Artist description A relaxed, slightly jazz-pop/ folk-rock sound mixed with hypnotic groves and

Music Style A relaxed, slightly jazz-pop sound mixed with hypnotic groves

Similar Artists Dave Matthews Band, Big Head Todd, Guster, John Mayer, Neil Young, CSN, Bob Dylan, Dispatch, Hootie and the Blowfish, Lisa Loeb, Jackopierce, Seeking Homer, Sting, the Police

Artist History The Samples have been creating music for over 16 years. Known for helping to pave the way for other bands like The Dave Matthews Band and Lisa Loeb, their relaxed, slightly jazz-pop sound and hypnotic groves have made countless thousands of dedicated fans, criss-crossing the country on over 250 road tours with their live shows - high energy audio-visual experiences and levels of perseverance the likes of no other touring band today. A new DVD of Sean Kelly playing an intimate acoustic evening of his songs recorded and taped with special guests Tom Askin and Ed Toth (of Vertical Horizon) is due out in mid June of 2003, as well as the release of the Seventeen Soundtrack CD. Last Fall's release of "Anthology In Motion - Volume 1" is selling incredibly well by independent record sales standards, a three CD compilation of music, it consists of some incredible rare versions of old favorites like "Streets In The Rain," "Who Am I," "Nature," "Indiana" and "Feel Us Shaking." There are several new tracks, as well as versions of songs that date all the way back to 1982.

Group Members Sean Kelly - Lead Guitar, Vocals Tom Askin - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals Brian "Snowman" Powers - Saxophone Bill Mutchler - Drums, Percussion Jared Johnson - Bass, Vocals

