sam Hell Music

The End

2008-05-27T09:24:00.001-04:00

It's true, the end. What do you say when you don't know what to say? You get someone else to say it for you. Take it away, Sammy.

In my life there was a time before bills and responsibilities where I was deep into astronomy.

Studying the stars is fascinating: methodically assembling complex stories from scant clues. Each star represents an entire life—from birth to dazzling brilliance to eventually, fading out…death. Above us every night these ghosts faithfully twinkle as we engage in friendships and entanglements. We never let the stars be more than they could be; all we let them be is the stars not signposts to something greater more mysterious.

The potential of the stars is not laden in their ability to glow during the darkest of nights but rather to what we will let them become. Either as symbols, inspirations, neon signs pointing back to God, perhaps a silent symphony. The potential to what we will graciously allow the stars to be—to become—remains completely untapped.

This is not something sam Hell has experienced. He believes through all the love, support, encouragement he has wholly tapped his potential. This is as far as he goes.

The list to thank and the reasons to thank friends, family, fans, well wishers, industry folks would certainly out number the stars.

While the journey has not always been easy, it has always been blessed and valued as necessary. For now it appears this is a short journey.

sam Hell cannot say if this is the end, end…after all how many times have you heard a rock band say that before reforming many years later?

For now though this is an end, happily a new birth awaits. The best stories move effortlessly through many chapters.

Through it all the stars watch and wonder silently recording it all.

Sammy

"People forget musicians are very giving people. They give this music and their time and their energy and their heart and their soul to the public, but they also have families and lives and friends and homes and sometimes they want to go experience that. And all we want them to do is to keep giving us their music."

Anthony Kiedis, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Love Stories (Pennsylvania Trip Pt. 3)

2008-04-06T14:59:00.002-04:00

A short summary for those who haven’t read this blog's parts 1 and 2: sam Hell and I arrived in Harrisburg, PA at Glen and Wanda’s, had awesome sloppy joes for dinner, and are now heading to the demonstration at a bar called Tara Station. Oh, and I enjoy zombie movies.

Currently…

I was at the venue, Tara Station, but then I had to run a quick errand...so I didn’t get to see her arrive. Sure enough when I returned, there stood Sneezy. With her stood Mr. Sneezy, her husband. How I met Sneezy is rather complicated and not necessary for the story at hand. It's a whole other blog.

Going out on the road is tough, especially playing new areas; you don’t always have the friendly support and love of your fans and friends in the crowd so you gotta work hard at earning it. That’s not a bad thing, as a rock band should have to work at converting every person in the room from civilian to fan but still, we all get tender and sometimes just having some lovin’ out in the crowd helps. Turns out tonight we have lotsa lovin’ in the crowd.

With some time to go on before sam Hell plays I duck out of the Tara Station and head to a hotel bar with Sneezy. And Mr. Sneezy.

Mr. Sneezy is stoic, wise and economical in his word choice, and there is more going on then he lets on, a raging river benath his calm exterior. Sneezy is bubbly warm with more stories than Stephen King. And actually her stories are just as scary as King’s (this woman attracts and debunks ghosts). Still, listening to her talk so soon after I’d just been with another couple—Glen and Wanda—hearing some of her American experiences, it just starts to weave such an abstract image of America.

Like a woman or physics or even Love, America is complex and not easily understood. It can be appreciated, misjudged and accessed but not always as simple as I’d like. It’s dynamic, bigger than I think it is, and I take its presence in my life for granted. I hope sam Hell continues to come here and play. So far research proves that sam Hell does well in America. Maybe it’s the music he plays. Maybe it’s his stage presence. Personally I think it’s because he asks one of the sweetest phrases in the English language. “So…tell me your story.”

I wonder if sam’s songs should not be called “songs”, but instead called what they truly are…stories. That by getting up on stage he shares his stories about strange people, about the time you didn’t smile and these strange devils that persistently tempt him and when he’s done, it’s your turn to share and talk, hopefully as openly and as honestly. “So…tell me your story.”

Yet no sooner did I get a tiny fragment of Sneezy’s story then it was time to finish our drinks, leave the hotel bar and head back to the Tara Station. I never did find out why she was nicknamed Sneezy and not any of the other 7 dwarfs, she never sneezed once the whole time I was with her. The most fascinating people invite you to swim in their strange mysteries and obvious contradictions.

