Sean Kelly Deep In the Heart of America

Originally from New England, Sean Kelly has been the principal songwriter and frontman for the Samples since the band first gained attention in the late eighties in Boulder, Colorado. The group’s name derives from when its members would attempt to nourish themselves by eating the free food offerings at local supermarkets.  The Samples recently released a CD titled America, which was named the “Best comeback album of 2015” by Denver’s Westword. America  features inspired writing by Kelly and is as refreshingly compelling as much of the band’s well-acclaimed earlier work. Kelly talks about what it’s like to still be steering the Samples bus and how his drive to keep playing music remains as strong as ever. The band returns to one of its favorite Denver venues, Herman’s Hideway, for a show this Saturday, June 13, at 10 p.m. 

TipJar: Hi Sean, let’s go back in time just a bit. The roots of the Samples date back to when you were living in Burlington, Vermont, in the ’80s. Can you share a little bit about that time period?

Sean Kelly: I was living in Burlington and working construction. When I was at work I used to see this guy walk by all the time. I could kind of tell that he was a musician. One night I was playing at one of the open mics I used to frequent and in walks this guy. It was Charles Hambleton, who was a student at the University of Vermont at that time. We met, clicked and started playing together. One day during a really cold and overcast winter day in Burlington we called Charles’s brother, James, who was living in Boulder. He was like “hey guys I’m grilling on my deck right now in shorts and a T-shirt. It’s 70 degrees and sunny here.” That did it for me. Two weeks later Charles and I were living in Boulder. The Samples took off from there.

(Sean Kelly, left, and Charles Hambleton, right. Boulder, CO. 1987)

What was the first song that got the band noticed?

Well, it was a combination of songs from our first album. Songs like “Waited Up” and “Nature.” Ironically, that album could be released today and it would be completely relevant.

TipJar: How would you describe the sound of the Samples at present?

Sean Kelly: That’s difficult. Our latest album, America, includes blues, reggae, folk, country and other styles. It’s not so much about a sound. It’s more of a concept. I was watching a Saturday Night Live documentary on TV and it made me think that the Samples is kind of like SNL. There have been some good and not-so-good years as well as changing casts. I’ve been the person guiding it, but the sound reflects a whole package of time and people. Our latest sound is a little different. Every tune is strong on its own and tries to be true to the genre from which it borrows.

Your voice often gets compared to Sting’s, although I hear some Neil Young influence on “Fukushima” the opening track on America. Are you a fan of Sting?

(left to right: Al Laughlin, Sean Kelly, Jeep MacNichol, Gordon Sumner aka “Sting,” Andy Sheldon)

I’m definitely a fan of Sting and I’ve actually had the opportunity to hang out with him a few times. I once told him that people compared my voice to his and he got a laugh out of it. And yeah I love Neil Young. “Fukushima” is a total Neil rip off (laughs). It was the quickest song I’ve ever written. I think I wrote it in 10 or 15 minutes. It flowed right out of me. I definitely got a good Neil-like electric tone on the tune. I was just messing around with my amp and I dialed in a tone that sounded right to my ears.

There’s a nice eclectic collection of songs on your latest release America? When did you write these tunes?

The majority were written in April of 2013. “Dandelion,” “America,” and “Wall Street Blues” had already been released on a demo CD. Richie Furay [of Buffalo Springfield and Poco fame] sings on three songs: “Boulder,” “And I Dreamed” and “Mysterious Times.” It was a pleasure to work with him. He’s a pastor at a church in Broomfield, Colorado. I reached out on Facebook and drove over to his church one day to meet him. He is such a great guy. I asked him to add some backing vocals on a few tracks and he obliged. I can’t say enough about him.

(Sean & Richie Furay in front of Violet Recording Studios in Boulder)

The song “Arielle” was written in memory of the late music promoter Barry Fey’s granddaughter, Arielle, who passed away in May of 2013. I wrote it for her. Barry’s son Geoff, befriended me a few years ago. During the period when we got to know each other Geoff lost his father and then two months later his daughter. I wanted to put that song on the disc. It was the last of the tunes I wrote. I played it at her funeral. I felt moved to write something. I wanted to write a song to memorialize the painful summer that he experienced.

Have you been playing a lot of the material from America ?

We’ve been playing some of it, and we plan to start playing more of the songs that we didn’t get to last year. It was a tough album to make but it came out really well. We put a lot into it and it’s time we get it all out there in our live performances. All the current members of the Samples (Will James, Scott Seel-Davies, Trevor Huster and Randy Heatherington), recorded on the release.

Does it ever feel lonely to be the only original member of the band still on board?

