Dear butternut squash,
It’s me, Sam, your gourd friend! And I’m here in your inbox, writing to you about things.
Yes, things. Objects. Everyday objects.
One of the mantras running through my ol’ skull during the recording process for In Season was: “what are we going to do with all this stuff”? And this, in part, meant the physical objects of our lives. I don’t know if it was the episode of “Hoarders” Anita and I watched on the cable TV at a Maine motel a while back, or the eerie proliferation of self-storage buildings across Canada lately, but I’ve developed a nagging sensitivity about objects and their presence in my life. Who do they think they are, and what, exactly, do they think they’re doing??
This mantra emerged while recording “In Season”
A few years ago, Jake and I were rehearsing Ursa: A Folk Musical in an antique store in beloved Tweed, Ontario. One night, after rehearsal, Jake mentioned how he felt particularly tired working in that space, noting the sheer visual stimulation of objects filling every corner of the room. It wasn’t a small or musty space, but it was crowded with oil landscape paintings, old bowling trophies, duck-shaped lamps—all unsettled objects not yet in their final destinations.
Of course, as soon as we feel like we are providing objects with a forever home, they provide myriad comforts. For some, this means putting “everything in its right place.” For others, this means stacking whatever’s dealt into their lives into a “house of cards”. In either case, the key seems to be “no surprises”: we want to know that the lamp’s there for when we need a reading light, that the winter tires are stacked in the garage, that your third grade geography homework is in a box somewhere just in case you’re feeling sentimental about the year you pencil-crayoned in shiny, new, enormous Nunavut on the map of Canada.
Now that we’re a few weeks out from the holidaze—when new, flashy object likely rolled into our lives—I invite you, my dear butternut squash, to take a moment to appreciate one of these objects. It’s waiting for you.
In his essays of Japanese folk craft, The Beauty of Everyday Things, Soetsu Yanagi writes: “if it is our ideal to live in a world surrounded by beautiful things . . . then we must raise the ordinary things in our lives to a higher level.” Take in the aura of your favourite mug, your winter coat, you’re your pencil sharpener, your rug—just for a moment, blur that false line between you and it, and think: “thanks, partner.”
Thanks to these woodwinds for serving me so diligently as I explored making ghastly sounds in my university residence room, circa. 2013.
And hey, while we’re thanking our objects, let me also thank you, my gourd, for supporting the various musical adventures of the past several months. Whether you listened through my new Samson Wrote record; came out to one of the tours across ON/QC/NB/NS; ordered the vinyl of the original cast recording of Ursa: A Folk Musical (the show I co-wrote with Jake Schindler in the years of our lord 2020–2023); or immersed yourself in the new Lifers record, I appreciate you!
Keep in touch this year! Reply to this email if you’d like; let me know about which object you felt compelled to show a little love. Send me a photo of it! A drawing of it! Write a poem about it!
Go get ‘em, tiger squash!
Sam
Samson Wrote news
◠ In Season just turned six (months) old! You can stream the album or buy a copy via Bandcamp.
You can get a taste of what the live shows were like last year via this super special unlisted video feat. JoJo Worthington and Liv Cazzola! 2026 shows to be announced soon - let me know if you’d like to bring a SW show to your community!
◠ I’m incredibly proud of this original cast recording of Ursa: A Folk Musical, that you can buy on beautiful, colourful, recycled vinyl or stream wherever ya like! I hope this tender show can remind you about the ephemeral, complicated beauty of connection—it certainly reminds me to appreciate and hold dear whoever’s near me.
◠ I love the new Lifers record, Honesty. I’m a bit biased because I drummed on it and it’s essentially a family band, but It’s also been heartening to see folks like Megan Lapierre from Exclaim! write about the album so movingly: “The Lifers never lose momentum across these 10 tracks, propelled by the vitality of their mission (and palpable love for each other): coming clean about what this inhospitable world has put us through and refusing to let shame silence us, so that, together, we can heal.” We’re going to be playing some shows this summer, so be sure to follow the band to keep up to date.
Political Tidbit
For Canadian readers: there are only a couple more days to become a member of the NDP, which allows you to have a say in the election of the party’s new leader. I am proud to be supporting Avi Lewis in the forthcoming leadership race, as he has a long track record of reporting on and engaging with the most pressing issues in Canada (environmental protections, affordability, food security, healthcare, the arts). Learn more about Avi Lewis and the campaign here and consider joining the NDP if you’re not already a member.
What I’m in love with lately:
ALBUM: EURO-COUNTRY by CMAT
VIDEO ESSAY: “You are a better writer than AI. (Yes, you.)” by josh (with parentheses). Check out the BFI’s “best video essays of 2025”!
OBJECT: Thrifted 1960s grey Mark’s Work Wearhouse insulated coveralls (allowing for full-on snow adventuring)
BOOK: Finally reading Virginia Woolf’s The Waves. Transcendent.
PERSON: you!