Back at the gig Samuel and Rebekah were added to the party mix; sam’s friends from New York City. In the grandest of all rock and roll gestures they spontaneously hopped a train and came to rock out with us in Harrisburg. Granted they didn’t hop into boxcars loaded with hobos holding a rugged guitar case with “this machine kills fascists” scrawled on the front (apologies to Bob Dylan), but still it’s a grand rock n' roll gesture that sam and I totally appreciated. Hugs and drinks all around: cheers!

Well, not for too long. After all, sam has to play.

Happily the rock congregation enjoyed sam Hell’s music. The Beatles triple threat—covers of Back In The USSR, Lady Madonna and Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey—proved to be a successful crowd hit and the rest of his songs, excuse me stories, went over real well despite the cramped and small stage.

That night sam Hell shared his stories with the bar crowd, focusing on the couples he'd met:
Glen and Wanda.
Sneezy and Mr. Sneezy.
Samuel and Rebekah.

Makes sense that the easiest way to ensure there is lovin’ in the room is to invite couples happily in love. The best couples, the ones that get it are inclusive not exclusive. They make you want to be around them and not like you’re a third wheel. Sadly—and these are just my experiences, if yours are different by all means say so in the comments below—inclusive couples doesn’t happen that often. Kinda makes sense now when you think of the economics of love…huge demand, small supply.

Man, I am rambling like Grandpa Simpson..

And when it was all over? It was time for the happening: to share old stories while more importantly being a part of new stories. In the rock n roll business the professional term for that is…The After-Party!

(to be continued…of course!)

Sammy

American Joe's (Pennsylvania Trip Pt. 2)

2008-03-17T14:28:00.002-04:00

HEY! sAM HELL'S HUGE DEMONSTRATION AT THE RIVOLI IS COMING UP ON THURSDAY, MARCH 27TH AT 10:00PM. GET THE DETAILS BY CLICKING THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG ABOVE! DRAMA!

Short summary for those who haven’t read part 1: sam Hell and I have just arrived in Harrisburg, PA at Glen and Wanda’s. Oh and I enjoy zombie movies. Now on with the tale:

Most of the bands performing at the Millennium Music Conference 12 had opted to stay at the festival’s chosen accommodations: The Radisson. However our mutual friend, P-Mo in Toronto, arranged it so that sam Hell and I skipped the Radisson and instead bunked at Glen and Wanda’s. Which turned out to be way more 5 star than any hotel we could’ve ever booked! By the way everyone needs a P-Mo in their life. This guy has helped, encouraged, prayed, yelled at and with sam Hell, plus he's an alright chap to head to the yea ol pub for a pint. Support and pints, every artist should be so blessed to have a P-Mo in their world.

Anyways…

It’s easy to understand why people personify America. America is a country saddled with contradictions, ideas, hopes, dreams and regrets. Just like every person you’ll ever meet. As we get off the Interstate we see all of that openly displayed as we cruise in the neighborhood towards Glen and Wanda’s. First we see dilapidated homes…poverty. Suddenly everyone is black. Barber shops. Churches on street corners. Graffiti. It’s a combination that instantly brings up fear...for most. I'd like to argue that these areas to be the most exciting; God tends to show up a lot more obviously in these hoods. As we drive on the houses start to improve…the black people fade away and are replaced by white people. All of this happens within 3 blocks. This is America. It’s easy for us to see these things because we’re outsiders.

We know America not just because we’ve experienced it but because we’ve also experienced her art. We’ve see the wild colourful distortions of Andy Warhol’s work, the graceful soaring leap of Michael Jordan and listened to the tales of busted dreams and thin hopes in songs by Springsteen and Dylan. We watch Michael Moore movies and shake our heads and sigh our disgust at all the appropriate parts then head out to Starbucks to argue solutions we never will implement.

To be in America, to see it, to smell it, touch it transforms what you know about the country. America is the only country that sells its citizens a dream, but all too often when you look around all you see are nightmares instead of freedom. To us outsiders that’s how it appears, to you who live there, day in and day out; well I can’t speak for you. Still this is why sam Hell and I were excited to spend time with Glen and Wanda.

