Time Traveling With the Samples by Nick Hutchinson Plenty has changed since the Samples formed in 1987 -- a few of the original members have moved away and a some of them are now fathers, the Front Range has grown in population, and new personnel have been added to the band -- yet a few things remain refreshingly the same. At the invitation of lead singer Sean Kelly, I recently drove from Denver to Boulder, to meet the original lineup, who had gathered to prepare for this Fridays show at the Fillmore. Their upcoming performance marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the bands first Blue CD, which featured many of the groups acclaimed early tunes, such as Nature, Waited Up, Feel Us Shaking and After the Rain. As the guys rolled into a dusty North Boulder parking lot and reconnected with each other this past Saturday, time seemed to slip away and raucous evenings at JJ McCabes, backyard barbecues and house parties near University Hill, floated into memory. While their music has been compared to acts such as the Police and the Grateful Dead, the Samples consists of five individuals with different tastes. Together they create a sound that defies categorization. From bassist Andy Sheldons jazz and classical leanings, to guitarist Charles Hambletons inclination for acoustic finger picking, and both drummer Jeep MacNichols and keyboardist Al Laughlins yen for ska and reggae, the group takes in a wide range of influences. Their sound represents a confluence of styles that passed through the filter of the Boulder scene in the late 1980s -- a time that blended a little of the free-flowing cultural and musical vibes of the 60s and 70s with the pop orientation of the 80s, all while pushing towards the future. The group has influenced younger generations of musicians, including Vermont jammers Twiddle, to go for it. My brother James (Hambleton) is to blame for all of this, says Charles, who, among other things, is an environmental activist and the award-winning producer of the documentary The Cove. He was living in Boulder in 87 and Sean (Kelly) and I were freezing in Vermont. One cold winter day, we called him and he said hey Im outside barbecuing on my deck. Its 70 degrees and sunny here. I said, thats it, were moving. Two weeks later we were in Boulder. The rest is Colorado music history. Despite the inevitable flow of the seasons, for Kelly and the Samples time is fluid. Like the music they make, the clock is never predictable. There is no expiration date on our music, Kelly declares. Case in point: his song Could it be another Change, written when he was only 17, landed on the soundtrack to the 2012 coming-of-age film Perks of Being A Wallflower. As a result of that unforeseen turn of events, a group of new, younger fans was introduced to their music years after they started. I wrote the song when I was still in my teens and put it on our very first album years later, but then it made in onto a movie soundtrack just a few years ago. I never could have predicted that. In Boulder this week, I found myself listening appreciatively as the group practiced in a relaxed rehearsal space (Violet Recording), where, except for everyones slightly shorter hair length, it might well have been 1988, my first year as a college student in the Peoples Republic. At Violet, the original gang (Sean, Charles, Andy, Jeep and Al) fell into a familiar groove, with a more recent band member, Will James, helping out when needed. In between songs, different members of the group noodled on bits of music by Bob Weir and Jorma Kaukonen, while the production crew chatted, laughed and tweaked the sound. A feeling of history was in the air. While the band slipped seamlessly from a tight version of My Town into a reggae-inflected jam that bubbled and rolled for a few minutes before expertly fading out, it was abundantly clear that the old magic was still there. The 80s were a big time for us as a band for sure, explains Kelly, but lots of fans have followed us right on through. After Saturdays rehearsal, Kelly and I sat eating slices of pizza on University Hill in a space that had once been part of the renowned club Tulagis. I remembered walking past him and Charles more than 26 years ago right near the same spot. A couple college students wandered into the pizza joint and their voices took me back. Time felt cyclical. As the wheel of the Samples comes around full circle, fans old and new are sure to appreciate the historic reunion of the group at the Denver Fillmore this week. I hope even more new fans check us out, mused Kelly. The Samples is a gold mine just waiting to be discovered.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:12:47 +0000
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