Frank's Big Ear

Betty White

2010-08-30T19:06:00.007-05:00

Before we get started, obviously Betty White was the best dressed at the Emmy's last night. Am I right, or am I right?

I hope everyone is having/had a great summer! Busy as could be here, seems like everyone has been though. The Sammies have been hanging, and actually have a couple shows coming up in the Charlotte area. Check us out at:

The Visulite
w/ Band of Heathens
Sept 19th
-We open this one I think, so come early.

Snug Harbor
w/ North Elementary
Oct 15th

The Money
w/ ?
Oct 16th
- Come on down to Rock Hill, I mean, it's in SC so...

Good jams:

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
Wavves - King of the Beach (1st one, not so good, this one is)

Locally, pick up Jon Lindsey, Transmission Fields, Houstons.

Oh, and go drink an Olde Meck Beer somewhere dammit!

"The Sammies, best thing outta NC since tobacco!"

Spring Fever vs. Yellow Fever

2010-04-13T16:48:00.005-05:00

Never had Yellow Fever but my vote is for Spring Fever. The flowers are gorgeous, and the sneezing is just a form of detox.

Listening to "Japanese Cowboy" by Ween right now, just saw them Friday night in Asheville. I saw them back in the day, on the Mollusk tour, at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte. Man, those were the days, in hot-ass Tremont, watching some of my favorite bands, you could get up close, or hang back and enjoy. Ween, Blur, Of Montreal with MGMT opening, all at Tremont, saw it with my own eyes...I'm rambling, but the point is GET OUT & SEE BANDS! You never know when the next MGMT may be opening for some band at your little, un-airconditioned, dingy rock club down the street. Or, if you prefer, wait until they get big, have a song you can sing, and then go see them at some fucking Live Nation venue that screws you from the parking down to the water. I never paid to park at Tremont.

Back to the blog at hand; I know I wrote a couple of posts since the last one you see. I probably deleted them, just as I have lots of Sammies demos I think suck. Who knows, not a big deal, just means I have some writing to make up for. No worries, I will break it up into segments.

Shows are few and far between now-a-days. Only one coming up, and that's June 18th @ Visulite Theater. Our home venue! As of right this minute, we may not even play any songs off of the two current albums. I don't know what we'll play, or who may show up to play it all. The members of the Sammies will be there, along with some buddies in The Moderate, but new things are happening, and I don't want to pigeon hole us, and I don't want to disappoint, so it will be awesome, but different.

Enough for now, go see local shows! Don Yale saw the Avett's play during a UNCC ticket camp-out, I saw them at Manifest Disc and Tapes with a handful of others, and then about 5 years later saw them on a sold out New Years at Blumenthal. Oh, and Dr. Dog played our Athens, GA CD release show with the Whigs years ago, at Tasty World, and it might have cost $5. I have the poster to prove it.

We're backkkkkkk

2009-11-04T17:46:00.005-06:00

After a brief hiatus with the blog, we're back and better than ever! I hope you enjoy the nice, new font.

Been having a bright, Carolina summer. I personally spent the better part of July in the Wilmington area with a good friend, attended some nice weddings, went to Vegas, the Outer Banks, Cleveland, and lots of places in between. The other fellows have been enjoying the sun too. Most of the past several years have been spent on the road every chance we could get, so having time off felt weird, but still cool in it's own way. Flying free man.

We don't have many shows coming up; Elon this Friday, Columbia first of next year, Charlotte before too long, maybe a surprise show at "the other Mexican restaurant" in Wadesboro, flying free there too I guess. We did play at the old Durham Bulls park in Durham. Totally renovated, looking good, such a classic venue...not for music really, but we added that element.

So, not much else to discuss right now, but I can mention two things:

1). While we are chilling, please check out two bands we could not stand behind more, Shine River and the Spalding Grays. The first being old guitarist Mr. Upshaw's band, and the latter Mr. Thunderbird's new outfit. I know the Grays play the Shuffle party, early, on the 13th I think, not this weekend but the next, in Charlotte, check it out. Send em a message, and spit beer on them for encouragement at shows.

2). Other good music, random, no order:

- Julian Casablancas "11th Dimension," album preview seemed weak, that song is a hit

- The Soft Pack "Fences" (Phoenix cover), if you don't have the new Phoenix album get it, and if you do, check this cover, well done b/c they make it their own.

- New bands Girls, Javelin, Neon Indian, and Washed Out all have some good tunes, check those. Last three are electronicish, the first rock.

- The Avett Brothers new album is a big deal, especially around here, no review here, but do check out "Laundry Room." If you like it, keep going.

- Empire of the Sun, I say highest rated, album not so tight overall, but some killer songs, they pull you in.

Enjoy the Fall!

Fish-sticks

2009-04-10T14:41:00.005-05:00

This is an old post, never "posted" because I probably intended to write more, add pics, links, who knows. It is old as heck too, but read, and if you were at one of the shows you'll know how old this baby really is. Continuing on...

OK, so the fish-sticks joke isn’t funny written. Funny as a mother fucker said though! Ask the next gentleman you see if he likes fish-sticks, please.

We just got back from one heck of a weekend swing! We started it off with a bang in Charlotte at the Visulite last Thursday. If you’ve read the other posts you’d know we were reuniting with our cohorts, The Whigs. A band I have talked to online before, never in person until that night, also played, The Hymns. Two of the guys grew up in Harrisburg, they have since moved to NYC, but remain cool like they were from around here still. They played a great set and we look forward to meeting up with them again soon.

All of my pedals have been cursed lately (make that pedals, cords, and automobiles). I freaking hate all of those pedals anyway. I mean, the cool guitar players who have the awesome sounds generally have multiple pedals and setups. They just frustrate me, always breaking it seems, and then there goes the fun straight out the window. Take the fun out of this and what’s left? It sure as hell isn’t money! So, I ditched the pedals, ditched the heavy amp, and went with the old Fender Jr. Pro. Guitar to tuner to amp, nothing else; how can you screw that up?

(Plug the amp where the guitar should go and guitar where amp should be).

OK, so we take the stage in my somewhat naked state and it feels good, like rock should man. I like being exposed with no distortion or reverb to bail me out. Yeah, I probably scuffed a note or two, big damn deal. Sometimes you get so pinned up in the business side of things you forget how to forget, and just go with the flow. I had a good friend remind me.

The Whigs were up next and they keep getting better. Parker has learned how to channel the crowd, Tim owns his side of the stage, and Julian is the wizard behind it all. Bobby Freedom jumped up to dual the solo in “Half the World Away” with Tim Dr. Dog style; what a fun Thursday night it was!

Friday the Whigs made the long trek to Nashville to play with fellow buds Wax Fang; and Charlotte to Nashville is in fact quite a trek. The Sammies went up 85 a piece to Elon. We have never played Elon so we were intrigued to be playing somewhere new. The guys at 89.3 (The Bacon) were super nice and we told stories and I played an acoustic version of “Trainwreck.” We went to The Lighthouse and found out we were playing with I Was Totally Destroying It, a band I had wanted to see for some time. They were awesome and owned it! Favorite new local band for sure. We’ll be back at The Lighthouse 4/24.

Saturday, we packed up the ride, this time with birthday friend Big Chris. I guess he was our merch guy, but he got a wee bit drunk (it was his birthday) and ended up being the good time Charlie instead. I think the whole band was drunk honestly, except for Freedom. We played first, so getting ripped and watching The Whigs was on the docket for some time.

When we came out about 10:00pm the 40 Watt was already slammed. Tickets had been sold out all day. Balls out, we went up there and rocked. No fish-sticks for the Sammies that night for sure. We always get a great response from the Athens crowd, and we love playing there, thanks to all! After we played we got to hang out. Did I mention we got drunk? Phone tag:Parker getting his gill on

Anyway, it was so awesome, I ran into old Athens friends, former Whig, Hanktronics (later in the night, after emerging from backstage, Hank played bass on “Can you Hear me Coming” for you old schooler's), Josh Rifkind, Beretta, Modern Telescopes, I mean everyone.

It was a busy, encompassing night, and we finally got back to The Whigs house at 4am. We ended the night watching this old program that seemed like a radio show but videotaped. I recall Roger Moore playing a big role; and my favorite line of the night was, “We’re highly informal and the higher we get the more informal we are.”

We’re blessed to have such good friends!