Stepping into their home was like stepping into the Wonder Years. If you’ve ever seen that old TV show their home is similar to that, antiquated but in such a pleasing, soothing manner. I spotted a computer in one room and it seemed so…modern and out of place. In another room I was disappointed to see on the coffee table a Time Magazine and not a Life. Stepping into their house was like…coming home. sam Hell and I felt like we could literally shrug off the hectic world and relax…just be. As we sat down to the dinner they graciously prepared for us—out of this world sloppy joes (how fitting seeing sam Hell and I coming off the long road trip…we are sloppy joes!)—our awesome hosts surprised us, entertained us, debated us and stuffed us. I’m not sure how I kept my pants on for the whole meal. It was fascinating listening to them talk about American politics and the future of America while being surrounded by old school furniture and a basement of retro board games like Sorry and Uno. In some ways, it felt like they considered the future and then wisely decided not to go for it.

One of the ongoing debates in those long car rides On The Road that sam Hell and I have is about classic rock vs. modern music. I mean this all boils down to nostalgia and if marketers ever figure out how to bottle that then we’ll be buying way more crap than we could ever want or need. Still we’re either sold this myth or we just accept this myth that things were simpler back then, whenever back then is. Maybe there really was a time in American’s history when it was simpler, less complicated. All I know is if you continue to tightly hold onto the past you can’t accept your future. Future requires being grabbed by both hands, nobody holds onto destiny loosely. I enjoy the potential of the future far more than I enjoy the possibilities of the past.

Carrying on…I’ve written before about Tour Moms and it’s no surprise Wanda ends up in the sam Hell Tour Mom Hall of Fame. Heck, Glen is a great Tour Dad and we’ve also encountered those along our long journey. Had the trip been just to go and visit their home, have dinner and hear their take on America it’d have been totally worth it. But ah…sam Hell and I came to Harrisburg to play a gig, not just get fat off sloppy joes and get rich with ideas. Stick around. It’s about to get hot...as James Brown will appear. Serious? You’ll see.

(to be continued…)

Sammy

Rock Zombie (Pennsylvania Trip Pt. 1)

2008-03-12T11:20:00.001-04:00

ANOTHER BLOG BY SAMMY! CHECK IT OUT BELOW...

Here is my confession:

I enjoy zombie movies. Zombie movies are an entire subgenre of horror movies, but I do relish horror movies. Zombie movies, however (I sound like a professor…high brow profession, low brown obsession) speak to me as they are the ultimate metaphor for our modern society.

Wait for it; it’s going to get super pretentious. Ready?

Zombie movies are about the masses, the hordes and herds that shuffle on, hungry for something they just can’t obtain. Sounds like all of us in North America on a Monday morning. That slightly defeated amble…clearly you can tell we’re not racing towards greatness much less destiny, just a dim witted manager and an obtuse photocopier. Who has time for destiny when there are bills to be paid? Who has time for greatness when family life beckons? But wait…there is more! That’s how potent this metaphor is! Who fights the grumbling zombie multitude? The living…powerful beings all the more determined to thrive—of course always outnumbered but now entrusted with rebuilding our shattered society. I’m telling you…zombie movies are our society, the reflection you’d see in a mirror. If you won’t buy into that then accept that zombie movies are a reflection of a rock n roll band.

We leave the herd behind (the zombies) packing up our gear and hopes and heading off to brave new destinations in hopes of finding the Living. A rock n roll band is nothing—no matter how great its songs are—if they don’t connect with individuals. Want to know something kooky about this whole rock profession? Connecting with people on stage is…well easy. There are enough theatrical tricks and tips, lights and all kinds of hypnotic elements you can use to capture your audience’s attention. Heck anybody who’s jangled their keys in a baby’s face knows how easy it is to capture a person’s attention. But offstage, at a party, at a bar…trying to plug into a person’s world, trying to understand their worth and what they bring to the global party we call Earth…why that’s just a full time job. Ask anybody who is married. But that’s what successful bands do: connect well.

