With humble origins in the bars of Vermont, hard earned recognition in the small theatres of Colorado, critical acclaim on the national touring circuit, a major player on the HORDE tour and ultimately sold out Red Rocks shows which featured an unknown opening act named the Dave Matthews Band; Sean Kelly and The Samples have had a long and colorful road the past 15 years. In between selling over a million records, they have managed to survive two band breakups, shoddy contracts, financial hardships and personal tragedies to numerous to count. Like a boxer, determined and faithful, The Samples somehow continue to get up, shake themselves off, and keep going.
Recently, the band found themselves in one of their most dire times. With money depleted, and resources dwindling, the members got themselves together and tried to brainstorm one last miracle to keep the band alive. What they eventually came up with was an idea that would either save The Samples, and get them on the road one more time, or be a last ditch effort that would force the band into retirement. They decided on a most unconventional, yet somewhat obvious plan…to go straight to the fans, and simply ask for help. After all, it was the fans that had supported them through it all, and it was the fans that kept them going emotionally and spiritually all these years. So The Samples created the concept of the Lifetime Pass. A laminate that wouldn’t get you backstage, or any special perks, just a laminate that showed your support of the band you had grown up with. To the bands surprise, within months, over 500 had been purchased, and support of all kinds began to pour in. Dozens of fan-volunteers organized fundraising efforts, and helped rebuild the band in a truly grassroots fashion.
Now, with the fans behind them, and a new found energy, along with a new found lineup, The Samples are back on the road one more time. Not only have they been able to resume a touring schedule, the band has also recently released a 45 song, 3 disc Anthology that encompasses The Samples entire history. Including rare demo tapes, scratchy first timers, and random hotel room sessions, the audio alone is a collector’s item. Though the amount of effort put into creating the chronology allowed Sean to dig up personal artifacts such as original lyric sheets, personal photos and tour journal entries that truly expose the intimacy with which the band has thrived since the early beginning.
As the band embarks on yet a new Samples era, they are planning to release an acoustic DVD this spring, followed by a live cd from Red Rocks, and even possibly a performance from the Fox in their old stomping grounds of Boulder.
Amidst all this, at a recent acoustic show, I sat down with Sean and discussed the past, the present, and the future of The Samples.
The Anthology in Motion Volume I release is an extensive collection of band history and archives. How did you even begin to sort through it all and find the rare pieces that went into it?
I’ve been keeping that stuff for years. I used to pass it around for people to bootleg and pass out, and some of it made it’s way to wherever, but a lot of it, I’ve archived now to digital so I can go back into anywhere. There was so much stuff we found, and we were like, ‘lets turn this into this whole cool thing.’ I mean, when do you hear someone’s demos? You know, totally out of key, and screwed up, but you know what, that should encourage any up and coming musician to just never quit. Look where it all started from…that’s the beauty of it.
In addition to the audio, you also have the Anthology in Motion website that includes historical band artifacts, including original lyric sheets, and personal pictures and recollections. It’s almost like you opened your diary to the listener. Was that therapeutic in a way? It’s very personal, you’ve got some really intimate entries in there.
I really come from a place of life is temporary, and we’re here for just a little glimmer. Music is one of the smaller things in the whole scheme of things. It’s a beautiful art form, and the whole thing where [artists] huddle around it like a bunch of little kids in a sandbox, it’s disgusting to me. Music is something to share. None of the chords I can take credit for, any of my chords or words. Those are someone else’s words and chords. It’s my interpretation of life, just using words, paper and other people’s chords. [Every chord] has been used a million times. I would rather be remembered for the gift of music more than the music itself. Giving it out and letting people enjoy it on some level.
You included a great deal of material from the early 82-85 era. Songs like “Little Silver Ring”, “Could it Be” and “Nature” are just timeless classics and fan favorites. Twenty years later, they still sound fresh. Was that an incredibly creative time in your life?
It was probably the time in my life that I was the most idealistic. I mean I was 17 years old. I was so young. But the desire to express myself is as strong now as it was then. I can play you demos for anything off The Last Drag, or any other album, and they still sound just as rough. There is just as much creativity happening. I think that there has been so much adversity and perseverance, that the creative flow is just guaranteed to get something out of it. I just happen to always lure myself into that place because it’s a very real place. There are so many musicians out there doing so much stuff. All their different interpretations of what they see or how they do it. And I’ve just wanted to haul realism down the road with me, so that in the end, it’s like ‘well I did it, and it was real’…and that’s all.
You included solo takes of “Nature” and “Purple Rose” that were recorded in a hotel room in Vermont. Were they from the same session?
Yeah, I have a little portable studio that I carry with me, and I was staying at this place just before I moved into Burlington, I sort of wanted to feel it out first, so I stayed in this hotel, set up my equipment and recorded a whole bunch of tunes.