Yello

2009-03-17T15:44:00.001-05:00

I don’t even have anything in particular I want to talk about, just decided to update. I really do long for the time to write; maybe I would write everyday like good writers say you should. I long for time to do lots of things, a vacation, to clean out my closet, plant some grass, beat a couple of video games, finish reading several books I started, oh, and see some people I haven’t seen in forever, that would be nice.

I do find the time for things I deem important though, come to think of it. I got my taxes done, important because of the IRS; I managed to make it to the Dr. Dog show, important because I like Dr. Dog and we played with them back in the day; I don’t have many weeds growing in my Animal Farm town, important because it’s an addiction that doesn’t harm me; I let the real dog (canine) out at lunch, important so she doesn’t pee on the floor and so she is well taken care of; lots of things I guess.

We don’t have many shows coming up, so maybe I can get around to all of these things I speak of. The shows approaching are 4/2, 4/3, 4/4. The first one is at our stomping grounds, the Visulite in Charlotte. Best buds the Whigs headline, and former Charlotteans, The Hymns open. We’re sandwiched in between (ba-doom-tat). The Friday show is up I85 a piece to Elon, and a new/old venue The Lighthouse. It’ll be our first time playing at Elon believe it or not. Finally, Saturday we meet back up with the Whigs at their stomping grounds, the 40 Watt in Athens. We LOVE that venue and I’m sure it will be one hell of a night. We start the evening off, Dark Meat follows, Whigs headline…

…besides that, just a couple of benefits, one in Charlotte, and one in Atlanta. In ATL our buddy Josh Rifkind (also Whigs MGR) is going through the painstaking task of another 500 Songs for Kids. Our song is a secret, but please come support this event any night you can, Smith’s Olde Bar. The whole thing lasts a little over a week and the money goes to a great cause. In Charlotte we’re playing the annual Fool’s Brigade for the first time. This show will benefit Jacob’s Ladder and includes every musician I know in Charlotte! Bruce Hazel is putting it on again this year, and we appreciate him involving us. Rolling Stones covers all night, and I’ve seen the list, no moss will be gathered. The songs are secrets for this one too, but name 5 songs you would want to hear and I bet at least 4 are played. Show at the Neighborhood Theater.

Cool update, our colleague Billy Bennett is working with MGMT on their new album. Billy helped us record our last one and is a true talent. I know they will knock it out of the park!

I haven’t had a music update in a while, and I plan to do that shortly. I have gotten lots of new stuff, and for a change, some of it is freaking really good. Check out A Place to Bury Strangers; NYC band, about to be touring Europe with friends, and Athenians, Dead Confederate. For fans of BRMC, Joy Division, Jesus & Mary Chain, etc.

Big City Life

2009-01-02T08:35:00.035-06:00

A great man once said, “To be continued,” and that brings me to our upcoming trip back to NYC. But first, we must go back to October 22nd, when a van (we took a van last time, truck and trailer this go round) slap full of sexy beasts emerged from the Appalachian Mountains in Williamsburg Brooklyn. We have done the CMJ thing before, several times, and honestly had no intentions of going back. SXSW is a damn hoot, but CMJ is a bit much; too many bands in one very small area, you can’t get around easily, it costs a small fortune unless you care to stay in Newark, the shows don’t pay well, if at all, been there, done that. Well, Brooklyn Vegan got in touch with us through our PR people, and asked if we would come play their showcase for CMJ at Music Hall of Williamsburg. A. Brooklyn Vegan is a great blog and they have a taste in music more akin to our own, B. Music Hall of Williamsburg is a fantastic venue and that whole conglomerate of clubs treats bands well, C. It’s not in Manhattan , so it’s not quite the mess other places are, and D. The other bands on the bill were “buzzworthy.”

When we showed up for sound check, which we never got (big bill, no ones fault really, and we were the least in need due to setup), it was obvious that the Sammies would be the odd men out on the bill. The first guy we met was Thor, the drummer/percussionist/clarinet/etc guy from Shearwater, that night’s secret guest.

He couldn’t have been nicer and when we mentioned that they were the “secret” band he said, “Well, I’ve known about it for weeks.” Anyway, I was tempted to run get us all scarves or something, so we didn’t stick out, but I figured our accents would give us away before long, what’s the use. Besides the fact we looked different, I soon found out rock and roll was music of yesteryear to folks in Williamsburg. The first band, Emmy the Great, was female fronted, acoustic for the most part, and had a song about abortion. I mention that b/c we were next.

We only had 30 minutes, never played The Music Hall before, so, that left us no choice but to play a strict, balls-to-the-wall, rock and roll, in the face set. Plus, if we were going to stand out, we really wanted to stand out! Success:

The Sammies came up next and they were the most WTF choice on the bill (at least that's what I gathered from the look people gave me whenever I brought them up). To quote Bill (who hasn't listened to their new album) (like I have many times), "they were fun and unpretentious and offered a constant stream of photo-ops". Brooklyn Vegan

- Thanks BV for having us and rocking out the album!

“…even at their best moments they were just a warmed over homage to Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and generic Southern rock (see the song "Treat Her Like a Queen" on their MySpace). Idolator

- Although phrased as a “stone-cold bust” I really appreciate this review. Please compare us to those bands any day of the week.

The first band I caught was The Sammies, a down home rock ‘n’ roll party band that reminded me of swilling beer at bonfire parties. The guys were talented, too. And with lyrics referencing taking your clothes off and running in the rain, how could they not be fun to listen to? The band is from North Carolina and made mention of it more than once. “In case you weren’t aware we’re the rock portion of the night,” said the lead singer and guitarist. Indeed. NYCPress

- Indeed!

I've written about Emmy already, so straight to the North Carolina's The Sammies who were odd men out on the bill. They reminded me a lot of stuff I used to play when I was a college radio DJ, the many bands who formed in R.E.M.'s wake. (In fact, their new album was recorded at Mitch Easter's studio, he the man who produced Murmer and Reckoning.) The Sammies don't aspire to be anything more than fun, riff-heavy rock n' roll and in that they succeed. An image makeover could help their rep a bit but it might also make them seem like phonies. I say stay just the way you are. Soundbites

- Would you drink fake beer; then why listen to fake rock and rollers?

The next band began to set up, and I spotted cowboy boots and a guitarist noodling a blues riff during the quick soundcheck. This could be good or bad. The Sammies are from Charlotte, North Carolina, with their drummer explaining, "That’s why I sound like this" (referring to his Southern twang). Some middle-aged men waved wildly to my left and I realized that this band of boys had some dads in the house. Aww. The Sammies launched into a set reminiscent of The Black Lips’ chaos and The Drive-By Truckers’ exuberance, and I’m not surprised when I find these two bands on their MySpace Top 8 later that evening. The bassist owned this band, driving them along at a boot-stomping clip, and the drummer screamed to his heart’s content when he managed to get near his mic. The Sammies urged the crowd to "do a social," and they obliged, but the house largely did the standing-still for the set. Too jaded on rock ‘n’ roll bravado? It’s possible. The Sammies aren’t exactly doing anything new, but for a pack of guys who look like they should still be in a basement somewhere, their chops are disproportionately polished. Sandwich, their second album, is out now on Morisen Records. Tinymixtapes

- True, Gastonia would put their asses to shame, but they paid $15 to stand still so be it.

Favorite set was by the band from North Cakalacki, The Sammies. This band has some really catchy rock tunes and a live set that one just has to see. A few of my pics are below and the rest are on my flickr. Freshbread

- And I fucking love good, freshly baked bread!

Next up was The Sammies, a rock band from North Carolina that reminded us a lot of the Strokes circa 2001 –unpretentious and fun. Except with Southern accents and facial hair. Despite their occasional tendencies to veer toward country jam-band territory, they probably

would have been way buzzworthy half a decade ago. Sothisiswhatthevolumeknobisfor

- Strokes? I still don’t get that reference. Someone please help me out.

We did arrive in time to see The Sammies begin playing. They seemed set on letting everyone that they were a rock band by saying things like “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re the rock band on tonight’s lineup.” Enlightening, truly. Subterranean blog

- I guess we stated the obvious that night.

(Apologies to the Sammies, who played in between Emmy the Great and Shearwater. I missed their set due to a severe wave of jet lag, thanks to coming back from Iceland Airwaves a little over 24 hours previous.) pitchfork

- No worries, we’ll play many more shows. We appreciate the honesty and the past reviews. Getting around NYC is a bitch even when 100’s of bands aren’t playing all over the damn place.

