Meet Sam Kopelman (aka Branchez), a New York native who has
been pursuing his passion for music since middle school. Most of you probably
know of Branchez from his remix of What So Not’s “High You Are” which,
truth be told, is still a favorite of mine. He has been killing it all over the
country recently, and he’s only getting bigger! Just off his Feel This Tour
with Giraffage, Branchez is amped up to create more soulful beats and take the scene by
storm in a big way.
A couple weeks ago, I
caught up with Branchez to ask him the questions everyone wants to know. We had a great conversation - he was super easy to talk to, very chill and gave some funny answers to the questions I asked him (I love it when that happens). Read
on for some more fun facts about your new favorite producer:
Hey there! Thanks so much for chatting with me today. First things first, have you always known
that you wanted to make your music into a career, or did the goal evolve
over time?
Well, I’ve known I wanted to make music for my living since
I was in 7th or 8th grade. I played the drums back then
and went to college for music so it’s definitely always been the goal. I’m very
lucky for that and very grateful!
What inspired your
name “Branchez?”
I actually came up with it in seventh grade, it was my
street basketball name. It carried over into my music when I started creating
sounds and beats on Garage Band on the school computers.
What is your spirit
animal?
*pauses* A sloth. I sorta look like one I guess and I’m
generally slow with every-day tasks… Don’t get me wrong I’m definitely
motivated! Also I love Sid the Sloth from Ice Age, so I think that’s why it’s
my spirit animal.
What is the most
bizarre thing you have seen while performing, or just at a show in general?
Wow, that’s a good one… I’d have to say the most bizarre
thing I've experienced happened in a crowd. It was after I had performed on The
Cold Crush Tour with Paper Diamond in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was in the crowd and
happened to look over right as this dude punched a girl in the face. Yeah, that
happened. I think he may have been defending his girlfriend but he still rocked
a chick. It was pretty aggressive.
How about the
weirdest experience with a fan?
It’s mostly just social media ridiculousness. No dick pics
or anything crazy like that, but this one time I accidentally followed a girl
on twitter. It wouldn’t have been a big deal but she freaked out and was overly
pumped about it – I think she thought we had some deep connection.
Want more Branchez? You can visit his
SoundCloud here and make sure to like him on
Facebook. Also, for all of my fellow Bostonians – you can join me at Naga on May 7
th for the Branchez show! Buy your tickets
here and I hope to see you all there, it's sure to be a good time!