I know that you are really into Neil Young, and that song “Purple Rose,” it sounds a lot like a CSNY tune. Is that just the influence coming out, or were you purposefully going for that style?
That was probably most likely the influence, but that was a song about a girl I dated when I was about 20 years old. And it was all about our relationship, and breaking up…but as far as the CSN stuff, I can’t imagine it wasn’t influenced, ’cause I was such a big CSNY freak. Everyone else was into everything else, but I just thought that music sounded…I was like a moth to a flame, it just sounded so real.
The song “Ocean of War”, the lyrics of that song, they could have been written this week with everything going on. Do you feel that way about some of your lyrics, that they just seem to come back as a reflection of the current time? That particular song is so poignant right now.
I don’t ever get a sense of a shelf life from our music, so the odds are that it’ll be seen in another light at some point. That song was inspired by the Vietnam War and stuff that I picked up on from my dad who was a prisoner of war when he was in World War II. But I was just talking about this with someone the other day, that there’s some 10, 15 wars happening all over the earth at any given point…it’s just the ones that we choose to have the media show us. Like we’re at war now, but wars are happening constantly. But I do feel really sad about what’s going on right now.
As the Anthology discs move into more current works, you included songs like “Sacred Stones,” and “Lonely Souls” which includes the line ‘Mrs. Presley, your baby cries alone.’ That’s an image that can really make the listener uncomfortable. You’re touching on a lot of personal points in those songs. What was going on when you wrote that?
They did a Behind the Music or something on Elvis Presley, and it was one of the most grueling things I’d ever seen. He just kind of had a look in his eye that was indicative of getting, just jolted into this industry, and having to be this thing 24-7. You never know if he was just happy or lonely or whatever, you don’t really know, but I got a sense that he was miserable. I went to Graceland, and they don’t explain anywhere about his death or dying…it’s as if he’s still alive.
Then you put some songs in there that are more recent, and the subjects turn again. You go from the optimistic, and then reflective, to almost like a resentment stage with songs like “Hypocrite” and “Radio Song.” Was that all just indicative of the, there and back again story of The Samples?
I think more so, it’s just the level of where I write from is always the same, so if my interpretation of happiness is in-depth and deep, or pleasant, so will be my gut reaction to what we have been through in the music business. It’s a real cookie cutter scene out there. They put together people and they throw ’em out. And if that’s what success is, that’s great, you know, but I have a different idea of success.
You write in the Anthology journal that a record exec once told you that The Samples would never make it because you don’t have a good story. That seems absurd to me. Your story is more compelling than almost any band I know. What did you mean by that?
Well a story to them is how many units are sold, and what numbers…that’s the story unfortunately. You know, ‘how many,’ what’s his name, John Mayer, ‘how many billions of albums has he sold?’ That’s a story. You don’t know anything about his history, or where he came from, or if he went to music school or anything…until you really get into it later, but the story is ‘what’s the reaction when we throw it out there?’ The Samples story, they don’t understand that. You probably do, we do, and the audience understands it. I don’t think there are any of those stories anymore…where the band works it’s way up. It’s a band that sounds alright, they get discovered, put through the machine, and as quick as they’re in, they’re gone.
So talking about the history of The Samples…it’s the 80s, you’re playing Finbar’s and Nectar’s, and things are about to happen for improv rock. There’s such a big explosion at that time. Did any of you…Phish, Blues Traveler, The Samples, realize what was about to occur? Like the HORDE tour…Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere…when I think back now, that tour was really appropriately named. That moment in rock spawned an entire new genre. In 1993, you could go tape a local show a month maybe, but now you can go tape a band every night of the week. So back in the early 90s, were you at all aware of what was being born?
No, not really. I remember that we were one of the only bands that used to bring everyone up on stage with us. We intermingled with everybody. We were always like, ‘come out and play with us Boyd Tinsley (DMB) and Big Head Todd.’ We had everyone from Jimmy Herring to Oteil (Burbridge). They all became great friends of ours. But we were just really having fun.
Well while having fun, you still managed to play a big part in the birth of that scene.
