Sam Morrow’s Little Feat Tribute at Cain’s Ballroom

By Julie Wenger Watson

Sam Morrow’s “Rocket In My Pocket: A Tribute To Little Feat & Lowell George” takes the stage of Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom this Friday, November 5 as part of an evening that includes a performance from Grateful Dead tribute band, Forgotten Space.  Feat fans, particularly those partial to the band’s early Lowell George years, can expect to hear many of their favorite songs, along with some of Morrow’s original tunes. 

Morrow, a thirty-year-old Texan who’s lived in Los Angeles for the last decade, first discovered Little Feat’s music through his drummer who grew up listening to the band. One spin of Waiting for Columbus, Little Feat’s first live album from 1977, and Morrow was hooked.

“That’s probably the best live record of all time,” Morrow says. “I just became a big fan and sort of obsessed with Lowell. It’s how I wanted my sound to be, and then when I heard it, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s it,’ you know?”

Little Feat’s sound is a far cry from the music Morrow played as a youth growing up in a church near Houston and from the “hardcore scream-o” bands he listened to as a teen. These days, Morrow considers himself an old soul when it comes to his musical tastes.

“I’m not super hip,” he laughs. “I used to really seek out new music, but the last couple of years, I’ve done it a lot less for whatever reason. There’s so much good music being released, it’s sometimes overwhelming. I’ll just be like, ‘I don’t feel like doing that right now.’ I just like what’s familiar sometimes.”

This Little Feat tribute band is relatively new, with six or seven shows under its belt, but Morrow is having a great time playing the songs he loves – classics like “Skin It Back,” “Roll Um Easy,” and, of course, “Rocket In My Pocket.” He appreciates the challenge, too.

“It’s really hard to play the Little Feat stuff; it’s intimidating. There’s definitely a cult following for Little Feat, for sure,” he says. “I think musicians, especially, appreciate what the band does. When you really sit down and start to try to learn their stuff, it’s hard.” 

Morrow is looking forward to the Tulsa performance.

“I like the spontaneity of it. I like feeding off of everyone else that’s on stage, and trying for each show to be something different,” he says. “Sometimes it’s like magic when you’re trying new things on stage. Sometimes it’s not going to work, but when it does, it’s really special. I try and go for those moments. It doesn’t always work, but if it works most of the time, then I’ll take it.”