It’s part of the process. My expiration date didn’t end when everybody else’s did. I don’t like to define the Samples just by the early years. It’s like going into a dark room stuffed full of cool stuff, with only a flashlight. You only get to see what’s in the flashlight’s beam when what you really need to see is the whole room. At the beginning we had all the lights on. That was a big time for us and the band tends to to be stamped by that period. But lots of fans have followed us right on through. And new people are coming on board all the time. My songs aren’t stuck in any one time period. We have a song on the soundtrack of the film Perks of Being a Wallflower called “Could It be Another Change.” I wrote the tune when I was 17 and it made it on to our very first album. And then it made it onto the movie soundtrack just a few years ago. It’s just a crack of light in that Samples room. I hope that kids who like that song based on the movie soundtrack take the time to explore the whole room. I’ve constantly trying to find ways to get more people in that room, with all of the light on. We get new cracks in the light and some new kids in the room. The Samples is a gold mine. To watch new kids getting off reassures me that I’ve done the right thing. I’m certainly not what I was when I went in, but things come and go and change and turn and I have a direct tie to the original vibe.

I see you are playing at Herman’s in Denver this weekend. Isn’t that one of your favorite small venues?

Yeah, not only is it a classic club where we’ve played a lot of great shows over the years, but it’s also great place to learn new songs. It’s real wooden in there which absorbs the sound in a nice way. It’s a comfortable spot for us.

I’ve heard you throw out some interesting covers from time to time, such as Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale and the Grateful Dead Mountains of the Moon. How do you decide what covers to do?

It’s real random. I’ll hear a song somewhere and say hey that would be a great song to cover. I pretty much do it on the fly. We don’t rehearse it, but we sound tight because we play live a lot. I’ll throw something out there and then we dial it in as we go.

Have you ever tried to identify your influences?

I started out listening to the Beatles and then everything I listened to after that has influenced me in one way or another. I’ve always favored musicians like Crosby, Stills and Nash, who can go from real quiet wooden music to real rocking electric stuff. I love that an artist can have such contrast.

Where does the reggae and ska influence that can be heard in your music come from?

Interestingly, it’s not from me. I did play some reggae oriented stuff in a few bands I was in leading up to the Samples. I used to cover some Bob Marley and Burning Spear songs when I was playing in Vermont. But the reggae influence amplified when we brought on our drummer Jeep and also from our original keyboardist Al Laughlin.

Do you still have that black strat-style guitar with the AAA sticker on it that you played in the Samples?

Ha. No. That was actually a Casio guitar. I have another version of it that looks a lot like it. Those Casios are really cool guitars that have some fairly sophisticated onboard electronics.

What’s your favorite venue overall in the Denver area?

Red Rocks! The history of it is incredible. Check out the museum there. The place hasn’t changed that much from before it was a performance venue and it comes with this amazing geological history. There’s a feeling that you can’t get anywhere. They have been very good about working around the natural setting. My memories of all the shows I’ve seen there are amazing. I remember sneaking into the venue in someone’s trunk to see the Grateful Dead in the ’80s. I heard them play “Terrapin Station” from on top of the hill behind the venue, with the moon rising over Denver.

Are you working on any projects right now? I heard a rumor that you might do an album featuring songs by every member of the original Samples?

Yes, I wanted to do that, but not all of the original members can fit it in right now. And it’s something where it has to be everybody or we won’t do it. It was an idea just for the coolness of it. I’m not sure it’ll happen. It’s on hold. I’m in the middle of about five different things I’d like to do.

I think I saw mention of a possible solo album by you?

Yeah I’ve thought about that, but I generally won’t record unless I have a recording date set. If someone sets up a recording session I’ll write songs in preparation for it. But I kind of need a planned event to motivate me. I’m always writing and working on songs though.

And are you having fun with your current lineup of players and do you still enjoy performing all the time?

O yeah. I love it. it’s always great. We play about a show per week. I’d like to play a little more. People go to work and get a sense of self esteem and purpose. I work at home, so I need more. I’d love to do more acoustic shows during the week. I like to keep my fingers calloused. I love the feedback from being out and about. I really love playing. The guys in the band are always asking when are we playing next?! We want to get out there as much as possible.

Your wife, Kari, gave birth to your baby girl, Olivia, almost exactly one year ago. How has that changed your life?

Oh man, I’m getting new wrinkles on my face from smiling. I’ve never smiled so much in my life. I didn’t know it was possible. I’m just in awe of the whole deal. I love being a father. I’ll be honest, it’s a challenge sometimes, but we have a blast raising this child.

I know you’re a big ornithologist. How’s the birding been going?

It’s going pretty well. I do it more from my car window these days, but I just saw something I’d never seen before which is a red-tailed hawk perching on an electrical wire. You don’t see that a lot. They’ll perch on top of a telephone pole but they don’t tend to do wires because they’re really big birds and the wires are tough to balance on.

Who are some of your favorite new artists?

I don’t know as many as I should, but I like Highway 50, which is a band that my friend James Hambleton is in. The band also happens to be led by my buddy Al Laughlin, who was the original keyboardist for the Samples. James Hambleton, and his brother Charles (an original member of the Samples) were the reason I moved to Boulder. I also like the band Shel from Fort Collins. They contributed a little on our new album. I think they’re going to be big.

When is the last time you got together with the original members of the Samples?

This past December [December 12, 2014]. We reunited for a show at the Fillmore in Denver to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our first release, “The Blue Album.” It was a fantastic event. The Samples community turned out in spades for what was an amazing evening of music and memories.

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