Albums 16

Press Reviews 5/14/03 The Lefsez Letter : Instant LIVE This Bob Lefsez is a Santa Monica-based industry legend is the author of the e-mail newsletter, The Lefsez Letter. Famous for being beholden to no one and for speaking his mind, Lefsetz addresses the issues that are at the core of this business: downloading, copy-protection, pricing and the music itself. Lefsez's work can also be seen in publications as varied as Details and the U.K.'s Hit Sheet as well as on VH1.com and CelebrityAccess.com. Never boring, always entertaining, Lefsez's insights are fueled by his stint as an entertainment business attorney, majordomo of Sanctuary Music's American division and consultancies to major labels. Samples fan. The following is one of Lefsez's letters: "When years pass between us And the light shines on the water I ask for one thing Leave shelter when it's raining" For those of you around from the beginning. At least 2000, when I went online. You'll know I was anti-Napster. THEY WERE STEALING THE MUSIC! Now I can explain how my position changed. Unlike the labels, I realized that situations evolve. That after Napster was on the cover of "Newsweek", EVERYBODY downloaded and experienced it. After the injunction was stayed, the service became institutionalized. Didn't matter what the law was. The cat was out of the bag. And, I thought that the labels' goal was to replace the illegitimate service with one of their own. An authorized one. That proved to be untrue. Then I left their camp. They just didn't get it. But the real turning point came in Minnesota. Back in August of 2000. I got off the plane in Minneapolis and my sister told me, WE HAVE NAPSTER! As soon as we got to her house, she took me to the basement and played Art Garfunkel's "Breakaway" on her new Dell. She'd always loved the track. She'd always wanted a copy. Hadn't seen it in a store in years. I was fascinated. I'd been READING about the service. Had seen online demonstrations. But I hadn't yet used it. Within minutes, my sister had to go upstairs to tend to business. The software was in front of me on the screen. I plugged in a few names, the tracks came down. But those were songs I already had on CD. I started typing my favorite acts' names and the word "live". And the shit that started to come up!!! That very first day. That very afternoon. I downloaded a live version of the Samples' "When It's Raining". "Thanks a lot for coming down. Don't be intimidated by these folks with the cameras, they're doing some kind of cool Internet thing tonight. So, if you see them don't be like "MTV", it's a Webcast, a Webfest." I know this intro like the beats at the beginning of "Come Together". Like the skip on my vinyl version of "Rock Me On The Water". It's in my DNA, I've listened that much. Yup, when I got home from Minnesota, the first thing I did was to call Adelphia. Sign up for a high speed connection. I'd seen the future. Napster was the greatest thing to happen for music fans EVER! And when I got my cable up and running, I downloaded "When It's Raining". You can too. Go on KaZaA. It's still up there. Back in the day, they said "When It's Raining" sounded too Sting-like. Still, more than a few stations played it. It's infectious. If you're a fan of straight ahead rock, you'll love it. Actually, I told label owner Rob Gordon to try and break it on the Net. Back in '96, while we were taking the backroads from Vail to Boulder. High in the Rockies. I told him the Net was a wide open playing field. Rob called me about six months later, ready. I told him it was already too late. But just because "When It's Raining" never became as ubiquitous as "Roxanne", that doesn't mean it's not a personal favorite. As a matter of fact, I've recently become hooked on the Samples. It was their live album, "Transmissions From The Sea Of Tranquility". There's a spot on the second side. Starting with "The Last Drag" and going into "Little Silver Ring" and "Flying" and "Nothing Lasts For Long" that is the ESSENCE of album rock. You listen and are transported right to Colorado. The songs were cut before, but these new live versions...there's this incredible RESONANCE! Like you're in a log cabin in the middle of the night and your girlfriend is confessing her complete life to you. "Through towers and phone lines Connections to each other I wonder who's watching As light shines on the water" Late last summer Eric Herz asked if I would be amenable to a conference call. With him and Steve Simon, the new honcho at Clear Channel Concerts. After catching up, hearing of his work with Boston, Steve laid out the idea. They wanted to sell live CDs of concerts. Right when they were done. Oh, they'd probably have to leave off the last track. Maybe that would be available later on the Web. Still...what did I think? I said it was a no-brainer. Go for it. Immediately. The only snag I saw was the issue of getting the rights. Steve said that wasn't his worry. They'd start with acts that had the rights, that were independent. And I never heard another thing until the story broke Monday in the "New York Times". I appreciated John Paluska's comments. That there were more legal issues than Clear Channel realized. Yup, the reason that it takes 48 hours to get Phish downloads is because of publishing clearances. Unlike Britney and the other acts with choreographed shows, Phish plays different songs every night, not all of which they've written. The next day, the Phish office has to get on the phone, negotiate the licenses. Meanwhile, the artwork/titles are drawn up. And THEN the material is made available online. And then online, there are bandwidth issues. Having to do with the efficacy of the connection/download completion. Then again, Clear Channel wasn't going to sell downloads, but CDs. I think CDs are a joke. Then again, after a concert...it's a physical souvenir. What did Irving say, it's the new t-shirt? All I know is I'd want one if I went to the show. Hell, when I found live MP3s of a Laura Nyro show I went to at the Fillmore East back in December of 1970 on Napster, my jaw dropped. And now I've got tears in my eyes. You see yesterday I got e-mail from Eric. Did I want one? One of Clear Channel's concerts? An Instant Live package? I figured I'd get CDs in a couple of weeks. After they did it. They'd only done tests so far, I thought. But when I came home this afternoon, there was a Clear Channel package at the door. I ripped it open. Inside I found generic packaging. Just like the picture in the news story. But, there WAS a title. It said: "The Samples The Paradise Boston, MA 4/20/03". I started to shake. I immediately popped the jewel case. There were TWO CDs. I put the first in my computer drive. No titles came up. I guess they didn't sell enough to get in the CDDB database. And there were no titles on the packaging. Then again, I guess if you were THERE, you'd know what songs they performed. But, I pressed play. And the SOUND!!! No, it's not like what a big budget act would release as a live album. But those are always rerecorded, overdubbed. And as a result of this and the fact that acts no longer have careers, and therefore don't have a catalog of material to play live, nobody wants them anymore. This is a live document from a band that can play. That played THAT NIGHT! That played just two weeks ago in Boston. I'm listening. I'm in HEAVEN! And I wasn't even THERE! When the third track turned out to be "Wild River (Colorado)", I started to well up. God, it was only November when I discovered this song on the band's Website. Downloaded it from KaZaA. Played it for DAYS straight. It taking me away from L.A. To a place where I was the person I used to be. In the mountains. Staring off in wonder at the beauty, the POSSIBILITIES! The first CD was fifty minutes long. It could only be the encores on the second, right? But there were another forty nine minutes on the second. All for FIFTEEN BUCKS? I started clicking. Listening. He had to do it. It was his staple. I'm hearing Sean Kelly talking, and then...in the second to last track... I hear that looping guitar. Before the white reggae beat comes in. And out of the speakers, this shot of adrenaline shooting through my body, my leg going numb as I write this, I hear the assembled multitude, everybody in the audience singing... "When years pass between us And the light shines on the water I ask for one thing Leave shelter when it's raining" This is the greatest thing since sliced bread. This could revolutionize the business in itself. I mean if you can't play. Are singing to tape. People are gonna KNOW. And spread the word. FURTHERMORE, technology is now delivering exactly what the customer wants...MORE PRODUCT! I'd want a CD of every show I went to. I'd want CDs of shows I DIDN'T go to. The labels just want to sell one record to millions. To casual consumers. It's all about the fan. More for the fan. The fan CAN'T GET ENOUGH! I'm a fan.

Location Boulder, Colorado - USA

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