OK, so that was just a taste of the blogs I found with a quick Google search. So crazy! You play one “tastemaker” show and viola. But, I must say, if you live in Williamsburg Brooklyn you either play in a band, write a blog, or are a Hassidic Jew; and possibly a combination of them all.

Alright, continuing on with the night’s billing. After our brief set Shearwater took the stage. I think they are really talented, and so do many others, just look at the “best of” lists, but after our set it was a bit of a sleepy transition. So spot on though, minus the fact you could hear a pin drop, and did a couple of times, if you like chiller music I highly suggest them, check out "rooks."

Batting next was another “best of” band, Ponytail. Don Yale said they were very entertaining to watch, female fronted, and she screams kind of the whole time, but still fun to watch. I downloaded their hit, "Celebrate the Body Electric," and it sounds good, is somewhat catchy, but at 7 minutes, doesn’t make the iPod cut, because when you shuffle you don’t want to run across that. They should remix to 3 minutes and it would be a damn awesome song!

Fighting out of the blue corner (aka next) was Passion Pit. This is one of the bands I could get down on. Their hit, "Sleepyhead," is a great electronic song. Supposedly penned as a Valentine’s Day gift for the front guy’s girlfriend, the EP fell into others hands and then became desired. I would go see them again.

First runner up happened to be who I was most excited to see, Jens Lekman, but billed as, the Singing DJ Jens Lekman.

Read the bigger blogs, he sucked! He has a great, very interesting sounding LP, but when your highlight is spinning Mariah Carey you're jacked up as hell! Maybe he's bored with himself already, such an artist in some respects, then where's the next album? Wait, that was not cool, I used to be a closet musician, and it may have been the best creative times of my life, but music is to be shared...Jens will come through, and it may be some of the best music you never hear.

Finally, last but not least, The Phenomenal Handclap Band. Fronted by two NYC DJ’s, and accompanied by a host of other area musician’s from, but not limited to, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Calla, TV on the Radio, Mooney Suzuki, and others. I feel bad for sound guys sometimes, especially with such an ambitious bill, but kudos to them for reeling it all in.

It was a long night, and a long drive back to Charlotte, but where are you going to park a van full of equipment, safely, in the city? Exactly, that’s why we always head back, or to the next show.

Brooklyn Vegan was beyond fucking awesome for having us, and everyone we saw and met there couldn’t have been nicer. Thanks again! Funny enough, I’m listening to Brooklyn Vegan’s show on SIRIXMU channel 43; XM/Sirius Radio merged and now the stations are all listed different. This blog is posted late b/c I wanted to include some cool links and pics, then the holidays hit, so here we are, crap, or do I mean carp! Hope to have another post soon!

Be excellent to each other!

East Coast Playas~

2008-11-04T17:00:00.027-06:00

When we last spoke I had just undone my pants, shirt was already off (I never wear shirts), and what seemed to be a long night ahead...shit, wait, that's my other blog-------

The grass is tall, leaves all over the damn yard, the house is a mess, so that can only mean one thing, no, my yard help didn't quit, the Sammies have been from Florida to NYC playing shows. We played Atlanta and Birmingham twice, once in the same night, I had a birthday, Freedom had a birthday, saw lots of good shows, heard lots of good bands, saw lots of nasty bathrooms; it was a trip.

We played Joe College Day at Duke University.

That's us with the headliner Swayze And Cisco Adler. Cisco's Dad was the heat though!

Lots of other good bands too, here's White Rabbits.

We actually played another show at Duke a couple of weeks ago (the timeline is out of order here, but so am I, daylight savings screwed me up), it was Freedom's birthday, so dual purpose party you know?

Freedom's sister made him a cake, pic of cake is somewhere, don't know where, but here is Freedom's lil sis.

Never have played Atlantis in ATL but the kind people at SE Performer invited us to rock their showcase,

...and although we had a show in Birmingham that same night, you gain an hour driving so we played at Star Bar in ATL, packed up, and high-tailed it to B-Ham for a late night at the Nick (the staples in the wall hold the place up, but we love it)!

Got there about midnight, loaded in, cranked it up, and watched the sun come up.

Time to gather some energy...

A few weeks later we went back out. Back to ATL to play at Vinyl with our news friends Hightide Blues. The opener was really good too and surprised us all.

We left ATL that night b/c we had to be in B-Ham at 7:00am to be on Good Day Alabama. We played on the roof and the morning was gorgeous.

The station sits on the tallest hill in Birmingham and gave you a great view of the city.

It kinda made me want to make out.

On we go! OK, we happened upon this band called Casper & the Cookies. We met them originally at the SE Performer showcase, but come to find out were playing with them in B-Ham. It was a great bill, Dressy Bessy, us, and Casper! I only have one pic of that show, and it is Casper, probably b/c we were all drunk by the time Dressy Bessy went on, but they were super nice, and the guitarist was in Apples in Stereo, who we dig. Elephant 6 stand strong!!!

Our next stop was to play with an old friend and his band Deadly Fists of Kung-Fu in Pensacola.

We take the worst pics, we went by lots of cool shit, like the dolphin sign pointing to the beaches of Pensacola. Sorry for the lack of pics, but we're getting better. If the Foo Fighters would hurry up and put us on the road with them we could hone our craft a little more, we just need practice. Or, write your new Congressman and tell him to give the Sammies a grant! We're honest, upstanding, young gentlemen:)

One Step Ahead of the Law:

2008-10-02T18:09:00.021-05:00

"The Sammies blog sucks, they never update it."

No, we've just been doing other things. To be hanging around our home turf for a hot minute we sure are busy. So, I will shove lots of things in this episode. Plus, I was looking for all of these cool pics we don't have, I apologize in advance.

Thursday (8/21) we did the Epicenter after 5 show. It is the first time we have ever played two hours straight (approaching Springsteen territory)! It went by like that, and we had more songs believe it or not. It shocks the hell out me how many people show up there to drink $5 Bud Light! Must have been the kick ass band playing:) The Epicenter is cool though, because, when you are with a group of people, and debating what to do, where to go, the Epicenter has something for everyone. If Whisky River sucks, go to Suite, hungry, go to Black Fin, it's all right there.

Friday (8/22) we trekked it to Raleigh and hung out with the guys from WKNC. We played Billy Mitchell acoustic, also a first, and just shot the shit. DJ Stevo has always been a friend, and did a terrific rendition of the Mario theme before one of our shows about a year ago. Then Saturday (8/23) we had a show at The Pour House in Raleigh. Raleigh had their own downtown festival going on so it was crazy! We appreciate everyone coming out, and also appreciate Mad Tea Party for playing with us.

They were fun as hell, and kept the music going way into the night. I had no idea Raleigh had that many people, much less that many who could get "tore out the damn frame." That means drunk as hell in case you were wondering. No kidding, we sound checked, some drunk guy had wandered in the bar, he watched all of sound check, digging the tunes it seemed, we got done, and he came up to me and asked "who is playing tonight?" I said, "Well, we are, the Sammies," and he was floored. How dare we send ourselves to sound check, where were our minions, why can't the instruments play themselves? This guy was just one of thousands of snookered Ra-layians that day, who came out in full force to see…Puddle of Mudd?

Speaking of, we needed some stuff for the show, so we swung by Harry's Guitar shop in Raleigh. I grabbed some really dumb stuff you hate buying; strings, a strap, Conrad got a new speaker cord, nothing fun at all. When I approached the counter a guy sitting behind it asks," You playing tonight?" I said, "Yes!," feeling pretty good that I was recognized in a decent environment, he said, "Puddle of Mudd right?" What a damn let down:( Not only am I now confused b/c I have no idea how I resemble any of those dudes, but do we look like a shitty, redneck band when we walk around town? Do I need new threads? Please send me some clothes to:

3006 Swan Quarter Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28262

Shit, I haven't even mentioned our CD release party the other night!

That was awesome, and our hometown of Wadesboro really represented well. Our former guitarist Murphy Upshaw and his new band Souldozer opened up, along with our former neighbors in college The Broken Strings. Both bands started the night off on the right foot! We were so pumped to be playing in Charlotte again, and to finally have our new CD available we could barely contain ourselves.

