Sam Morris (Fickle Friends) - Interview

Sam Morris, you’re the man responsible for giving me my first taste of teching work. You and your band (Fickle Friends) were one the of first group of people to take a chance on me and let me help out with your Nottingham shows. From touring in a Ford Galaxy to now playing shows all over the world, how do you find being the drummer in Fickle Friends?

So being in a band is a dream for a lot of people so I really count myself lucky to have been able to do this for so long. Being in Fickle Friends more specifically is like being in a gang with my best mates and basically having fun all the time so it’s pretty great really. I can’t complain ha When did you start drumming ? How did you discover drumming? I started playing drums when I was 7 so i’ve been around a bit. I discovered it through church I guess, you know the feeling when a kick just shakes your body that was the first thing that caught my attention.

Let’s talk a bit about your projects. Who are you currently working with? Who have you worked with in the past?

Obviously there’s Fickle Friends but also I’ve started playing for a girl called Aziya, not gonna give too much away but it’s refreshing to play something new and challenge myself. In the past it’s just been mostly local level stuff and then the odd session. I’ve done some weird stuff lets put it that way ha.

How are you keeping yourself busy during these strange times?

I’m working a lot with my Dad which keeps me occupied but still doing bits and pieces of music like the live videos we’ve done. There’s a few more in the pipeline I believe.

You’re a Ludwig artist right? What’s your current set up?

I am indeed! So right now I don’t actually have a kit haha, we’ve rented for the past few tours cos it’s been easier, but a kit will come for sure. Usual sizes for me are 20x16, 10x8 and 14x14. Nice and simple. Oh and then I complicate things with electronics and playback, that’s my thing.

Finally, can you share a quick tip or give us a small exercise you always use?

Oooooh very good question. So before shows I’ll do singles, doubles and paradiddles at 120bpm to get the blood flowing and then maybe I’ll a unison exercise to wake my brain up. It’s basically 8 strokes on the right hand, 8 together, 8 on the left and then 8 together. Then you go down to 7, 6, 5 etc and then you come back up. You gotta keep the unisons tight and not let them become flams so it’s important to start slow.

Find Sam Online:

@mirrish92