The Samples finds musical style, success on the road

By Anthony Bromberg
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Travelling is fun. Getting packed, being stuck in a car for
hours, and not sleeping at home, that is fun.

As a music artist, one of the primary ways to promote the music
is to take it on the road and tour. The band the Samples took this
idea and ran with it. In fact, they’ve been running around
the country for nearly a decade straight.

“We’ve chosen this lifestyle and we feel that
it’s best for our band,” said Sean Kelly, the
Samples’ lead guitarist and vocalist. “We’re used
to it over the years. It’s what we do.”

Their current tour brings them to the Troubador in West
Hollywood this Wednesday. The Samples, comprised of Kelly, Andy
Sheldon, Rob Somers, Alex Matson and Sam Young, promises a rocking
live act and has a history of playing well-received Los Angeles
shows. In the past, the band’s performances here have been
frequented by music fans like Vince Vaughn and Kevin Costner.

On a whole, however, as members of the Samples continue their
odyssey, the fans continue to get younger, according to Kelly.

“They’re at that age where they’re starved for
that (music), and we’re a band who has something to
say,” Kelly said.

One reason the Samples might have so much success with younger
crowds is its kinship to bands that have captured the mainstream
youth’s attention. During the course of the ’90s acts
such as Live, Lisa Loeb, Hootie and the Blowfish and perhaps most
notably, the Dave Matthews Band, all opened for the Samples at one
point or another. Kelly doesn’t see this as a phenomenon,
rather as an inevitable product of being out on the road so much
with the band’s particular style of music. Sooner or later,
some of the bands the Samples tour with are bound to be hits.

The connection with the Dave Matthews Band originally ran a
little deeper than the others, and the Samples felt like a part of
DMB’s initial success. Since then the Samples have for the
most part fallen out of touch with that other famous song-writing
band, except for violinist Boyd Tinsley who played on their most
recent album “Return to Earth.” Kelly remembers playing
with Tinsley onstage at an early concert and feels a chemistry
between his playing and the Samples sound. This kinship has led to
the more recent collaborations.

Members of the Samples pride themselves in the songs they write
and present to their fans, as well as their ability to keep the
audience excited during a 90-minute set. They’ve been writing
new songs while out on this most recent tour, and at some shows
fans might be lucky enough to hear a brand new Samples song.

The Samples’ performance is not a highlight reel of big
climaxes with a certain setlist of popular songs, but a whole
musical experience.

“You kind of go into a trance. So, it’s all nice,
it’s not about one specific moment,” Kelly said.

The Samples feels good about where it is as a band with its
schedule. Kelly is excited about stepping out and trying some solo
work, but for now is happy playing in a band that often sells out
venues.

Besides its music, the band has been in the process of
developing its official Web site as a worthwhile haven for fans
looking for more info on the band. It includes updated pictures of
the most recent concert’s front row and a comprehensive story
of the band. It is all in the name of bringing more people to their
music.

“I think with everything that’s been going on we
have some intelligence in our music,” Kelly said. “Not
to sound cocky, but we have something to say.”