We grew moustaches on the spot,

decorated quite well, and had piñata's hung for in between sets. Little did everyone know, but should have thought, we stuffed those piñata's ourselves. When the first one bust, people went diving all over the floor. Sure, there was real money, a fair amount I might add, there were glow sticks, other knick-knacks, but there were also coupons for $1 off merch, coupons in the form of male playing cards; nude male playing cards. A bit of shock fell over the crowd, that quickly turned to laughter. You've gotta keep people on their feet, do the exact opposite of what you should do, it keeps it interesting. The rest of the night went well, and we had a blast, and again, we really appreciate those who came out and grabbed a CD! Next Charlotte show is Nov. 13th with The Spinto Band (see previous blog regarding Spinto!).

The Sammies made their yearly trip to Macon, GA on 9/6. We went back to Dwayne and Berry's gravesite, which had been redone and made up quite nice. The added fence will keep idiots from tearing up their resting place, but also is done so well it really adds to the experience. It rains every time we go there, a little creepy, but also inspiring since we have taken so much from the Allmans. If you haven't watched the DVD on Tom Dowd (producer, helped find the Brothers) you are missing out. I wish Tom Dowd was still in his prime, b/c I'd love a chance to work with such a musical man. Anyway, we had a good show at The Hummingbird and hope to be back sooner than later. Thanks Vic and Adam.

Last Saturday, 9/13, we made the trip to the coast, and port city of Wilmington. We have played the Soapbox ever since we were a baby band, and they have always been kind. North Elementary opened, we appreciate those guys, and the night went well, dancing and all to boot! We met some cool people we hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before, so we thank you all for coming out. The foosball games got a little intense, and my skills have wavered a bit since college, but we pulled through. Always nice to finish the night off with a Clearly Canadian, and the breeze off of the Cape Fear River…ahhhhhhh.

Davidson College, see your ass on Friday night, Stephan Curry is awesome! Double duty Saturday; ATL and Atlantis you're up to bat first, then we pack up and head to Birmingham for the late night slot. Sunday, the Panther's will kick the Viking's butt 23-10, and I will go 3-0 in fantasy football, due in part to former NC State QB Phillip Rivers.

Don't forget to grab our album on Sept 23rd! Available for download at your favorite music download site, I like iTunes. Email me (frank@the-sammies.com)
if you prefer the physical album. Take care, and do something nice for yourself today, OK?

"Ville's"

2008-08-03T14:20:00.009-05:00

It was the first show of many around the Southeast and we were pumped! Also, we hadn't played Knoxville in a while, although not yet SEC football season, it's still a great town. The show was sponsored by The Fun House 90.7, we had a nice little write up in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, things seemed in place; until one exit from the venue (Barley's). All of the sudden, our truck began to shake, it was ill, horns were honking, due to construction the interstate was down to one lane, we were going 20 mph, and struggling to do that. Finally we found a spot to get over somewhat safely and inspect the truck.

We all happen to be pretty handy around cars, but we couldn't find anything wrong! We called Barley's and Robbie and Rodney managed to come get the trailer and equipment, and save the day basically. We let things cool down, no longer did we have to pull the trailer, so we started the truck and tried to make it to our destination. Big Red made it, slowly, but surely! Here is proof by our gleefulness in the parking lot:

We had a great time and appreciate Barley's having us back and helping us through, we also appreciate The Leningrad's for opening up and being so hospitable. The truck was fixed by 11am, it was a knock sensor gone bad (Knoxville/knock sensor), so we were glad it was not a fatal injury.

We also played in another "ville" in the Appalachian area, Asheville. We love the Grey Eagle and were excited about being back. The food is great, good beer selection, sounds awesome, and it's in Asheville. Everyone there was nice as could be, and The Broomstars and The Steves started the night out on the right foot. So tired and with a benefit show for The Victory Junction Gang the next day we headed back down the mountain to eventually find our beds. Here are some sleepy pics:

Washington DC (Black Cat) and Charlotte (Visulite), see you next week!!!

We'll have new CD's at both shows!!!

Sandwich Party Aug. 9th!

2008-07-10T11:05:00.005-05:00

The album is going full steam ahead, several reviews to mention:

Pitchfork

Three Imaginary Girls

Prefix

Side One/Track One:

As for today's ramble, it's all about the Sammies. I was pretty bummed out
when I didn't get a chance to see one of their supposedly incredible live
performances at SXSW, but hopefully with a new album ready to go they'll be
touring all over soon. Keep an eye out for the sure to be good Sandwich on
September 23 via MoRisen. Enjoy.

The Sammies - Glisten: If you caught my post on these guys the last time
around then I think you'll be happy to know that their sound is still raw,
full of energy and as catchy as can be. I mean, it's literally everything
you could want from a driving rock tune that's a perfect fit for car rides
and summer excursions. Fully expect this to be the kind of gem that you
instantly have a good time with.

I probably should have went with the live video of Falling Out so that you
can see why I wanted to catch them at SXSW so badly, but this one for Coming
Out Wild sounds so much better. Plus, I find it hilariously weird that the
performance was done on some show for Fox News.

Blurt:

N.C.’s The Sammies Fix a “Sandwich”

July 8, 2008

By Fred Mills

Whattaya get when you combine such dubiously-phrased monikers as Frank
Backgammon, Donnie Yale, Conrad Vacation and Bobby Freedom? Why, Charlotte’s
Sammies, of course! Sandwich, their sophomore effort, will drop Sept. 23 on
MoRisen, the same label that issued their well-received 2006 self-titled
debut.

Recorded in Kernersville, NC at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium, it was produced
by Ben Holst (Drive-By Truckers), Billy Bennett (Drive-By Truckers, The
Whigs) and The Sammies. The label describes it as a “fusion of classic rock,
early punk and indie rock” featuring 13 new songs including “Golden Sun,”
“In the Basement,” “Treat Her Like a Queen,” and “Old Grey.” The band has
already lined up some pre-album release gigs in and around the South (dates
listed below) — their live shows are pure firestorms — and you can expect
the full-court push when the album hits stores.

Meanwhile, over at the band’s MySpace site you can check out some samples of
the new material, notably the Who-meets-Plimsouls anthemism of “Sleep In My
Clothes” and the glam-slam sonic KISS that is “Treat Her Like A Queen.”
Goddam, this is a good band. Way back when BLURT was still known as Harp, we
advised you thusly:

“North Carolina’s the Sammies are a quartet of self-proclaimed country boys
whose idea of roots music is more Echo and Iggy than Johnny and Willie. The
music is supercharged beer-and-babes rock, but the Sammies draw inspiration
from so much of the rock ’n’ roll canon they’re impossible to pin down.
Their party-perfect debut romps through double-time Ramones tempos, spiky
post-punk, Stooges ’tude, AC/DC power riffs, DEVO robot rock, Byrds jangle
and early Roxy Music textures.”

We still stand behind that description. Sam on!

Sammies Tour Dates:

Jul 25 2008 9:00P Barley’s Taproom
Knoxville, Tennessee

Aug 1 2008 9:00P Grey Eagle
Asheville, North Carolina

Aug 9 2008 9:00P Visulite Theater
Charlotte, North Carolina

Aug 23 2008 9:00P Raleigh Downtown Live | The Pour
House Raleigh, North Carolina

Sep 6 2008 9:00P The Hummingbird Macon,
Georgia

Sep 9 2008 9:00P The Pour House Music Hall
Raleigh, North Carolina

Sep 13 2008 9:00P The Soapbox Lounge Wilmington,
North Carolina

Sep 19 2008 9:00P Tasty World! Athens, Georgia

Sep 20 2008 9:00P The Nick Birmingham,
Alabama

Oct 17 2008 8:00P Duke - Campus Concert Series
Durham, North Carolina

Also, first chance to buy the album is August 9th @ The Visulite Theatre in Charlotte. The show will be full of little twists and turns so be preparred for much more than a great night of music. Former guitarist Murphy Upshaw will be opening with his new band Souldozer, and former Sammie neighbors, The Broken Strings will also open. Bringing it all back home!

Sandwich - Sophmore

2008-06-06T09:28:00.004-05:00

Coming soon to a record store and town near you!!!

704-510-0676

There baaackkk...

