Ladies and gents, introducing David Samuels. A former record label owner, David is a diverse artist in the field of modern arts such as poetry, abstract painting, and music.  Music and the arts in general have a great influence and impact of who he is today.  We hope that you get to know David and have fun reading this as much as I had fun interviewing him.

Please tell us something about yourself and how you got started as an artist

My name is David Samuels. I grew in the central valley of California and began having a passion for creating at a young age. Around the age of eight the Hip Hop culture made a huge impact on my life. I remember I was at the mall with my mom one day when I saw a group of people standing in a circle.

In the center of the circle there was a teenage kid spinning on his back (breakdancing), while another kid made a drum beat with his mouth known as beatboxing. I was amazed by this. I spent the rest of the year learning to breakdance and listening to a lot of drumbeats. I stopped breakdancing during my senior year of high school.

At the age of nine, I picked up my first set of drum sticks and played the drums on everything. Soon after, I joined the school band to learn how to read music. I stayed involved playing percussion from fifth grade until my junior year in high school. It's funny that it seems that in fifth grade I somehow automatically fell into a life of wanting to be different from the kids and people around me.

Well, it wasn't really a case of wanting to be different, but more like knowing that I had a different interest on how I spent my time. While others were playing video games, out riding bikes, and doing other average kid activities I was spinning on my head on a piece cardboard in my backyard, and playing the drums in my bedroom. Heavily influenced by Hip Hop I naturally fell into the elements that surrounded and made up this culture.

At the age of twelve, I found myself jotting down rhymes next to doodles that I would draw in class. These little rhymes slowly developed into poems. These poems that I wrote were structured very similar to the way a song is written. So, I decided to write songs. I still continue to write in my notebook every single day. The doodles/sketches that took up some much space on blank pages became my own style of graffiti. I took my art to the train yards and other public places. I went by the nickname Murdoc.

The reason for it is a long story that I would be happy to tell anyone in person. I would DJ in high school for fun. I became quite the turntablist. My little brother Joshua (Shua) played the guitar, so we were constantly working together. We formed a band called Semantics where I was the vocalist and the DJ. We released a project which was self titled.

What made you create Mind Theater Records and who were the artists recorded under the label?

I started an independent record label called Mind Theater Records. It stayed active from 2003-2010. It had several talented hip hop artists. Some of the artist that I produced were A. Hymnz, Defiant Intellex, Phaze one, Earth Tone, Splynter, and many, many others.

I began promoting the label by booking shows in clubs, and tours. We performed with some of underground hip Hop's biggest names. Some quick mentions are Awol one, 2mex, Myka Nine and many others. A Mind Theater Hip Hop show became popular in the Fresno area. We would have live artist painting while bands or rappers performed. It was sort of our way in becoming the alternative Hip Hop scene in Fresno.

In 2008, I followed up with my second solo project titled In Other Words. I went on a west coast tour called The Paint Your Words Tour to promote the album. On the tour there was a photographer named Sharri Keller from Satori Innovation that featured us in a hard copy "photo coffee table book". It was published a year later; the book is titled The Paint Your Words Tour, A Collective Adventure. It's awesome!

In FresnoArts you said something about finishing an album. What’s the album title and what type of songs should we expect?

I just finished an album with my new band Autumn Not Taken. The album is titled When The Stunt Man Became The Pin Cushion, the release date is still in the works. It's a concept album about the life of a daredevil/stunt man. I am very proud of it. I started working on another solo project titled Buried In A Tuesday Morning. I hope that I can finish it by the spring of 2012.

Please describe your book and where you get your inspiration.

Since the tour I have been focusing on completing a book that is still currently untitled. The book will consist of photographs, paintings, sketches, poems, short stories, and lyrics. The music I make nowadays is much different than anything that I have ever done. It has much more depth, and has matured in a way that blends everything that I have worked hard for together.

Do you have any upcoming shows or events you wish to promote?

As far as my art, I am very happy to say that I have a showroom of my paintings at the Sorensen's Studio and Gallery. I was this year’s winner of The Chris Sorensen award for The Pink Show. I love doing what I do, and I hope to have a chance to share my art with others. I also look forward to working and meeting new people.

Thank You for allowing me to share a glimpse of my life. I appreciate your time.

-David Samuels

See more of David’s art by visiting his profile in the FresnoArts.net community page.

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