Sam Haft Interview – Platinum Artist Talks Living Tombstone, Favorite Lyric & Favorite Curse

A RIAA Platinum Artist, Sam Haft has led the charge as a writer of songs and scripts (including Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel!), a performer of music, and a creator of silly internet BS.

From the Hellaverse, to The Living Tombstone, to even his favorite curse word, we recently joined Sam Haft to discuss his runaway success…

Sam Haft Interview – Platinum Artist Talks Living Tombstone, Favorite Lyric & Favorite Curse

Gamers Heroes 

The legend is here – it’s a huge honor!

Jumping into it, I actually got the chance to interview Richard Horvitz last November – he built you up too! 

Sam Haft

I will sing his praises too! 

Really, everything I’ve learned about directing actors, I’ve learned by observing him doing his thing and practicing his craft – which he is so excellent at.

Gamers Heroes 

Absolutely!

So I’d love to know: What’s your favorite part working with this all-star cast across the Hellaverse?

Obviously there’s Horvitz, but across so many iconic roles – you’ve got yourself a dream team. 

What’s your favorite part working on all these different properties with these great, great people?

Sam Haft

My favorite part of the process is getting to see them hear a song for the first time and getting to see their excitement!

So much of our process is really built around, 

“How do we help them have the best time they could possibly have on a microphone?” 

Getting to see them really excited for the song they’re about to sing is such a pleasure.

Gamers Heroes 

I mean, it’s a Happy Day in Hell – what’s not to like, right?

That actually leads to my next point…

Right after my Horvitz interview, he did a Helluva Boss panel to a packed house – the energy was just electric!

I always love talking about and learning about these community stories. 

And I’ve also done a little bit of stalking! I checked out your MAGWest panel – which is actually local around here! – your favorite type of cereal…

That’s genuine, that’s legit! 

So what are some of your favorite community stories? You’ve definitely got your fans!

Sam Haft

Oh gosh!

You know, one of the favorite things I like to hear from people coming up to me at conventions are the ways in which the songs have been slotted into their own lives and their own experiences. 

It’s always a pleasure when I hear someone say:

“Your song ‘2 Minutes Notice’ helped me quit my crappy job” 

Or:

“Your song, more than anything, was at my father-daughter dance at our wedding.” 

Things like that, where it really feels like the music that we’ve made has become part of the fabric of their lives.

Gamers Heroes 

I totally understand!

As a segue there, I know you’ve got your Multiplayer Tour – a World Tour! 

I’m looking to make it to your stop at the San Jose Civic on October 8 – I’m getting my tickets this week and will be there [got them!].

So on that note, I know you previously had a four continent tour last year, one that was sold out everywhere. 

What are you looking forward to regarding the tour this year?

Sam Haft

A couple of things!

I mean, we didn’t want to go back on tour if it was just going to be more of the same. 

Not that there wasn’t an appetite among the fans for more of the same, but we want to level up every time we do it. 

So when we go back on tour, we’re going to have some great upgrades to the costumes.

More importantly, we’re also making upgrades to the lighting and video presentation part of the show as well.

Gamers Heroes 

I look forward to it! 

I know you’ve got your Tombsona rust; will there be any redesigns there, or anything else you’re going to go “even further beyond,” Dragon Ball Z-style?

Sam Haft

There will be some minor redesigns with rust!

I would say the character that’s getting the biggest upgrade is zero_one, and I’m so excited.

Gamers Heroes 

Nice – there you go! 

Sam Haft

Yeah, it’s going to be really, really great!

We’re getting to see countries and cities that we haven’t been to before. We’ll be getting into markets and meeting fans we otherwise haven’t had a chance to get in front of. 

We’ve never been to Scandinavia before, and we’re doing that. We’re also going to parts of Eastern Europe that we’ve never been to before, with shows in Poland and Lithuania. 

I’m so excited!

Gamers Heroes 

It’s going to be great! 

So on that note, I do have to give a shoutout to Yoav. 

I mean, you guys are great foils to one another, getting “Brighter” – so to speak. 

What would you say is your favorite part helping each other grow? 

Obviously you guys are two peas in a pod, thick as thieves! 

Sam Haft

You know, I think one of the things that I really love about my work with Yoav is the way that we complement and complete each other artistically.

I feel like we have kind of like a yin-yang dynamic, and it plays out not just in our friendship, but also on stage. 

And I really like how we’ve been growing together as artists and friends for almost 10 years!

Gamers Heroes 

Yeah, it’s a winning combo right there!

Sam Haft

Yeah, I couldn’t possibly have foreseen where we would have been today 10 years ago…and I cannot imagine where we’re going to be 10 years from now together!

Gamers Heroes 

So on that same note…

You’ve got so many different properties – where you draw inspiration?

We’ve talked about Richard Horvitz, but are there any works – whether it be games, movies, or even other artists – that inspire you?

Like, something that came to you when walking the dog?

Sam Haft

There are definitely artists that I find a lot of inspiration from! 

An artist that I brought up a number of times is Mitski. 

Speaking as a lyricist, I really adore her lyrical work.

I love the way it can be so incredibly direct, while also speaking symbolically about things.

And I love the way she can talk about something by talking about something else that represents that something.

And, you know, it’s my work. 

In musical theater or in the Hellaverse, stuff is so very different. 

In musical theater, you really have the songs carry a lot of burden of exposition, with people exploring their feelings in a more “direct to the audience” kind of way. 