Well that’s nice to hear. I think the frustration, and almost the invisibility…I mean I don’t know if you know this, but this band just went through a major overhaul. Even Andy Sheldon (founding member) isn’t in the band anymore. It just became too much. So it’s me, Tom (Askin), a guy named Snowman on saxophone, Bill Mutchler on drums, Len (Mooney) on keyboards, so it’s a whole new thing. And it was always my dream to have that kind of freedom [where we could add elements such as the saxophone]. We couldn’t do that in the past, ’cause there were a lot of things that we had to get passed. I’ll miss everybody involved, and Andy is always welcome to come back, but I think he feels like we all do, that we just struggled to fuckin’ hard. And I don’t really care about that anymore. It’s just that, I mean Christ, we gotta get that music out there! I love it more than anybody. I really do, its beautiful music! I’m a huge fan. I could never do this if I didn’t like it, but at a certain point, after a while you’re just like, you’re hanging onto the bucking bronco and there’s a lot involved, but I believe it’ll come when it’s due, if it’s gonna happen. And maybe when that day comes we’ll be the Neil Young’s of the time. I mean, look at Neil and all the people that were competitive in the Woodstock era, and Neil just kept trudging along. And he sort of got the last laugh, and he’s making the decisions on the big tours now. He’s on the Bonnaroo Festival for Christ’s sakes. His time is still happening. To me, those are the people I look up to. Those are my heroes for that reason.
You mentioned how Andy Sheldon left the band recently, but back in the 96/97 era of The Samples, Jeep (MacNichol) and Al (Laughlin) departed. Was that just a really tumultuous time for the band?
This was worse, this time was worse. I think the more you put into it, it gets heavier. There’s more to lose. Back then it was challenging, but on that level it was like, ‘ok, lets try it’, and it worked. So we were like ‘alright’. And it really worked for five good years. Some of the best playing we’ve ever done, so…had it been called Sean Kelly’s Band, you probably wouldn’t have noticed people coming and going, but it is The Samples, and I like that name. And I’m not the same person to be honest with you. I’ve moved on in so many ways as a musician, and all the things that we’ve done…but it was much more this last time it happened. I just hope the music is something that will be remembered or be of value somewhere, I mean that’s the only reason we did it.
And now with the acoustic shows you are doing with Tom Askin. You guys are bringing in banjos, and mandolins?
When we did that one version on that album, when we did “Little Silver Ring” where we mess up ‘didn’t much make sense’ (laughs)…we’ll we just set up one mic and just went for it. I think I played a banjo and [Tim] played a mandolin. We’re gonna start adding a lot more of that with The Samples with what’s coming up. Every person plays different instruments, so it’s gonna be probably more orchestrated, with a real cool show, and a neat set design. Maybe an acoustic beginning as an introduction to the guys, and then it rocks by the end…so we’ve got tons of ideas.
The Samples were always know for mellow ballads, but you actually touched on a lot of different styles, like ska and punk in songs like “Underwater People” and “Playground.” Is that type of repertoire going to carry over into the new line up?
Oh yeah, I mean that’s the beauty of playing with so many different people. They all brought that stuff in. Al was a punker, you know, he was a skate rat, and he brought in all this cool stuff, and then Jeep brought in the reggae, and I brought in the folk stuff, so I want to make sure I don’t take over with the folk stuff. So I want to deliberately write those kind of tunes. We did that on our last album, like songs like “Castle Walls”, and “Save it for a Rainy Day”….that’s about as reggae as it gets (laughs). I mean, I’d like to make a pure reggae album. There is so much flexibility and freedom now, it’s incredible. It was kind of tough before.
Because you felt you had limitations?
Well you’ve got two strong personalities with me and Andy, who I’m gonna miss incredibly, but we did have differences, and those differences were really helpful to the chemistry, and I’m sure there are a lot of more differences to come (laughs)…but him leaving is putting me in an interesting position ’cause, you know, full control. I’ve had a lot of control, but I had too. And I didn’t always want it. It certainly never started out that way. I started out as somebody who wanted to be a background guitarist, and Ididn’t want to sing, and just wear my leopard skin suit (laughs). My synthetic leopard skin!
(Ed. Note: referring to a classic picture of him included in the Anthology, which was taken in the very early 80s when they were performing as The Triangle)
You didn’t want to sing? You’ve got one of the best voices.
No, I…no, you heard those tapes (laughs). “Little Silver Ring” (laughing).
It sounds like classic Johnny Cash…
I know. No, I wanted my brother to sing, anyone else to sing. Rob Somers used to be in our band, and he was the lead singer of The Triangles (early 80s trio pre-Samples). As it turned out, he was the least at singing, and we all came around, so…yeah, I had no interest in it. I just wanted to play guitar. It’s just that I wanted to be in a band, and I soon learned that you had to have all those components, and those components kept quitting the band, or leaving, and the thing kept happening so, I kept taking on more responsibilities so it was harder to replace. And this is just a testament to it, you know, the whole band can leave, and it can still go on. Before, it was like ‘fuck, the whole band leaves, I gotta start all over again’, so that’s why I was in so many bands, like The Last Straw (another early 80s pre-Samples band), and The Triangle…a bunch of bands.
Well everyone can be clich