And what better place to bond than a land with 330 million plus people: America. So off we go, Big Red loaded up once again, leaving behind the zombie masses and taking off for…Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. All aboard!! There sam Hell had been selected to perform at the 12th annual Millennium Music Conference and Showcase. It’s always such an honour to get in…now we just gotta actually get there. Surprisingly crossing the border was easy. This time: Peace Bridge lived up to its name. As we sped along, hurtling past mountains, Penn State dorms, semi-trucks and slow old people in chunky American cars we were clearly making good time. Apparently really good time, thought the one police officer who flashed us his red and blue.

Sigh. Damn the man and his rules!

Just like in the movies. He’s approaching Big Red cautiously on the driver’s side from the rear, popping the strap on his gun hostler, like a gunslinger he’s ready to draw and fire. sam Hell says to me: “I’ll do the talking.” Works for me…I sit there and try to look über innocent.

Again just like in the movies: “Do you know how fast you were going?”

sam Hell opened his mouth to respond and it all came rushing out. About Canadian cars and their speedometers in kilometers not miles. About being in a rock band and about going to perform at a rock festival. About the value of performing and rock n roll. When he was all done, the kind police officer, shook his head, handed back sam’s driver license and let us off with a warning. Just like in the movies.

Sometimes people who don’t believe in ghosts will just dismiss something as the wind. Sometimes people who don’t believe in God will say we’re just lucky. sam and I believe in God. Setting off cautiously and slowly, making much less time we arrive. Not at the music festival. Oh no. At Glen and Wanda’s home. And that’s when things get really interesting…

(to be continued…)

Sammy

Beales Infestation

2008-02-28T18:29:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, sam Hell here. It's time to introduce you to Sammy, my utility belt. Who is Sammy? He's Egyptian, he's from Scarlem, he's Jesus' age, and he goes everywhere I go. Come to think of it, I think it might be me who goes everywhere he does. Sammy writes blogs for us from time to time, and it's finally time to begin posting them here! Enjoy...

Beatles Infestation

Friday night at the Horseshoe.

Place is packed, takes me several minutes to get a drink at the bar. I require the drink as I'm nervous. sam Hell has that look on his face when he's about to get into mischief. I start wondering who I should call when I get permission for my one phone call.

He'd decided rather than doing a traditional set of his own songs, he'll play 2 or 3 of his own tunes then rock out with a slew of Beatles covers. Turns out the mischief is all inclusive. Everyone can get behind this and it happily doesn't require bail money. Now I just need my drink to celebrate and supply the courage so I can sing at the top of my off key lungs. That night he performed the following Beatles covers (in alphabetical order):

Back In The USSR
Come Together
Eleanor Rigby
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
Get Back
Got Get You Back Into My Life
Help!
I Am The Walrus
Lady Madonna
Magical Mystery Tour
Taxman

Monkey cracks me up—sam enjoys playing that way to much—and Walrus is great fun however being sober I'm not sure how much sense it all makes. Being that we live in a democracy this is your turn to speak…what Beatles songs would you like to see sam cover in the future? Or not cover? Maybe there are other bands and other songs he should attempt to cover instead.

Speak up now or forever hold your peace.

Sammy

Demonstrations!

2008-02-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

Welcome to February everyone. It's a month for forgetting that January ever existed, it's Black History Month, and it's the time of year when we paint the walls of our hearts with crap from malls on Valentine's Day. I've always protested against this with my dollars, but I'd rather protest something more meaningful and dangerous. I'd rather protest normal. Do you know why? Because the problem with normal is that it keeps on getting worse.

It was a couple of years ago that sam Hell got together and began talking about live music. After you've seen, played with and played in hundreds of different bands, you begin to realize that not every act is meant to deliver incendiary live performances...AND THAT'S OK. But if you are in a band like sam Hell, and you do expand your music in both range and intensity while playing live, you've got to constantly search for something new to give your fans. This is a difficult task given the musical legacy of live performance that we must attempt to inherit. Examples?

The Who - Baba O'Reilly

Queen - Somebody To Love

Crap.