2008-05-15T13:04:00.005-05:00

The CD's I mean, there finally here! Picking them up today actually. These are only promo CD's, but it's a start. Also, I know this blog has been pretty damn boring, especially for all you bon vivant's, no pictures recently, a crappy link to some hippies smoking pot, but that will change soon. I may post some of the album artwork just so you can ponder it before purchase. Keep checking back.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Snug Harbor last Wednesday, it was great to play, and great to see familiar faces. Thanks to Gringo Star for stopping by too, keep your ears out for their new stuff. The next Charlotte show is July 5th at the Penguin, big party, streets are blocked off, beverages being consumed, cool t-shirts, and obviously killer food.

On a side note, which I will tie into music eventually, the new Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii is too much fun! You can connect to WiFi and challenge people all over the world, so freaking cool. If you want your butt whooped just sign on when Backgammon (yes, that is my Mii name) is logged on. I'll use Peach and still wipe my ass with your cart! When I don't have the TV muted enjoying some tunes, I do actually enjoy the Mario Kart music. Very old school video game music, very Japanese, but awesome, random kazoo's, poot noises, wood blocks, etc. It would be fun to write game music, one day...

The Art of the CD

2008-05-08T15:28:00.001-05:00

Making a CD:

A wee bit tired from last night’s show @ Snug Harbor with Gringo Star, but I’ll pull through. It was a good time, very nice to get out and play again, and also nice to be allowed to play for as long as we want. Over the past couple years our catalog has expanded to say the least, expanded at such a pace not all of it is recorded yet, so, rarely do we get to play some deep tracks, and last night was the exception. I think the set was 20 songs long. One day, maybe, we’ll be able to Springsteen it, but right now, we’ll be happy with our 45 minutes, or whatever we get.

CD update; I have been informed the duplication is almost complete. If you’re a blogger, or music writer, you should get a CD soon; if you’re a fan, those CD’s should be ready August 9th @ The Visulite Theater, at least I sure hope so, b/c it’s the damn CD release party! No theme yet, but I will keep you in the loop. Any good ideas for a theme, or any other thing that comes to mind that feels so good you must share, shoot me an email, frank@the-sammies.com.

I just realized an explanation may be in order for what takes so dang long to get CD’s out. I mean shit, if you have the CD’s, why can’t you just go ahead and sell them? I have had this whole process spelled out to me before, this will be the second time going through it, and still, I don’t get it all sometimes. Alright, so you have recorded something, and it is complete as far as you are concerned, not so fast. You have a diamond in the rough; the next step is mixing your recording. Mixing is important b/c it establishes levels, it can make an album. Once mixing is done you can now master. Mastering is glorified mixing as far as I’m concerned. Mixing gets levels, left and right, loud and soft, mastering mixes the whole spectrum. It can puts sounds at about 10 o’clock, as opposed to 9. Mastering also gets the quality of the sounds at max, and makes the levels standard with other CD’s, so when you pop in the Sammies CD the volume should be close to the new Carrie Underwood you just took out. Now, you have a quality product that can be duplicated, but wait, since digital music is now wildly popular there’s a new step, embedding digital codes. This helps track songs, and also labels songs so when they come on your XM Radio, for instance, the correct band name and song name appear. I’ve heard bad stories about this going wrong. Say the company that is duplicating your CD also is doing a Disney DVD. Your little indie band is only pressing several thousand CD’s, Disney is doing tens of thousands, so are very low on the priority list. John Doe forgets to change the codes before he switches to your project, and now when you pop in the Sammies CD it says Artist/Sammies, CD/The Little Mermaid, ooops! Hell, I almost forgot the artwork step. You have a cool concept, or picture you like, now you have to put it into the proper format for the company to duplicate. They have their own template they want you to use, and other nuances. That cool CD design you had in mind, oh, that adds about $5 to each CD, so now your record company tells you to do something else, and you’re back to the drawing board, literally. Now, you have to call your friend, who did the whole thing as a favor, and beg them to do more work for peanuts; and you’ve delayed the CD even further. Finally, you get the damn CD’s back. Being a young band we need all the press we can get. You have to try and build a buzz. So, the next step is sending out CD’s to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that is in the industry. You have to send them out so much earlier than the actual release date b/c some publications write 3 months in advance. So, that means Rolling Stone is writing Augusts’ issue as we speak. You have now spent a fair amount on mailing, the free CD’s you sent cost money, time is money, and then some jackass will sell the promos online without even listening to it. Or maybe they listen to it, burn a copy, then sell it online. Either way they are jackasses! Hopefully, by that point Spin gave you a 10, pitchfork said it was the best thing since Animal Collective (they butt sniff those guys), Letterman can’t wait to have you on, and the official release date is next week, successful buzz is built!!! Now tour your asses off, don’t eat too much junk, don’t drink too much beer, do your best to stay healthy b/c you have fans you don’t want to let down.

Next shows, Memorial Day weekend:

May 25th
Local 506
Chapel Hill NC
w/ The Houstons and The Huguenots

May 26th
Soapbox
Wilmington NC
WE Fest

Holiday's?

2008-04-25T15:38:00.001-05:00

Happy belated 4/20 day, and happy early Cinco De Mayo! I found a little clip of the infamous April holiday being celebrated in Boulder, CO online. Oh, there were only about 10,000 people toking up, that’s it. Is it time for reform?

The Sammies world has been pretty dull. We have been working hard getting our cover in order for 500 Songs for Kids. It’s a great cause and put on by a great man, Josh Rifkind. We fixed up our amps last night, and used all of our support hours with Freedom Sr. to get it done, thanks Steve. I can tell you one thing though; my amp is fucking loud again! I can hardly crank it past 2, and that’s no lie. It would hold it’s own in an amphitheater not even mic’d up. A wee bit of home recording has gone on, just kicking it around for fun, but you have to start somewhere. The new Presonus fire studio has really helped. It is so easy to use! I wish we had that stuff growing up.

BRMC was in town Tuesday, and since I had never seen them live, and b/c I feel the need to support good shows when they come, I went with various other Sammies. Earlier in the day I stopped by Visulite to help with load in, and all of the guys with BRMC were very nice. They only had about 60 road cases! They had been in Charlotte since Sunday night, and got some well needed rest and showers, minus the construction in Charlotte cutting off the water for a brief time. I thought they put on a really good show, can’t say the same for the opening act, but maybe it wasn’t my biscuit, or cup of tea some say. I remembered earlier in the day, hauling in atomic strobe lights. Oh, by about song seven I wished I had left them outside in the trailer; so blinding I quit looking at the stage. Not to be a blog snob, sorry to point out just flaws, here’s a positive comment, the sound was amazing. Once I felt like I could no longer watch the stage for fear of a seizure, I watched the sound man dialing it in. Visulite is small, as compared to the other places BRMC play, and it’s hard to crank it there, but they did, and it sounded great. Some friends went next door to Loft and saw the guys after the show just hanging out, minus drummer.

CD is still getting duplicated; we’re trying to get all of the embedded codes correct. You know, one of those things you never consider having to do when you make a CD. None-the-less, it will be for the better.

As always, feel free to email us, we’d love to hear from you.

Track List!!!

2008-04-04T08:20:00.002-05:00

Here is the track listing for the upcoming album! Keep your eyes (and ears) out for more…

Sleep in My Clothes
Rufford
Pinecone
Golden Sun
Billy Mitchell
In the Basement
Treat Her like a Queen
Glisten
Carried by the Breeze
Shit Ain’t Easy
Old Gray
Who’s Money
Saw Your Mother

Sally Ate Nuts Downing With Ice Crackers and Hummus

Fredericksburg/Columbia/CD's

2008-03-25T09:54:00.003-05:00

That’s Fredericksburg; not Fredricksburg (stupid Garmin)!!!

Thank you Fredericksburg, FAA, and Adam Bray! We had a great time as always in the fine city of Fredericksburg. Maybe it’s b/c our ancestors still haunt those grounds, guns in hand, maybe it’s the great positive energy that all of those kids have, or maybe it’s just one of those special places. Either way, we really appreciate you guys! We also would like to thank the bands that we played with; Sean Walsh & the Tereu Tereu Bandits, The Red Light Effect, and Alpha Jerk. I know we were a bit loud, judging by the fingers in the ears, we’ll bring earplugs next time. Anyway, ya’ll keep rocking, and we’ll see you sooner than later I’m sure.

