Postcards From Page Side: Sample(s) Platter

Now, my realization upon seeing this picture was how accessible these musicians we once considered to be larger-than-life influences, now were only a click of the mouse away.  And so, my experiment of sorts began. I sent Facebook friend requests to not only Hambleton, but also guitarist and lead singer, Sean Kelly, and other, original members, Andy Sheldon, Al Laughlin and Jeep McNichol. (As of now, all but one have been accepted). Within a matter of six or so hours, I was viewing pictures, reading info and watching videos of what these guys were all about–past and present. That wall between rocker and fan was instantly smashed down. With a sledgehammer. It’s like the Wizard’s curtain being pulled back and you get a glimpse of not just the idol on stage, but the person, too.  It was happy, sad, weird and kind of cool all at the same time. But, if nothing else, it certainly triggered me to start listening to my favorite overall album by the band, 1989’s self-titled debut, and the only one to feature Hambleton as a full-time member.

From there, the things began to take on a life of their own and spiral into a collective geek-out session for the remainder of that night and well into the early hours of the morning. (Work completely sucked the next day as a result, as even multiple coffees and Red Bulls couldn’t salvage things.  Damn you, rock-n-roll). I found myself viewing videos on YouTube, which along with Facebook – and other like-minded social media applications – in my opinion, have revolutionized the world – especially music world – as we know it.  In ’94 when I was swaying around to Did You Ever Look So Nice? in Irving Plaza (the same venue I saw Hambleton join Kelly and co. on stage for a surprise reunion of sorts in ’96 or ’97), nothing like this ever seemed possible or plausible. Now, I get to rock out and interact with those same musicians, all without leaving my room.

Throughout that night and the next, as I glanced at their charming, beat up cardboard, CD cases from their W.A.R.? label days, I was immediately immersed back into the very things that made me fall in love with the music of The Samples, a band that took their name from the King Soopers supermarkets “samples” they used to live off of when starting out in Colorado. From Kelly’s soothing, childlike delivery and imperfect vocals, to the surfer boy persona of Laughlin’s long-blond locks on the keys, or McNichol’s four-limbed attack on the kit, often times in a sports jersey and backwards hat, while Sheldon remained quiet and stoic at times, while adding some well-timed humor and even rarer lead vocals, it all had a feeling of nostalgia, but mixed with a fresh feel of technology.

From songs like essential listening tunes such as Did You Ever Look So Nice? and Feel Us Shaking, to the more cerebral, hippie-side of Ocean of War and Nature, The Samples were a band that always remained true and held to their overly-simplistic formula of straight-ahead, pop-infused dreams of being rock stars.  While the core group of these members were totally disbanded by around ’97 or ’98 (with Kelly continuing on with others under The Samples moniker until 2008), I heard and learned all I needed to in a short four or five year span. And while I will always have those memories tucked into the back of my brain where no social media can replace them, it is important to embrace the new technology and see what else you can still learn about your favorite bands all these years later.

So, I leave you with a quick story and a perfect set of bookends involving The Samples and the two points I have been trying to make about the mid-’90s and the technology heavy nowadays.  The first is a picture of me actually on stage with The Samples during my 5th day of college at Fairfield University in September of 1998, as the band often invited fans up with them (yes, most of the times they were women, but I mean, look at that hair I had! It definitely met the length requirement).  My roommate came in the second day of school and said, “Hey Bavo, The Samples are playing Friday afternoon outside the Campus Center.”  I basically flipped. That Friday, the band hit the stage at 4:20PM, and when we got to the top of the hill, turned the corner and heard the opening notes of My Town bellow out through the PA, on my new college campus and home for the next four years, my friends said I immediately gyrated in a way they have never seen, and seemingly drifted into my own world for the next, few hours.

The second is a video from the Mile High Music Festival this past August, in which the original five members of The Samples appeared on stage for the first time in almost twenty years.  So, remember, the next time you get mad at your computer for being a tad slow, that it took The Samples nearly 20 years to reunite this year and that it took the person who snapped this photo of me over a month to track me down to simply hand it to me, instead of simply uploading it to Facebook from your iPhone nowadays.  Just another reminder of how much things change in the blink of an eye, but always remain the same in our minds and hearts.

[Photo by Brian Bavosa]