Who knew singer-songwriter Samantha King has an itch to create monsters? Her bubbly personality is the opposite of the dark creatures she yearns to create.
Who knew singer-songwriter Samantha King has an itch to create monsters? Her bubbly personality is the opposite of the dark creatures she yearns to create.
The Edmonton based country-rock-blues singer is temporarily parking her singing career and moving to Vancouver in Jan. 2017 for an indeterminate period of time.
Unlike other musicians that move to the West Coast for additional musical exposure, King is enrolling at the Blanche MacDonald Centre where all forms of makeup application from everyday wear to fashion to prosthetics and special effects are offered.
“I'm huge into making monsters. I saw the Exorcist and was fascinated with how they made her look so scary and how they made her head turn around, and I wanted to do it,” said King.
The edgy singer is hosting a huge fan fest before she departs, and she's playing her last public gig at St. Albert's LB's Pub and Grill on Oct. 8.
Providing back-up support are some of the area's finest – drummer Gerard Gannon, guitarist Robin Pelletier and Morinville bassist Travis Switzer.
In the past decade, King enjoyed a busy music career with a stream of enviable gigs opening for Tim McGraw at Rexall, working with The Mavericks lead singer Raul Malo and singing the anthem at Edmonton Eskimo games.
But those creative juices also extended to decorating and running a Halloween haunted house at North Milburn Community Hall since 2011.
King never charged admission. Instead she requested visitors donate toys to Ronald McDonald House.
She's big into Dark Knight and when Heath Ledger's Joker appeared on screen she was captivated. King recreated the coat and makeup and when worn, people ran up and took photos.
“I'm totally fascinated by these characters. They're from a different world and you don't see them every day. I've been fascinated since I was a little kid and I love being in this happy place.”
Known mainly as a country singer, King came to the public's attention as a 13-year-old, the youngest person to win the Country Vocal Spotlight at the 1998 Canadian Finals Rodeo.
“At that time, I just wanted to sing. I was inspired by Leann Rimes. I watched and learned her songs to a tee and I won. The competition chose the genre for me. I wanted to sing and be noticed. I didn't care what I was singing as long as I was singing.”
She released her first and only album, This Is Forever, in 2003. It was polished and grabbed both the media and fan notice.
But as King matured, her tastes shifted towards edgier classic artists such as Led Zeppelin, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
For the present, music is veering to the back burner in favour of the makeup artistry.
“Now is the time to move if I want to show my face in an industry doing special effects with makeup. I'll try and get a few gigs on weekends and maybe in the future, I'll record another album.”
Showtime is 9 p.m. Cover charge is $10. LB's Pub is at 23 Akins Dr.
