Sambi Katano

About Sambi

Sambi Katano, always responded to music since birth. Pots and pans were his first instrument before he tried piano at age 6. After 3 months, he couldn’t take the repetitive practice and opted out. At 8, his father bought him a folk guitar and a chord book. Sambi picked up electric guitar at age 12, bass guitar at age 16, vocals at age 18 in college, and drums shortly after. A career in music was greatly discouraged by the family, so he pursued music as a hobby. Recorded and produced his first album under his secular alter ego Kile Mist in 1986, a 6 song EP in 1987, and a band demo with The Hype in 1988 playing keys and guitar. Sambi wrote almost 100 songs in high school and college, most of them never saw the light of day. He came to know Jesus in 1991, and began writing God songs. Recorded a 3 song demo of instrumentals for video games in 1994. Produced a 6 song EP in his 1 bedroom apartment titled You Relate in 2003. Sambi served in various church worship teams in southern California, and eventually moved to Las Vegas. Through various hardships and seasons of unemployment, he decided to pursue his first passion and takes a job as a worship leader. He began writing his first congregational worship songs. Produced a full album titled Worship Project 2.0, later renamed to Worship Project 2.0.1.3 because it was the year 2013. Several churches later, Sambi settles in at Highland Hills Baptist Church as a worship pastor where he currently works. Since the church job is a part time position, Sambi is running full throttle ahead as a song writer, composer, performer and producer. Sambi is creating music in a variety of genres both under Sambi Katano and his secular alter ego Kile Mist, and he aims to have 400 to 500 songs produced in 10 years. Under his new label Sambika, he has finally made music his career in his late 40’s. The moral of the story is, never let others make decisions about your career. And it is always better late than never. With a wealth of experience and life lessons, Sambi intends to help others find their passion in life, and for those that love music, to give them practical advice and help so they can do what they were meant to do with their lives.

Profile

Instruments

Genres

Influences

Equipment

Languages

What is music to you? What does it give you?

Music is the element of expression that is common in all living things. Music moves the soul and enhances everything you experience in life. Imagine a TV show or a movie with no music... it would be dull and boring. Music elevates your emotions and brings us to a level of divine existence.

What is your music dream?

In the next ten years, I want to crank out 500 songs to leave my mark of musical expressions upon the world.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

I want to see love dominate the world, and I would begin by having meaningful relationships with others around me, and influence people one at a time.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

No single song, but the 80's were a creative era for music.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

RUSH, my all time favorite. U2, Kim Wilde, Blondie, Kiss... Linkin Park, Fuel, just to name a few.

What inspires you to make music?

Musical inspiration comes from life experiences and their attached emotional responses.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

Life is a musical experience you don't want to miss.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

Connected.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

It seems in order to be original and creative, you have to remain an independent musician. Major Labels tend to take musicians into a box of what's trending. The major labels are not nice to independent musicians. I want to see more community based support base for indie musicians.

What do you think of Drooble?

I think you're onto something great here. Looking forward to see what happens when it catches on even more.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

People hate paying musicians for some reason. Public stigma dictates that musician services are NOT the same as other services like house cleaning, tax preparation, catering and other professional services. This pisses me off to no end.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

I am all for the local musician. I encourage them as often as I can, share my experiences and give what I can when I can.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

Good music, a strong passion, and a desire to get ahead. Perhaps the most important of all, which is also my current focus, is to connect and collaborate with other musicians as often as possible.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Chris Heifner, all original music, acoustic rock. Doc Jones, Saint City Project, hip-hop. All awesome people.