals for the year ahead?
N&S: Our goals for the year ahead are to really focus on developing our vocals, do a lot of songwriting, and record some new songs. Hopefully we will put an album out next year some time.
MKT: What’s up next and how can the Beacon Street Girls help?
N&S: We are getting ready to go out to L.A. for a whole month to go through what we call a “vocal boot camp,” which is vocal coaching 2 or 3 times a week so that we can really improve on our vocals. We are also going to meet with some songwriters to do some more writing and recording. BSG fans, you all can really help by just spreading the word about us and checking in with us on our websites: www.nikandsam.com and www.myspace.com /nikandsam.
MKT: Awesome! Thanks, girls!
*Learn more about Nik & Sam's break in the music biz!*
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