Thank you Columbia, SC and Mother Nature for the great St. Patty’s Day show! The day after the horrible tornado in ATL, we played in Columbia, SC for their annual St. Patty’s Day festival. No thanks to the sorry ass bastards on the police force, minus a couple of you, for making getting to the stage difficult. Sometimes people are required to make decisions, and I don’t think Columbia’s police force is very capable. Concrete blocks are cheaper, and don’t talk back, for future reference. Anyway, it was great to see all of our friends, and it was great to see the Avett Brothers. We all went to UNCC together, live right down the road from one another, and we really are proud of all of their success. I must say, they are stand up guys too! Good things happen to good people, and they are a testament to that mantra. The weather did not hold out long enough for them to rock the crowd, and I know to some disappointment, but I do not fault anyone with the festival. Considering the tornado the day before, and the warning in the area, I think it was best to try and get some 30,000 people out of harms way. I just hate it had to happen.

CD Reviews:

I was so excited about The Teenagers CD finally coming out. The song “Scarlett Johansson” was the shit, and the B Side was good too! The full length though…um, kinda blows. How can so many people get so worked up over a band that only have a couple of songs? I was guilty too, so, kudos to them for pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. Another suspect: the Black Kids. They release 5-6 songs, free download on their myspace page, and the songs were good, but where is the rest? Still, all of this buzz and no product. It is the new trend it seems, get a couple of good songs, no more than 6 by any means, release them for free, build the buzz, then let everyone down. Gee fucking thanks! Hell, and when they do release a CD you get those same songs, plus a couple of other shitty ones, and have 11 tops. What happened to putting more than 11 songs on a CD? Can’t write? Cat’s got your tongue? Don’t care about your fans? Or let me guess, it’s a “concept album.” Here’s a concept, the Sammies will have 13 songs, again, on their CD; the concept, rock and fucking roll man!

Small revision: 11 songs is OK, if they all are good. Like the Shins first albums; short yes, but complete. It just kinda sucks bands are led to believe doing more than 11 is suicide. Eleven has a nice ring, I must admit, better than 13, but it's about the music.

Getting Down with The Spinto Band

2008-03-10T14:51:00.007-05:00

Like I said at the beginning of the year, the Sammies will, and have been, taking it easy, as far as playing shows goes. We played so much last year it cut into recording, and hence, delayed us getting a new album of tunes out. Every time we hit the studio we would have to leave to play shows. And if you know anything about us, or have ever been to a show, you should know we do not cancel gigs, no matter what!

That leads me to our Asheville show on 2/26/08. Freedom had just had surgery that required a small incision a couple of days before the show. As much as it hurt him to move around and play, we did. Why, b/c we DO NOT CANCEL SHOWS (up and coming bands should follow that same mantra). Plus, we were playing with The Whigs and Spinto Band. Just read below and you will find plenty on the Whigs, they are our best friends. New best friends, Spinto Band! Very nice guys and they have some great songs. Start with "Oh Mandy" but then you will soon find others you may like more. The show was awesome, and we appreciate our fans that came out on a Tuesday night! Sammies fans came in force! Spinto rocked and of course so did the Whigs. We hope to make it back to Asheville and the Grey Eagle before long.

After the show, we caravanned down the mountain, with Spinto Band and our old friend Katie (we met Katie on tour w/ Birdmonster, photog, super nice, and Katie, you always have friends in Charlotte, and a place to stay) in tow. We made it to Charlotte a little after two, and we all crashed at The House of the Rising Sam. Thanks to Spinto and Katie for not stealing anything and being gracious guests. The next night Spinto and The Whigs played Charlotte. Since we play Charlotte too much as is, we held off playing that night. But it was nice to be a fan and not have to play. We all just enjoyed the good music and great friends that came out. Thanks Charlotte for showing those bands we rock!

Otherwise, we just got the mastering done for the upcoming album, and have been hard at work getting all of the art together. We still have to stay tight lipped for now, but more info will become available soon. I hope everyone is as excited and will love the album as much as we loved making it!

Next show, St. Patty's party in Five Points Columbia, SC! This Saturday 03/15/08! I think our friends from down the road, the Avett's are playing as well. I have heard that this is some party, and if it's anything like football season, I will need some Alka-Seltzer!

I like...

2008-02-21T15:03:00.005-06:00

Since this is a music blog I figured I'd talk about some other music for a hot minute. I used to stay abreast of new music much better than I do now, but I'm still no codger, my ear is to the ground.

With that being said I really have been getting down on Apes and Androids! They only have one album to my knowledge so go get it. Or fuck, even better, go get their songs "Golden Prize" and "Nights of the Week," our boys The Whigs "Right Hand on My Heart," Ghostland Observatory's "Heavy Heart," for FREE, and you've got one hell of a mix started (click link below, and thanks Stereogum)!

FREE MUSIC

Don't get:

Ween - La Cucaracha - I really like Ween, and have for some time now, since the 90's, yes that long, but this album is god awful. Magnet named it the best CD of 2007; and they also reviewed our last CD, so, go figure, ha-ha!

Relax now...

2008-02-15T10:16:00.010-06:00

Enjoying Life!

The Sammies have had it good recently. We just got back from playing Robert Redford’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival! That was some experience. We played the Friday night before we left in ATL with The Whigs. It was great to play with them and Wax Fang again. Ben Holst sat in and played some slide and a couple other things, and we had a damn blast. Moustaches to boot! We all love the Earl in ATL too; great food and a great sounding venue, especially when it’s sold out!

Anyway, so we had to roll out before the Whigs played, but we would see them in Chapel Hill soon. Got into Charlotte again at 4:00am, we slept about an hour, then, booked it to the airport to catch our early morning flight. It took us 5+ hours to get to freaking Phoenix, so when we arrived we ran from terminal to terminal; they actually opened the door back up for us! We touch down in Salt Lake City, had about an hour ride up to Park City, checked into our sweet room, met Elizabeth, and before we knew it we were off to our first show!

We played at JB Mulligans with a band from Seattle called The Real You, nice fellows! Everyone was very nice, we did a little ditty for some Marines who had just come home from fighting for our freedom (not just Bobby, all of us!), and then we got offered to walk up the street and play a Columbia Records party at Star Bar, so we fucking did it. Just a couple songs acoustic turned into a small set of electric awesomeness and we warmed up the crowd nicely for our new friends in Royal Bliss. We had a piece of the night, and a piece of the morning and then we were back to Charlotte. We all want to go back next year, earlier in the week, and for longer. I only heard great things about the movies, and from what I saw, you will be seeing a lot of them in a theater near you real soon.

We played a weekday show in Chapel Hill with the Whigs and Bull City once we got back @ Local 506. Thanks so much to all for coming out in force on a school night! All of the bands were great and we were so privileged to play with such good bands. The Whigs are blazing one hell of a trail now, so catch them opening for the Truckers tail end of March.

Otherwise, we have been putting the final mixing touches on our next album, and head up to NYC to master at Sterling Sound with Greg Calbi March 4th. He did our last album so much justice we had to get him again! We have a benefit in Chapel Hill next Tuesday called Cancer Sucks. It’s at The Cat’s Cradle and is for a good cause so please find your way to Carrboro next Tuesday for that. The next Tuesday is in Asheville with the Whigs and Spinto Band, one more Whigs show for the hotch!

March 15th St. Patty’s in Columbia (Five Points)
Fredericksburg March 22nd (3rd Floor)

Sundance and such.

2008-01-24T16:01:00.000-06:00

Sundance – Mission Control – Acid

I am trying to get a blog up real quick before we head out for the next several days so bear with my brevity. I’m so killer excited about the next several whirlwind days! Tomorrow we roll out to ATL to play with The Whigs. It’s their CD release show for their 2nd album called Mission Control, and let me tell you, it’s a damn BEAST! Even though we are friends I would still buy this album, hands down, no question. If you like music, you will like it. Mission Control is all meat and potatoes, no bullshit, but you don’t have to take my word for it, look online and you will not have to go far to find a track or two streaming. I’d link one now, but as I said, kind of in a rush.

