Sandwich Party Aug. 9th!

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!

Mo' Shows

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!!!