Sammy Volkov has taken an uncommon path to his sophomore solo record, Songs from the Goodbye Garden. We dive into the indie music hustle, as the common thread of "audacity" required to move ahead as an artist. Sammy shares his journey from an Edmonton "record nerd" to an LA door-to-door salesman, and how he was always building his music career while supposedly working on other things. We get Sammy to explain all those retro-pop influences like Roy Orbison and Dusty Springfield shaping his songwriting, as well as explore the importance of queer representation in today’s evolving music industry landscape.
ep36 Sammy Volkov is a classic tale
released March 12, 2026
1:31:08
https://www.instagram.com/sammyvolkov/
https://www.youtube.com/@sammyvolkov3009
hosts: Glen Erickson, Alexi Erickson
Almost Famous Enough website: https://www.almostfamousenough.com
AFE instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almostfamousenough
Almost Famous Enough Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1o1PRD2X0i3Otmpn8vi2zP?si=1ece497360564480
Almost Famous Enough is a series of conversations centered around the music industry, pulling back the veil on what it really means to “make it”. Our podcast features guests who know the grind, who have lived the dream, or at the very least, chased the dream. Through these conversational biographies, truth and vulnerability provide more than a topical roadmap or compile some career advice; they can appeal to the dreamer in us all, with stories that can teach us, inspire us, and even reconcile us, and make us feel like we made a new friend along the way.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
03:10 New Album and Prom
06:09 Building Musical Connections
12:07 Edmonton Roots and Dual Life
13:34 Oldies Radio and Record Hunting
18:52 First Songs and Acting School
23:26 NYC to LA to Toronto Detours
30:55 COVID Reset and Going All In
46:51 Identity Meets Art
47:40 Religious Boxed In
49:07 Queer Visibility Pressure
51:46 Records As Refuge
53:05 Why Representation Matters
01:01:25 Retro Influences And Niche
01:05:14 Dream Song Vs Craft
01:10:19 Collaboration And Production
01:16:59 Tour Audiences And Wrap
01:22:01 Post-Fame with Alexi