So, we play in ATL, Ben Holst, who has been helping us finish our 2nd album, will be sitting in with us playing some slide and others things our hands just won’t allow. After we play we pack up, head back to Charlotte in order to catch a plane to Utah. We have been invited to play the Sundance Film Festival! Wish we could enjoy more of the festival but we’ll take what we can get; maybe next year. We fly back to CLT Sunday, throw a couple more dabs of awesomeness on the mixing process, play another show with The Whigs and Spinto Band next Wednesday in Chapel Hill, another show in Asheville in Feb., and master at Sterling Sound in NYC first of March.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the snow show in Charlotte! The weather was bad, but hell, it wasn’t that damn bad, we only wrecked twice on the way home.

the Sammies

Holiday Pomp and Circumstance

2007-12-27T15:22:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays!!!

Greetings and Happy Holidays from the Sammies! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got everything you wanted/deserved. I got a bike, Don got an interface so we can record a little better, Conrad got a hunting rifle, and Freedom got a dog. We plan on putting the dog on the bike, shooting at it, and recording what it sounds like; should be pretty wicked.

Since we last spoke we played a show in Charlotte with the Black Lips. It was a good time, and awesome to play with such a good band. I recommend their live album if you want to get down on some Black Lips; it was recorded in Tijuana and really captures their signature sound. They were all real nice dudes and we wish them the best in the coming year. They did an interview with Paste Magazine before the show, so look for that in an upcoming issue. Despite all of the wild stories I heard about the Black Lips, I must say, they were nothing but pros, and are a little wiser than they let on.

In other news; Don Yale finally graduated college! Next time you see him buy him a stiff drink, slap him on the back, and burp congratulations in his face so he can smell your sincerity. He graduated from UNCC with a major in Psychology and a minor in Health Fitness, and probably a better GPA than I got out of there with.

I went to Aruba and had a damn blast. I actually won money in the casinos, playing craps. Don’t play slots unless you just want to lose money and are OK with that. If you’re just trying to get drinks, play the penny or nickel slots, bet one line at a time, lose, and keep the waiter/waitress busy. Tip well in the beginning so they come back, then you can relax the tips as the night wears on. Craps advice; make simple bets to begin with, but make sure you stand beside someone who knows what they are doing, then take a page or two out of their book. Bet until you get a good roller, then once you have had a good run, fucking leave! If you are looking for a good vacation Aruba was very nice, better than Jamaica and the Bahamas I think. We stayed at the Renaissance Marina Hotel and would highly recommend that to anyone looking to stay on the island. The hotel owns its own private island and a boat drives into the hotel to pick up passengers every 15 minutes to take them there. Plus, staying in the city you have easy access to all things, unlike staying down the beach where it’s just you and a hotel.

Conrad went home to West Virginia for Christmas, and yes we have already heard all of the jokes, but feel free to comment with a joke if you have some new ones. Otherwise, he has just been shopping, which is what happens if you put off getting Christmas presents till the last minute.

Freedom of course went home to his house in Raleigh for the holidays, a nice break for him since he has been immersed in work for the past little while. If he wasn’t working on the Sammies light display he has been embedding systems for a company here in Charlotte. Got to make that money while you can, especially since we are taking it easy till we get the CD mixed/mastered/etc, he always was the smart Sammie.

Besides that, we have been pretty boring, just doing the holiday’s thing. We mix the CD in Athens first part of January so that’s where we are on that. Also, just added some January shows, the 19th in Charlotte @ The Visulite with Tereu Tereu, the 25th in Atlanta @ The Earl with The Whigs (CD release) and Wax Fang, and the 30th in Chapel Hill with The Whigs and Bull City, hope to see everyone out at one of those shows as they will be a little less frequent for a while.

As always, we love to hear from you, holler anytime!

Second album!!!

2007-12-05T10:28:00.000-06:00

So far, untitled:

Hot damn, I think we are about done with the actual recording part of the second album, finally! I sang my ass off this past weekend and the others added some nice weird noises to put the cherry on top. This is another warning: THIS ALBUM WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST. Although it still has the same, unique Sammies element there are some differences for sure. First of all, along with our friends Ben Holst (see credits on first album) and Billy Bennett (also, see credits from first album), we were solely responsible for the production and sounds on this album. Hence the reason it took more than a week to record this time. We know what we like, but our lack of proper technical training can cause some delays in trying to obtain these sounds. It’s more of a trial by fire, which is great because we did some unconventional things that will differentiate us from the masses, but it does take more time. Imagine spending 4-6 hours building a house (it’s an analogy bear with me), the outside looks great, but the floor is caving in inside, so you tear it all down and start again; a bummer yes, but for the better in the end, because the house is a lot more sturdy. That’s what we have been doing in a nut shell. Hard to explain, that’s why we have pictures and videos I hope to post soon.

More to come shortly! Thanks to all our fans that have patiently waited. It has been two years since our first release, and we do have a video that might better explain what took so long. Posting it soon!

In other news, we have just been added to our best friends, The Whigs, CD release show in Atlanta on Jan. 25th! We are playing at the Earl along with Wax Fang, another great band that will rock your face off. It is a reunion of sort’s b/c we all played at Local 506 in Chapel Hill about half a year ago. Maybe we can finally see that awesome aquarium in Atlanta too!

Mo' Shows

2007-11-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

Alley Cats n’ Athens

A little more activity since we last talked, we played some of our last gigs we had booked for the year. Before we started this blog the Sammies had been playing all summer, every week, for three to four months straight, and weren’t necessarily taking it easy before then either. Although I love to play, for a band our size, it keeps you from doing other work, writing new songs, taking care of band business, etc. You are always preparing for the next shows, gotta be ready. We refuse to venture out unprepared, and are quite hard on ourselves if we feel we play sub-par. So, we end up practicing all of the time, gearing up for shows. Now, we only have one more show booked

(w/ Black Lips!), and it’s in Charlotte, maybe 15 minutes from the house (Neighborhood Theater), door to door, piece of cake. We will book more shows for next year, but are kinda chilling right now. Everyone deserves some rest, I suggest everyone who reads this take a load off!

We finally have some dates in the studio so we can finish the 2nd album. We really appreciate Mitch Easter and all at Fidelitorium, like Morgan, for working us in. The second album has been a project, and because we were playing so often it made it hard to record. We would record for a day or two, have to take off that night, play a show somewhere, drive back, and get back into recording mode for the final day or so. We did that for a couple of weeks the past 2-3 months and still aren’t done. Personally I could spend another year going over and over the songs, but we just can’t, no point, you could do it forever. Whatever, I have my fingers crossed we will finish this time, and I’m not going to worry about it anyway. I could talk for days about recording, and even just this album, but I will save it for another time.

Alright, so we played a weekday show last Wednesday at Alley Cats; a relatively new club in uptown Charlotte. I must say the place is nice, and our old friend who used to run the Steeple is in charge, so it’s good to see him again, and doing well. We played with our boys

Chocha Loca, check em out, it is music made for Guitar Hero! Plus, our old friend Jason plays in the band; he also just fixed my guitar. Be-he-he-he-ho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The night was good, Carolina and Davidson were playing basketball right next door at the Bobcats Arena, so uptown was lively for a weekday. Freedom’s amp started acting up near the end, but luckily I play through two amps, so I afforded him one to finish the set. It was a good warm up for our show Friday night in Athens.

The Sammies and Athens have always been lovers. We met a young band from there, called

the Whigs, when we were first starting out ourselves, so we would go down there, play shows with them, and just hang out. We even played at their house several times till early in the morning, along with another then young band, MGMT. The Pizza Hut house saw some good times for sure. The freaking floor caved in at one party! So, for as long as we have been a band, we have played in Athens regularly and always enjoy a trip down there.

We played at Tasty World last Friday night, where we have played often. Murphy and crew are always super nice to us. Also playing with the Sammies that night was

Minor Kings and Up With the Joneses. UWJ were a pleasant surprise, just like De Novo Dahl was last time we played Tasty World. They had energy and some good songs. Minor Kings also played well, and the definite highlight was Alex climbing the “I” beam by the stage to the top and then swinging across the crowd. It makes me wish I didn’t play guitar sometimes. We had some friends come out, such as the Pendletons, great to see them, and they just got a nice write up in Rolling Stone, congrats! Our friend Butch let us crash at his house, much obliged, much obliged! And as always, there was a small contingent of people with NC ties that came out to support us, thanks to all of you! The night ended at Butch’s house, where we acted like complete pansies and passed out, but not before checking out aquarium city! Butch breeds these rare African fish, and man, it’s some operation, pretty freaking cool actually.

Hold it down, eat lots of turkey, and slap someone in your family because you love them!!!

