Guitarist Sam Millar Chats To AATR In Virtual Summer

6th March 2025 0 By DJ Pixie

Sam Millar is on tour April/ May – if you enjoy 80s rock/ Melodic Rock/ AOR, you do not wanna miss this.

Plus if you saw him on tour with legendary Dan Byrne, now is the time to get a ticket to hear his full headline set. #virtualsummer
Hi Sam, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today here at All About The Rock.

We see you have just got back off tour with Dan Byrne on his UK tour what was that like?

It was a great tour from start to finish and I was really grateful to be invited to open up for Dan and his band every night. Got to visit a lot of my favourite venues up and down the UK as well as a few I’d never had the opportunity to play up until now. It’s always great to get out and play to new people and in new places to introduce them to your music.

Any behind the scenes shenanigans you can tell us about from touring with him?

It’s always a laugh being around your mates for a solid run of shows. We laughed a lot and had an ace time which I think translated on stage. I could certainly live without the van stenches though…..

You celebrated the release of ‘Virtual Summer’ in Sept 2024.

What themes and messages did you want to explore with this album?

I just wanted to make a fun, uplifting summer album that captures a lot of my musical tastes. I wouldn’t say there’s any profound message in there, I certainly don’t like to take myself too seriously in that respect.

When in the writing process, how long would you typically spend crafting a song?

It varies from song to song really. Sometimes a song can just appear out of nowhere with seemingly minimal effort and other ideas can sit around for months, even years waiting for inspiration to strike and finding the right place for it.

What were your primary goals heading into the recording process?

I just really wanted to make something that put a big cheesy grin on people’s faces and maybe do a bit of dancing while they’re at it. It’s the album I’ve always wanted to make, really, and just wanted to put all my influences in a blender and make a big pop rock smoothie.

Looking back at the recording process, what were you most proud of accomplishing with this album?

Well I produced everything myself, played it programmed every instrument that you hear so I the fact that it’s been so well received is very flattering. It’s quite terrifying putting something out with so much of your DNA in it. No on else to blame but myself this time around!!!

How would you say this album represents your revolution as an artist?

Well, I did 2 EPs before this which were me experimenting with my own thing as a solo artist and finding my voice. I think the album is the result of all that and I’m sure I’ll take everything I learned from this album and hopefully fine tune it even further for the second album.

Are there any specific artists or experiences that heavily influenced the sound or song writing process for this cd?

My influences are pretty broad but this album was particularly inspired by a lot of 70s and 80s pop and rock music from ABBA to Van Halen and much more but trying to bring it into the 21st century. It’s a big nostalgia album but I think also crosses over into more modern stuff like The 1975 perhaps with a bigger guitar presence.

If you could pick 1 song from this album for a new listener to hear first in order to understand the album’s overall vibe, which song would it be and why?

Probably the opening track ‘The Killing Floor’. I chose it to open the album for that reason as I think it has a bit of everything you’re likely to encounter throughout the rest of the album.

What are you hoping listeners will take away from this cd after hearing it?

That it’s ok to enjoy a bit of cheesy pop rock!

Your album ‘Virtual Summer’ landed #12 in the official rock & Metal charts and number #32 in the independent album charts in the UK. To get in the top 15 and top 40 is quite an achievement you must be on a high about this?

Yeah it’s pretty cool seeing your album in the charts with such good company. Obviously it’s just a number at the end of the day but it’s quite exciting to see something you’ve created achieve something like that.

Have you got any plans for your next album or project?

I’m currently writing for what will be my second album. I can’t really tell you when that might be ready, but I’d like to get something else out next year if I can. It’s a work in progress at the moment!

Your own tour starts in April, what can your fans expect from this?

Well after touring up and down the UK as a support band where we were limited to a 40 minute set it’ll be good to pull out some of the tunes that don’t make it into the shorter sets and all the other stuff that comes with being the headline act.

Thanks so much for talking to us here today at All About The Rock, it’s greatly appreciated!