The Samples will perform more than a just a smidgen of its 38-year career when it takes the Egyptian Theatre stage next week.
“We play songs from all the albums, and they all come out really nice,” said Sean Kelly, the band’s singer, songwriter, guitarist and founder. “We feel it out. There is never a time where there’s a pre-print setlist or anything dumb like that. We make a setlist during every show, and it’s all dependent on the vibe.”
The Samples will perform a three-night residency Aug. 29-31, and Kelly looks forward to the run.
“We’re a three piece right now, and it’s been like that for about a year,” he said. “It’s really great because (the songs) sound exactly the same. They’re tight and good, and that has blown all of our minds.”
The collective “minds” in the lineup include Kelly, the band’s original bassist Andy Sheldon and drummer Tom Hughes.
“I do have some string keyboards on stage,” Kelly said. “I’ll set heavy weights on them to keep the strings going.”
Kelly understands the power of music, something he discovered at an early age growing up in Vermont, before relocating to Colorado.
“Psychologically I was kind of a lost kid, and there was that need to prove something, a need to be validated and important,” he said.
His teachers and school counselors at times reinforced Kelly’s resolve.
“I left school early because I was told I had learning disabilities and that I was ‘mentally retarded’ in eighth grade,” he said. “That wasn’t very self-esteem boosting. So, part of (what I decided to do) was me trying to disprove that. It was ‘watch me’ and ‘watch this.’”
After dropping out of school and earning his GED, Kelly landed some part-time jobs and focused on the guitar.
“Before long I was writing songs,” he said. “To me, it all seems so simple. The songs seemed simple to write. It seemed simple to learn how to play guitar and follow my dream.”
The dream, however, wasn’t what Kelly expected.
“There is that thing about living the idealistic dream where you couldn’t be happier and people adore you,” he said. “(This career) has been anything but that. There are times where the loneliest times I’ve known have been during my career. There have been so many holidays I’ve spent alone.”
Although a younger Kelly wanted to pursue music to be famous, he doesn’t feel that much these days.
“I turned 60 in February, and that shocked me,” he said laughing. “The last thing I remember was dropping out and chasing this dream. And now I have a nice girlfriend who lives up in the Northeast, and I have an 11-year-old daughter who goes to school near my home in Colorado. So family is very important to me, and I don’t have that aspiration to be famous that I did when I was younger.”
Still, Kelly enjoys getting up on stage and playing his music for The Samples’ fans.
“I think it’s psychologically healthy,” he said. “It works the vagus nerve, one of those nerves that regulates anxiety and depression. I’ve always dealt with low-grade anxiety and depression, so my career has kept me so busy that I didn’t have to deal with a lot of thinking about that stuff. And when I sing as loud as I do, I feel a release. And that’s something I can feel good about.”
Kelly also likes the feeling of accomplishment when the band plays a good show.
“Unfortunately that feeling doesn’t last that long, and I will forget about it the next day,” he said.
One thing Kelly has come to realize is how important it has been for The Samples to continue its independent-music journey.
“It’s cliche, but as you get older, you see things that are important now that you didn’t think were important then,” he said. “What was important then was watching us work with nothing to pull this off without being told how to do it. Now, 20-something albums later, and all the tours and playing, I don’t feel like I have to prove anything. But hopefully we have been making some positive memories for people.”
The Samples
- When: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29 and 30; 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 31
- Where: Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St.
- Cost: $35-$59
- Phone: 855-745-SHOW
- Web: parkcityshows.com