No news is good news

2007-11-08T15:14:00.000-06:00

Nov. 8th/Black Lips/Reigning Sound

Not much to report this week on the Sammies front; still no song list for the album, need to narrow it down a little more, and still no title. Great strides have been made though, so stay tuned.

Speaking of staying tuned, Old Mister Johnson, my Gibson SG, is getting revamped this week by our good friend Jason Racino and Cotter Guitar. She was a little worn around the edges from a fair amount of playing, and in turn, a fair amount of abuse. Guitars are meant to be played, not babied! How would you like it if someone put you on a shelf just to look at? Wouldn’t feel too good, and may be a bit weird.

Like I said, not much going on this week; we’re getting some practice in, working on some lights that should trip everyone out, and trying to get the album ready to come out, wild I may add. The big news, at least in my book, is the December 7th show in Charlotte. Another awesome band has just been added, Reigning Sound! I tried to see them at SXSW this last time but the show was packed before I could get in, and that was still rather early. So, needless to say I am pumped to see not only Black Lips but now Reigning Sound too. I would pay $12 to see just one of those bands, now you get the trifecta for $12, @ Neighborhood Theater!

Go Bobcats, and take the Panthers with you!

Halloween!!!

2007-10-31T15:48:00.000-05:00

Nov 1st/CarnEVIL/Halloween

Back again, fully recovered from NYC, just in time for Halloween celebrations! For kids Halloween has always been a fond memory, then you reach that weird stage where you are too old to trick or treat and you wind up being mischievous instead (still fun), and now, for the Sammies, we are in the semi-adult stage. That requires dressing up, either in something quite perverted and naughty, or something rather scary.

No longer do we roam the streets on bicycles, we take taxis to the bar. The bar in this occasion was Amos’s Southend for the annual CarnEVIL party held on 10/27/07(respond back if you know the band that has a song by the same name)!

Usually held at a warehouse or some rented facility this year it was at the newly revamped Amos’s and man, it was packed! No costume, no entry, which was cool. It’s neat to walk around with everyone decked out, and like I said, some of the costumes were down right funny. Dudes were walking around in ass-less chaps, girls in a slutty version of whatever you can think of, it was wild. Our good friends in Stone Figs played, make sure you check them out (www.myspace.com/stonefigs). I think they have some songs you can download for free on their myspace page, link above. Great, fun band! Anyway, there were other bands, another local called Drat played, and then there was a burlesque show, which I find entertaining although not very titillating.

Saw lots of friends, and it was fun to attend a party we didn’t have to play; kinda felt weird really.

Otherwise, myself and Don sat at the house on Halloween, handing out candy, trying to scare the kids. It’s fun to see all of the outfits, and sad to see the teenagers who come by, not dressed up, but still saying "trick or treat." We’ve got old Easter candy set aside for those bastards:)

Brief news: we started taking pics, possibly for the new album, with our friend Mike Hammer (www.mikehammerphotography.com). They are coming along nicely. Hammer-time did our Performer Magazine shoot and we have been friends ever since. Also, December 7th show just added in Charlotte with Black Lips @ Neighborhood Theater! That is going to be a damn good time. First one to respond and leave a comment on this post gets on the guest list; just leave your name, email, and a nice comment.

Happy Halloween!!!

The Sammies / NYC / CMJ 2007

2007-10-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

NOTE: AUDIO TAKES ABOUT 15 SEC TO START, JUST PRESS PLAY AND ENJOY THE READ

The Sammies/NYC/CMJ 2007

It’s 7:45pm, on 10/17, the Enid (photog) and Josiah (navigator) just got dropped off at the “House of the Rising Sam” to catch a ride to NYC for CMJ. We’re packed, instruments, clean clothes, other personals, dunk-a-roo’s, check; so we hit the road. I think we have allowed enough time to get to NYC by 9am so we can be prompt for our KEXP performance, plus if you are late for a radio show you just miss it, and that would suck. The plan is for the Sammies to drive to around Manassas then the other two can take over so we can sleep and be ready to wake NYC and Seattle up with our early morning performance. I catch some zzz’s on a palate I made on top of the amps, the others are also finding places to bed down, the best you can in a crowded van.

We got into the city with plenty of time to spare, so we park the van, and walk down the street to a diner to get some breakfast. In very uncharacteristic NYC fashion we have already met two strangers who have been more than helpful in telling us where to park, how to pay a ticket if you get one, and where not to smoke reefer, informative I must say. We get back to the Gibson Showroom where KEXP is broadcasting and sound check.

The Gibson showroom is actually in the same building as the old Hit Factory. Supposedly the last place John Lennon was before he was murdered, not to mention the studio where many of our favorite albums were recorded back in the day. Throw in the fact that Gibson has every guitar and amp known to man and we are happy campers!

Ohhh yes the show room- lets make Gibson angels!

Click here to download our KEXP performance!

It is great to be back in the city, and beyond awesome to be playing live for KEXP! I must say, everyone associated with KEXP are class acts. You couldn’t be around nicer people, and they have been so kind to the Sammies since day one. KEXP, THANKS SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING, AND ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK IS APPRECIATED MORE THAN YOU KNOW. It is colder than a well digger’s ass in there so I grab a jacket, and get the countdown to going live. Once that hit it was over before we knew it, and was so much fun. I could do that everyday! After messing around with all of the Gibson equipment a little longer we had to part ways with the nicest people in the world and go pick up our CMJ badges, and Freedom’s Uncle Carl.

Enid and Josiah get out, ready to make their mark on the city for the day/night, and we get Carl and head to his house in the Hamptons. We had never been to the Hamptons, so we kind of were curious to see what that was about, plus we figured it would be a safe place to park the van for the night. NYC is fun, but not so much fun when you have an oversized vehicle full of equipment you can’t afford to replace. A bit of a drive but who cares, we’re used to it. We get there, grab a bite to eat, and have all intentions of getting some sleep since we drove all night. We hit a snag though, Carl has a tennis court, seems like a great time to build team spirit with a little competition. I took it easy on everyone though. The rest of the day consists of showers, relaxing, some great Indian food, a drink or several at Rowdy Hall, and then bed.

It’s now Friday, 10/19. We get a brief tour of the Hamptons larger houses by the beach. Drove past Spielburg’s palace and were tempted to ring him to talk about how our album cover was shot on the same farm he shot The Color Purple, but the large hedges and security deterred us. After getting a look at why we try and work so hard we depart the Hamptons and head back to the city. Now I will briefly tell you about how we went 10 miles in two hours due to the road flooding. I have not been that mad in a while and will leave it at that so I don’t get worked up again. Just unfortunate I guess.

All thoughts of stopping by H&M are out the window as we barely have time to eat at Acme right above where we are to play the MoRisen showcase at the Ace of Clubs. Our fellow southern friends from GA, Dead Confederate, are to open the night, and boy did they. Those guys came up to NYC and kicked some serious ass this year and we couldn’t be happier for them, so here’s to a great band, and genuinely great people, ya’ll keep up the hard work!

Donnie and Jason from Dead confederate.

Go download their performance on KEXP from their myspace page, well worth it. Elevator Action, and The Houstons follow, both bands taking names as they played, and then it was our turn.

We played a fair amount of new songs, slated to be on the upcoming album, and I think they went over well. I hope to post a list of songs on the new album in the coming weeks; maybe we’ll even leak one. It was great to see all of our friends who came out; you know who you are, and our new friends we met this time around, we hope to see you again before too long. Ace of Clubs has always been nice to us and the sound that night was amazing! Babyshaker finished off the night, and created a new Olympic event called “guitarist toss into drums.”

We could have stayed in the city, dropped what little money we had on a room, and partied with the best of them, but we’ve done that before, so we headed south, back to NC. With thoughts of stopping for sleep at some point I awake to Enid still driving! She made it from NYC to the NC line in the dead of the night! That’s how you drive! Another NYC trip done, and successful I might add.

We all need some serious sleep now but can’t wait to get back up to NYC before long, maybe Boston too, fuck it, the whole NE. We will in due time, now let’s finish the album.

PS: To our new friends from across the Atlantic, the Foxes, thanks for showing up, we hope you have been having a great time in the States, keep kicking ass while you’re here, and stay in touch with the Sammies!

Click here for the interview and review by Miriam Lamey and see photos taken in the studio by Doron Gild!

http://depts.washington.edu/kexp/blog/?p=3671