Green Room: What Makes Sammy Run?

Sammy Hakim is full of contradictions.

One minute she seems very young, the next like a wise old soul. She loves new, mainstream acts like Adele and Lady Gaga, but says her songwriting was influenced by the New Wave sounds of the brilliantly bitter and twisted Elvis Costello. She can talk about school talent shows one minute and "learning the business side of music" the next.

Want to hear the work of this promising young singer/songwriter? You'll need to go to on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm 15, but I'll be 16 in, oh, about two weeks," said Hakim in the girlish voice of a high school student. She, at once, sounds whip-smart, but also still quite capable of crushes and writing band names on her notebook. "A couple of years ago, a friend of mine said she was going to be a famous actress. So, I said, 'Okay, then, I'm going to be a famous songwriter.' I started writing songs not long after that, just to see what it would be like. And I fell totally in love with it. So, my friend started saying, 'Okay, now I'm going to be your manager!'"

She giggles, as she does frequently, knowing how improbable-but-true this sounds. But except for the fact that Hakim's mother, Pamela, is now actually managing her, the story is true.

"The first song I wrote was something called 'Believe,'" Hakim said. "I don't remember how it goes, but that's the title."

Hakim, who lives in Vienna (and has been on the Jammin Java stage before, "with a bunch of other acts"), has an impressive six song E.P. currently in release. It's got the provocative title, "Locked You Out." She writes smart, biting lyrics and decorates them with the fashionable but classic materials of folk, rock and pop. You can thank Costello for inspiring such eclecticism.

"My mom turned me onto Elvis," said Hakim, sounding like the normal teenager she is. "I love the fact that, over the years, he has adapted constantly to different styles. Classical, then rock. He's never been pigeonholed musically. Maybe that's why he's still around. He's a great role model."

One can't help but wonder which Costello tune is the favorite for this precocious teen?

"Alison, definitely," she said without hesitation. 

Not just a slave to The New Wave, Hakim also "really likes" John Mayer, Lady Gaga and Adelle. And grounded kid that she is, dreams aside, she is still planning to go to college in a couple of years.

"It's good to have a foundation in your life and college can provide that," she said. "I may study some music courses, anything from production to the business side, but I am definitely planning to go. There's plenty of time for me to do what I want to do afterwards."

For now, she is just psyched to be trodding the boards at Jammin Java.'

"I've sung at school in front of other people-well, it was with the choir-and I've played at the Soundry and a few other clubs. But Jammin' Java is a really important milestone in your career. I've been on the bill with other acts there before, but this time it's cool, because I'm headlining, or whatever. Someday, I hope to sign to a major label and really be in the mainstream of the music business. But for now, it's one step at a time. And Jammin' Java is definitely the next step."

Info: Sammy Hakim will be at Jammin' Java at 2 p.m. Sunday Dec. 4. Tickets are $5. For more information, call 703-255-1566 or go to www.sammyhakim.com.