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Formats and Editions
1. That Was Then
2. Everyday
3. Sometimes
4. After All This Time
5. So Real
6. Without Your Love
7. Don't You Worry
8. You're An Angel
9. One World
10. Love Is The Key
11. I Believe
12. Angel
More Info:
1) Who/what is Sam? Sam is the name of the singer/frontperson of the band..but also the songwriting/production team is Sam..Sam is not a solo artist. More a team of people with a singer..who happens to be called Sam. 2) How do you present yourselves live? We can present ourselves live in two seperate guises....a full band set-up...using session guys. With Sam up front...looking cool, and wearing all the wacky gear...then there's the acoustic thing. Where we present the songs in an 'unplugged' format...again Sam upfront...and me (Adam) playing acoustic guitar. 3) What sort of people does Sam's music appeal to? We feel that the target audience is not teeny boppers...but...maybe.16-17 upwards...the kinda kids who are a bit cooler. Also the appeal goes out to older folk...I mean we've had 50year olds raving about it..so basically...anyone!!!! 4) Who has influenced you in terms of production and writing? Good question..!!!!!...it's so varied as regards writing influences. And we feel that it shows in the songs....I mean one of us is into Garbage, Dido etc....another is into garage and real 'pop'...and some of us are into everything from Van Halen. To Mozart..as regards the production. Well..Garbage, Sugababes, Madonna..and Max Martin!!!! 5) How did you get together? Biographical info about the main players etc. This could be an epic. So I'll try to keep it short and sweet...Sam and I have worked together in different bands over the past few years, and had small success...Sam then met Daniel..who's a singer songwriter from Austria..who was signed there and had a fair bit of success..and then he introduced Paddy. Who plays a bit of drums and guitar. We jammed about in rehearsal studios a bit. And then they talked me into recording them...so I took up the challenge. And we started writing as a team, and recording the songs in my studio....they pretty much left the production up to me..with some input and ideas from a friend Michael....and the rest as they say is history. As regards the 'live' players...well..Ciaran was the drummer for 'That Petrol Emotion'..a cult band from Ireland....Grant studied jazz in some university in Australia...and Tony studies at Segovia's school as a classical guitarist. And teaches music. THIS NEXT SECTION IS AN INTERVIEW DONE FOR A NEW ZEALAND RADIO STATION TO PROMOTE THE SINGLE 'EVERYDAY' TAKEN FROM THE 'SAM' ALBUM........ (1) Sam - a band, or a singer? Or both? Adam says..'Well truthfully speaking Sam is a band, actually to be more accurate, Sam is a collective of songwriters and musicians.Sam, the singer, is the front person and the face of the whole thing...so actually. To answer your question....Sam is both a band and a singer!!!' Sam says...'Sam' is a few things actually. There's a writing team, which I form part of, and a collection of musicians for live and studio work. I also sing and front the project. So I suppose it's both. (2) How did Sam get together? Adam says.'Sam didn't so much get together as sorta happen spontaneously, really the initial spark came from Sam and Daniel, who wanted to do some writing together. I think Paddy was also 'in' on that as well..I didn't wanna get involved initially, but was eventually talked into producing the first 4 songs on a trial basis...the 5th song we did was actually the real start of the Sam 'sound'...that track 'Time'.wasn't included on the album, mainly 'cos I wasn't happy with the end result..maybe it'll get a remix one day, and see the light of day. We do it live though..and it rocks!!!' Sam says...Adam and I were working together for sometime and we were at a point where we both kind of wanted to try something else. I decided that I wanted to do my own thing for a while. I knew Daniel, a singer songwriter, and I asked him if he would like to do some writing with me. He said yes and got Paddy onboard ... and that was the start of it. We had 4 songs, but no one to produce it...so I asked Adam if he would produce it for us. He wasn't too keen, but after some persuasion he said yes. We recorded 4 songs, which were really a testing ground for the new writing formula, and then we all came out with 'Time.'. We knew we were onto something. And that was the beginning... (3) What were you doing before Sam? Adam says..'Lots of things really...considering life mainly...Sam and I had just been experimenting in the studio with some ideas. We did an album of trippy, ambient tunes that were based on Indian music theories...I know that sounds a bit 'Spinal Tap', but that was what we based it all on. I was personally going through some serious changes in my life at that time, and I guess I just used that music to express those feelings. The album was named 'SA'.which. If you're interested...is the Sanskrit name given to the primordial note. Well, you asked!!!...who knows?, maybe everyone will get to hear it one day. (The album that is, not the primordial note!)' Sam says.I was at a point in my life where I needed something to change. I couldn't express myself, it was a difficult time. I decided to have a break for a while to recharge my batteries. Adam carried on and starting working on an ambient, chill out album. I heard the first track and felt really inspired again and couldn't wait to get involved. There were no lyrics to the songs and my voice was used as another instrument. It was a really interesting time, very freeing and I learnt a lot about my singing and myself. (4) You manage to fuse organic sounds with electronic production to create a sound that is not quite of this earth. Is it your intention to create a sound that goes beyond that of regular 'guitar' bands, and how do you go about achieving this? Adam says...'Sorry!!.can't answer that in too much detail. Don't wanna give all my little tricks away. I've always been a 'live' musician, so performance is paramount, but with the mindblowing technology of recording studios these days, anything is possible really....I mean...the only boundary is your imagination!!! I'm really into creating sounds from unusual sources. There's actually not that much keyboard stuff on the songs, most of the textures and moods are created with guitars. I personally feel that guitar is 'the' instrument. And that a lot of people don't experiment enough with them. So, all you guitarists out there, get radical. Experiment!!! All the other sounds used for Sam are created from any source that may fall into the mixing pot at the time..could be a dog, could be a frog...may possibly be a drum. Anything goes!!!! It wasn't at all intentional. It's just what happened.' Sam says...well that's Adam's department really. He does all the clever things..I just try and explain what I hear and what I think could possibly work. As a band we always try to find new sounds and different ways of doing things. We never just settle on a sound...we like to push things a bit further to see what happens! (5) Where did 'Everyday' come from, lyrically, musically? Adam says...'Well I'll let Sam answer the 'lyrically' part of that question, after all, she's the singer!! Musically the song started life, as most of them do, on acoustic guitar. I seem to recall it was originally intended to be much more poppy than it turned out. Often the case with an ex-rocker at the helm! The verse chord structure was all based around a weird chord.(no idea what it is)..and then the slightly twisted sequence that makes up the rest of the song came out later on...the wah wah bass (yes bass!) was an after thought as the original guitar riff was scrapped, due to lack of interest. I tried to capture a light, summer kinda feel in the production, whilst still maintaining the 'Sam attitude'. The rest just fell into place really.' Sam says...Well, musically it just started as most of them do, on an acoustic guitar as a little idea. Lyrically, it came out quite naturally...the message in the song is about believing in yourself, knowing that everything that happens in your life happens for a reason and not t
