Brooklyn-based collective Sammy Rae & The Friends will be headlining The Granada in Lawrence, KS on October 31st. The band touts a combination of technical skill and pure fun that is just plain SPECIAL, and so we were stoked to get the chance to sit down with bandleader and vocal powerhouse, Sammy, ahead of the show, and asked 5 of the friendliest questions we could possibly dream up.

1.  If y’all could be friends with any non musician celebrity who would it be?

Probably Maya Angelou. One thing we’re kinda missing in this band is wise, thoughtful grandparent energy.

2. If you ever had to become an 8 piece band, what instrument would you add to complete the group?

Probably a bari saxophone to be honest. ROCK AND ROLL SAXOPHONE SECTION!

3. If you could collaborate with any musician, living or dead, who would it be?

Me personally, I’d like to write with and take vocal lessons from Freddie Mercury. I’d really like to learn how to perform with his stamina and power, as confidently and accurately as he did in his instrument. And I’ve always loved his songwriting ability.

4. If you weren’t a musician, what extreme sport do you think you’d have the most successful career in?

Maybe extreme ‘chill swimming’. I made it up. It’s where I swim in really extreme places, like untouched inlets and in beautiful caves and swimming pools that are extreme feats of human engineering,  but I chill and I get to where I’m going whenever I get there. It’s not a race it’s an experience, man.

5. What’s your favorite moment you’ve ever experienced on stage?

Running into the stage at Brooklyn Bowl. It was our first ‘really big’ room, it was sold-out, and it was in our hometown that we had missed a lot after a year of heavy touring. There were so many people I loved out there somewhere in the room, and I recognized a lot of the front row from shows at the very beginning. Definitely a career milestone for me, taking that stage for the first time.

Check out more from Sammy Rae and The Friends here