So the question becomes, "What do you do when it seems as though everything has been done?" Well, easy! You just start an everyday apocalypse. You banish the old, you banish the cliches. You start by renaming your live performances! When you come and see sam Hell in Real Life, you go to a demonstration. You don't see a gig, a show, a concert, or anything else. You go to a demonstration. Why? Because you are not satisfied with the status quo, you don't care if the guitars are too loud (in fact, you may even like it), and you want to be involved with people who aren't afraid to part with $8 at the door and to stay out past their bedtime. Nothing at sam Hell's demonstrations is safe (just ask the good people at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Canada), and nothing about it is polite. It is honest, we are incredibly loud, and we want to carry on the tradition of The Clash and Bob Marley by singing about shit that matters. Want to join the movement? Here's one you can believe in:

sam Hell
Friday, February 15th
The Horseshoe Tavern
368 Queen Street W.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
9:00PM

sam Hell

The Business Model Is Dead

2008-01-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

This just in...as of January 1, 2008 the business model for making, marketing, and distributing music is dead. It's not broken, it doesn't need a patch job, it is dead. Gone. Obsolete. Think black and white TV's, except that the old business model won't come back in forty years due to deep feelings of nostalgia. Who am I? Well I'm just sam Hell, and I only play in a young rock and roll band (www.samhellmusic.com). But listen to me when I tell you this:

I AM TELLING YOU THE TRUTH FROM THE INSIDE.

I don't have a point to prove, nor do I have a vendetta. I don't stand to profit from this statement any more than I would if things were still continuing on as they have been since the mid 60's. I am in a band, a young band, and I am simply putting these thoughts on the table for anyone to sink their teeth into.

However, I do have one thing going for me...I am a man, a man with passion, and I am going to do something about where I find myself these days, playing in a band. There are things that can be done, and they will be. As we speak, visionaries around the world are steaming from the ears as they furiously invent solutions that will keep music coming. After all, that's what you and I and everyone else will be looking for at the end of the day. I sincerely doubt that the music business will end as long as there is money to be made, and there most certainly is. Let's be very clear:

Music isn't dead and the business of making money off of music isn't dead...but the model that it is currently based on, is.

Thanks to technology, there are more bands making more music than ever before. Ipods have room for tens of thousands of songs, Myspace didn't die to Facebook, and the dedicated website still has a place in every band's online presence. In the coming months I, sam Hell, intend to help artists solve THE problem of today: How to make a career out of making good and honest music in whatever form it takes, despite the fact that the people in charge of the business aren't completely sure what to do.

NOTE: If you're not interested or need quick money for future plans, go and play on a cruise ship. If not, continue reading.

As I said, plans are being laid to talk about these things in an entertaining, honest and helpful way. These plans will include the music community at every level, from songwriters to bands, managers to A&R people, and lawyers to accountants. As usual, patience rewards, and you'll have to have it if you're interested in hearing what I and many of my co-workers and friends have to say. Let's just end by stating a few things that this upcoming project will not be:

1) Accusatory towards major labels and successful business people.

2) The one-stop, cure-all answer for everyone.

3) Boring.

Hopefully you'll keep checking back in here to note our progress. Have a great night, and as Bono said in 1991, don't let the bastards grind you down.

sam Hell

Me, Just In!

2008-01-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

Hi, it's sam Hell! Sorry I took so long to get here. I have been all over the world the past couple of years, from the prairies to the big cities and from Montreal's lights to Guatemala's hot summer nights. I'm a musician living in Canada, and I've been playing shows and releasing records and singles all over the place for the past couple of years. In that time, I've realized that making music and selling music are two completely different things. It sounds like a basic realization...and maybe it is! I just took a little while to clue in, that's all. Now that I'm here, though, I want to do something about the state of music and the business that exists to get the music from an artist's head to your...Ipod, mp3 player, living room, computer, car, DVD player, mall, radio station...I could go on.

You see, there is more music being made by a greater number of bands than ever before, and we can listen to it just about anywhere! The downside of this great technological advancement is that a great many are uncertain about how to best get all of this music into the hands of fans around the world. I don't have the answers yet, but they do exists. Even as of this week people are beginning to try new and inspired ways of making a career out of being a musician. I have to go and do some research for a few days, but in the meantime please read my lead-off blog just below, or if you like head over to www.myspace.com/samhellinthecity to read it there and check out my music.

I'm ridiculously excited!

sam Hell