The Samples

The Samples are an American jam band from Boulder, United States, active from 1987 to the present. The line-up includes Sean Kelly, Charles Hambleton, Andy Sheldon, Al Laughlin, Kenny James, Alex Matson, Rob Somers, Sam Young, Bill Mutchler, Jared Johnson, Tom Askin, Dan Blondin, Henry Charbuck, Karl Dietel, Jeep, Len Mooney and Brian Powers. The group also has a separate history as a British punk band from Worcester, England, formed in 1978.

American band

The Boulder group forms in early 1987. Its name comes from the members' early habit of living on food samples from a local grocery store. The founding line-up is Sean Kelly on guitar and vocals, Andy Sheldon on bass and vocals, Charles Hambleton on guitar, Jeep MacNichol on drums and vocals, and Al Laughlin on keyboards and vocals.

The band's music is described as reggae-influenced folk and rock-pop, with pop sensibility mixed with folk, reggae, jazz and rock. Sean Kelly writes most of the songs, often on nature and environmental themes, which gives the group an eco-minded reputation. Kelly's vocals are described as Sting-like, while Sheldon provides a forceful bass style, MacNichol plays with a Stewart Copeland-inspired approach and Laughlin adds off-beat reggae chords.

The Samples first release an eponymous album on their own label, then sign to Arista Records and reissue it in 1989. That deal ends after disagreements over the label's attempts to change the band's sound, and the group continues touring without a label. Charles Hambleton leaves in 1991 after a heroin charge, and the band carries on as a touring act, including as a self-published project with Underwater People, a set of studio and live material.

The group then signs to W.A.R.? - What Are Records? and releases Underwater People (1992), No Room (1992), The Last Drag (1993) and Autopilot (1994). These records help establish the band's sound and bring wider success through the early 1990s. The Samples sell more than one million copies of their catalogue through grass-roots touring and build a strong following on the college circuit, often selling out venues in college towns.

They headline some H.O.R.D.E. tour dates in 1993 and 1996 and share bills with the Allman Brothers Band, Blues Traveler and Phish. Openers on their own tours include Dave Matthews Band, Hootie & the Blowfish and Lisa Loeb. The group also appears on television shows including The Tonight Show and House of Blues.

In 1996 the band signs to MCA Records and releases Outpost, its fifth studio album, but the contract ends after MCA undergoes financial trouble and restructuring. In the late 1990s the band tours in reduced line-ups, with Laughlin remaining in Colorado for a period while dealing with heroin abuse and a robbery charge. Laughlin later leaves, along with MacNichol, who pursues a solo career.

The Samples return to W.A.R.? - What Are Records? and release Transmissions from the Sea of Tranquility, The Tan Mule and Here and Somewhere Else. From 2000 the band releases albums independently. The personnel changes repeatedly from 1997 onwards, but Sean Kelly remains the frontman. Although Kelly says in 2008 that the band has ended, it continues to play a small number of shows through 2009. The original five-piece line-up reunites for a show at Mile High Music Festival in 2010, and the band forms a new line-up for Denver Day of Rock and further touring in 2011.

British punk band

The earlier UK group The Samples forms in Worcester in 1978. Its line-up includes Sean 'Badger' Taylor on vocals, Dave Evans on lead guitar, Dave Saunders on rhythm guitar, Pascal 'Pecker' Smith on bass, Tony Allen on drums and Rick 'Vividhead' Mayhew on drums.

This version of the band plays more than 200 live dates and shares stages with acts including The Fall, Blitz, Vice Squad and Discharge, as well as other Oi! period punk bands. It plays venues such as the Lyceum in London and the 100 Club, and signs to No Future, which gives it a wider audience. Its single Dead Hero sells 7,500 copies, reaches the Independent top 10 and enters the national chart at 104. A planned follow-up single, Nobody Cares, is recorded but not released after the label folds.

The UK band also plays benefit shows for CND, anti-hunt and animal liberation causes. It is not described as an anarchist band, but as taking a left-wing approach to political issues. By the end of the 1980s it becomes semi-retired, still drawing local crowds and later supporting Broken Bones in what is described as its final London appearance.