I think the work of Mitski makes me think about the ways I can show and tell – without showing and telling. 

I feel like that’s been a big inspiration on that front musically.

I just love musical theater – period. 

For me, rather than drawing inspiration from any one particular musical theater creator, part of it is getting to say:

“This song has a kind of Robert and Kristen Lopez feel. 

What if this song has kind of a Stephen Sondheim feel, and this song has kind of an Andrew Lloyd Webber feel?”

It’s getting to pull from all the influence buckets. 

One of the things I love so much about making music for the Hellaverse is that no two songs are ever that much alike. 

We get to pull from so many different influences rather than just saying this whole show is influenced by this particular person.

Gamers Heroes 

So I know it’s like picking a favorite child – I know we love them all! – but if there’s one lyric you’re especially proud of, which one would it be?

Sam Haft

No, I know immediately! 

Season Two of Hazbin Hotel has a song called Piss (A Love Song).

There is a line:

“They say time heals all wounds, but the wounds are what I miss.” 

That song, that line – this idea of missing the violence, the drama, and the trauma.

It’s something that is so immediately recognizable to a listener.

Even though you might go:

“I’ve never felt that in my life.”

You instantly go:

“I understand exactly what he’s saying and how he feels that way.” 

It’s something that communicates an idea so completely in such a succinct way, and is also such a beautiful way to say it.

Gamers Heroes 

Absolutely! It’s got that power.

Great, great pick. 

I did get a chance to check out the LA Note interview you did, and you said you’re looking to do a stage musical!

I know there’s NDAs – I’m under some myself! – but what inspired you to take a musical on in the first place?

Sam Haft

I think starting to work on the music for the Hellaverse really started scratching this theater kid itch for me! 

I went to school to write theater – my degree was in playwriting.

It was something I had always looked at and technically kind of trained for. Yet, I had just gotten further and further away from in my career.

It just feels like a homecoming, you know? 

It feels like:

“Hey, it’s about time to start making a piece of theater, because it’s what I’ve loved my whole life.”

It’s such an enormous influence on me as a songwriter.

I feel I’ve gotten to the point in my career where I’ve kind of mustered up the nerve to really try to step into that arena.

Gamers Heroes 

Yeah, you got it! 

Talking the game angle, I actually just saw this right before the interview, there’s going to be a Fortnite event: “The Living Tombstone: Can’t Wait To Die!”

I saw there’s going to be an art contest along with a Discord – there’s that community element. 

What went into its design? It sounds like a lot of fun!

Sam Haft

Oh yeah! 

So first of all, I play a lot of Fortnite.

It’s one of the games that I have wasted quite a bit of time on – and unfortunately, quite a bit of money on. 

It was one of those things that seemed so obvious for on the side of The Living Tombstone! 

We’ve always wanted to do something on the Fortnite platform, and always wanted to do something with Epic Games – fingers crossed that may be in the cards in a more official capacity in the near future! 

I felt like we had to do something, and we had to start somewhere – so where we’re starting is this! 

It’s called “Can’t Wait to Die!” – it’s a sort of a custom Living Tombstone, co-op shooter experience in the platform.

It’s got voice acting too, with little bits of story with our original characters: the Tombsonas.

It’s a really fun experience, and also it’s kind of a living, breathing experience.

We’re not just dropping it and saying: “Okay, it’s done.” 

We’re putting it out there and asking our fans:

“What features would like to see in this? What are ways that you feel like it could improve?” 

Because as gamers, we have so much respect for our fans. The last thing we would want to do is just release something and go, “Okay, that’s it. Hope you like it.” 

We care so much about their experience, and want them to have a good experience. 

It’s important to us that this is as good as it plays, and really stand out among the sort of third party created content on the Fortnite platform. 

There’s a lot of that stuff – I’m sure a lot of it is very good!

However, I’ve found that in exploring that platform, a lot of people are kind of applying the same formulas over and over again. 

We wanted to do something that felt different, that felt curated, that felt like part of the TLT universe.

Gamers Heroes 

Yeah, I’ve talked about that quite a bit lately – being passionate, professional, and genuine. 

You don’t want to “Fellow Kids” it 30 Rock, Steve Buscemi-style – people see right through that. I can tell you it’s going to go off like gangbusters. 

So keeping things short and sweet…

I’m stealing this from Inside the Actors Studio – I loved that show growing up. 

So James Lipton would always ask: 

“What’s your favorite curse word?” 

Figure it’s appropriate here – you’ve got to read the room! 

But this one I think is a good fit.

So…what’s your favorite curse word?

Sam Haft

Dipshit!

Gamers Heroes

That is a good word – hell yeah!

Sam Haft

It had its heyday when I was a kid, and I feel like it’s kind of fallen out of vogue. 

But you know, it’s a really great way to call someone a dummy!

Gamers Heroes

Yeah, it’s absolute! It just shuts things right down – I love it. 

And on that note, it’s been a huge honor. 

Thank you so much! 

For those feeling social, be sure to follow Sam Haft on Twitter/X, TikTok, Bluesky, Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube.

Meanwhile, fans can follow The Living Tombstone on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Spotify, and get tickets for the Multiplayer Tour via its official website.

The post Sam Haft Interview – Platinum Artist Talks Living Tombstone, Favorite Lyric & Favorite Curse appeared first on GamersHeroes.