FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE <P>- February 10, 2003 - Dear Friends, <P>As you may or may not know there have been many rumors swirling around that The Samples have disbanded and are breaking up. To set the record straight, the band will go on, although the line-up will include some new band members. One of the main reasons for the departure of several of the members is because of the unbelievable levels of financial and external stress surrounding the band over the last several years. Personally, I would always combat the external negativity by constantly touring in hopes that sooner-or-later we would get some kind of monetary relief or "big break", but this never happened. What we did get in return however cannot be defined by money or any other worldly form of validation. Instead we received countless amounts of wonderful people coming to our shows regardless of the fact that the concerts paid us little more than what it cost to put them on. Through the years we could never afford a publicist, had no independent radio support, record label interest, and most of all next to zero recognition by mainstream media - feeling much like ghosts in the music industry. We have sat back and watched lesser known bands get the enormous amounts of recognition that now seem surreal to us, almost like some sort of parlor tricks. <P>At times this has brought myself and The Samples to such levels of sadness that the only thing keeping us going and validating our efforts over the last fifteen years of incredible hard work recording and touring has been you - the audience. Whether you have seen us or heard our music while we were playing in Arizona, Texas, Vermont, Oregon, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Wyoming, New Mexico, New York, Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, California, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Connecticut, Indiana, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Missouri, Idaho, Nevada, Utah or Canada, it has been because of our love of music and our love for our audience. Many people would probably guess that after selling more than a million CDs of our music and after well over 250 tours of the United States that we would all be on "MTV Cribs" showing off our new houses and shiny cars. Nothing could be farther from the truth. <P>It's incredibly expensive to tour, and we have kept our entire organization running since our inception with virtually no royalties from the sales of our records to offset the costs of touring and to maintain the daily operations of our band. I personally spent the whole year of 2001 without a place to call home, living in hotels or out of my bunk on the tour bus while the band was on the road. I had a major foot infection during the 2001 summer tour and had to go to the emergency room, signing in as a transient since I had no physical address at the time. My acoustic six string Gibson guitar, the instrument I make my living with and write most of The Samples songs on actually hurts my fingers to play because the action is so poor, but I have never been able to afford the Martin HD28 I have always dreamed of owning. What a difference that would make to the sound of my music when I am performing live on stage, but purchasing a new acoustic guitar has always been out of reach for me, a luxury which I could never seem to justify financially. <P>The obvious question is how the hell could The Samples really be in this situation? Over the years we have done our best to keep it out of view of our audience. Even with everything we have accomplished to date, poor management advice and bogus contracts have crippled us financially. On limited resources, no matter how difficult it was monetarily we did whatever we could to keep the music going, everyone sacrificing to keep the band alive. I have personally given my all, handling every aspect of this organization's operations from writing and performing the songs, developing and stocking merchandise, creating and maintaining our website, producing new records, planning and staffing our tours, even running back to the tour bus while Andy played an acoustic solo number during our shows so I could download pictures of the audience from our digital camera to be projected behind the stage when I returned for the next number. No matter how difficult things have gotten, we have always believed in ourselves and the power of the music - feeling in our hearts one day our ship would finally come in. <P>Now myself and The Samples are at a cross road. We have absolutely no financial resources to continue. We are trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collector and are down to just faith as far as continuing on as a band. At the end of the last tour I felt like it was time to end this ride, exactly like George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." I felt so deeply concerned and responsible for The Samples' debt, overwhelmed by the pure senselessness of so much work and dedication with so little monetary reward. For the last several months, in an effort to pay our debtors in good faith it has been a stretch for myself to keep up on paying my own phone bill and car insurance, not to mention rent. <P>Well, I fell into a dark place through the holidays and could hardly get off the couch. Somewhere between doctor visits and threats from the IRS to levy my small amount of personal belongings I reached out to a friend named Ralph Pastor or maybe he reached out to me. He helped tremendously in nurturing not only my state of being but restored the faith and confidence that had all but completely left my soul for my contribution to the music world. Ralph is truly a man of integrity, an eternal optimist and a long time Samples fan. He has incredible ideas and hope for the future of myself and The Samples. He also has great knowledge of business, something which I obviously do not. He is helping to try to put in place all the components which we have been lacking over the years like a financial planner and an integrous legal team. Ralph is also diligently trying to settle all of our debts and create payment schedules to eliminate our back debts and create a strong and profitable business model from which The Samples will operate in the future. But this is where we need your help and support. <P>We are reaching out to you, our fans, our purpose for playing, our reasons for faith and hope, to give you the opportunity to not only gain insight and understanding into our situation, but also to help us keep this great music alive. There has to be a reason and a place for this music even if it never gets heard in arenas, mentioned in any major publications or seen on MTV. I truly believe that this music has to be here if for nothing else, just for balance. So few bands are doing what The Samples or myself are doing with such integrity, dedication, spirit and soul for the pure honest sake of art and music. If it all ended tomorrow I would live out my days with no regrets, but would feel somewhere deep inside that our best days were always still ahead of us. <P>With that said we are asking for your financial support, whatever that may look like to you. We are offering a special laminate which can be found by clicking on the link below. It is a Samples All Access Pass - The Lifetime Tour, allowing its owner to enjoy our music for years to come. We haven't set a price for this laminate; rather we are asking you to place your own value on its worth. Possibly some of you can afford more, others less, but one thing is for certain - if The Samples are to continue to make music in the years ahead it will be due solely to your generosity with this initiative. Our arms are outstretched and we are asking for your support. <P>Click on the "Company Website Address" Link below to learn more. Thanks so much for being a part of our music. By the way, Tom Askin and I just finished another acoustic tour, and I can honestly say it was one of the best tours I have ever been a part of, with standing ovations night after night. Take care. <P>Company Website: <A HREF="http://www.thesamples.com/country_store.htm" TARGET=_blank>
http://www.thesamples.com/country_store.htm[/url] <BR>
