Like high socks on the basketball court, kegs on campus and corporal punishment in public education, Sam Fisher belongs to the old school. The former frontman of the Duke-frequenting rock-soul outfit Weekend Excursion, Fisher is now at work on a full-length solo album in Georgia, and his tour brings him to Carrboro's GO! Rm. 4 club tonight ($6, 9 p.m.).
The Greenville, NC native hopes to enhance his reputation, earned with Weekend Excursion, as a captivating live performer. "It's gonna be a laid-back acoustic show [tonight]," Fisher said. "It'll be me, some buddies from Maverick Records, a buddy from DC." The friends Fisher will be playing with are Charlotte trio Justincase and singer-songwriter Shane Hines.
Despite the relaxed, acoustic show he has planned, Fisher's on-stage intensity and personal songwriting promise a powerful performance tonight. "I'm very passionate onstage--I really like to get into it," said the Eastern Carolina University grad. His only solo release to date is a four-song EP entitled Who Are You?, containing a lot of the same soul-, funk- and rock-inspired songwriting, most notably on the "Let's Get it On"-like "Nothing Left to Do."
"There are going to be some Weekend Excursion songs, a few from the new record; all in all, a little bit of everything," Fisher said. Fisher has been experimenting with different setlists on the road, and he considers touring a mixed blessing: "I least like not having a set schedule, but it's good to be in a different city every night, seeing the best of each city.
"I'm a roots type of guy," Fisher said, describing his musical influences. "I aspire to be like a Curtis Mayfield, a Stevie Wonder, a Marvin Gaye." Even Fisher's superhero preferences are old-school, hearkening back to a long time ago in a galaxy far away. "I'd rather be a Jedi Knight than Wolverine," he said. "They're a lot more in control, a lot more aware."
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