Sam Roberts
| Sam Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Sam Roberts perfoming at Lollapalooza in 2007 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
October 2, 1974 Westmount, Quebec, Canada |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Rock, Indie Rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
Vocals Guitar Bass Violin |
| Years active | 2000 - present |
| Labels | Secret Brain MapleMusic Recordings Universal Music Canada Cordova Bay UK Pony Canyon (Japan) Lost Highway Records (USA) |
| Website | Sam Roberts Band |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson ES-335, Fender Telecaster | |
Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.
Life and career
Born in Westmount three weeks after his parents immigrated to Montreal from South Africa, Sam Roberts grew up on Cedar Avenue in Pointe-Claire, where his family moved when he was five years old. He attended St. Edmund Elementary School in Beaconsfield, Loyola High School in N.D.G. and John Abbott College in Ste. Anne de Bellevue before graduating from McGill University in Montreal. Roberts formed the band that eventually became known as William in 1993. The band's name was changed to Northstar in 1996. Although the band gained some notice in independent rock circles, they never broke through to a national audience and broke up in 1999 after failing to release an album.[1] Roberts' bandmate George Donoso went on to significant success in indie rock circles with The Dears but Roberts struggled for several years afterward.
After disbanding Northstar in 1999, Roberts promptly recorded the full-length and now very collectible independent debut, Brother Down, at his home. In 2001, Roberts recorded and independently released a six-song EP, The Inhuman Condition. The EP sold slowly at first but following a re-release in the summer of 2002 on MapleMusic Recordings, his first single, "Brother Down", became one of the biggest Canadian hits of the year and was followed by the second single, "Don't Walk Away Eileen", in the fall.
Roberts then signed to Universal Music and released his full-length major label debut, We Were Born in a Flame, in June 2003. That album's singles, "Where Have All the Good People Gone?" and "Hard Road", received a large amount of success, although mainly in Canada.
The band's second album, Chemical City, was released in Canada in April 2006. The first single was "The Gate", which quickly shot to number one on Canadian rock radio. The second single in Canada was "Bridge to Nowhere", which won the Juno Award for Video of the Year in 2007. "With a Bullet", the third song used to promote the album on Canadian radio, received little attention and no video was made for it.
Roberts' third album, Love at the End of the World, was released in May 2008. It debuted at the number one position on the Canadian album chart,[2] a first for Roberts. The lead single, "Them Kids", debuted on iTunes on March 4, 2008.
Sam Roberts is trilingual, speaking English, French, and Spanish. He married his high school sweetheart Jen in 2004 and they have three children.[3]
Sam Roberts and his bandmates released their fourth studio album, "Collider", on May 10, 2011.[4] It is the first album under the moniker "Sam Roberts Band" instead of "Sam Roberts".[5] The first single, "I Feel You" was officially released to Canadian radio on February 28, with an iTunes Canada release of March 8.
Band members
The members of the Sam Roberts Band as of 2011 are:
- Sam Roberts (lead singer, guitar)
- Dave Nugent (lead guitar)
- Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar)
- James Hall (bass)
- Josh Trager (drums)
Discography
- Brother Down (2000)
- We Were Born in a Flame (2003)
- Chemical City (2006)
- Love at the End of the World (2008)
- Collider (2011)
Awards and nominations
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards is a Canadian awards ceremony presented annually by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Brother Down" | Single of the Year | Nominated |
| New Artist of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | We Were Born in a Flame | Album of the Year | Won |
| Rock Album of the Year | Won | ||
| Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| 2007 | "Bridge to Nowhere" | Video of the Year | Won |
| Chemical City | Rock Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Love at the End of the World | Artist of the Year | Won |
| Rock Album of the Year | Won | ||
| "Detroit '67" | Video of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Them Kids | Video of the Year | Nominated |
| Group of the Year | Nominated | ||
| "Collider" | Rock Album of the Year | Nominated |
MuchMusic Video Awards
The MuchMusic Video Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. Roberts has received five awards from fourteen nominations.[6][7][8][9]
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Brother Down" | Best VideoFACT | Won |
| Best Pop Video | Nominated | ||
| Best Independent Video | Nominated | ||
| Sam Roberts | People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist | Nominated | |
| 2004 | "Hard Road" | Best Director | Won |
| Best Cinematography | Won | ||
| Best Post-Production | Won | ||
| Best Video | Nominated | ||
| Best Pop Video | Nominated | ||
| People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2006 | "The Gate" | Best MuchMoreMusic Award | Nominated |
| People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | "Them Kids" | Best Director | Nominated |
| Best Post-Production | Won |
Notable performances
- July 31, 2003: Opening performer at Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, otherwise referred to as SARStock, promoted to mitigate the economic downturn in Toronto following a limited outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
- June 12, 2003: National Hockey League's (NHL) NHL Awards ceremony main performer
- November 16, 2003: Canadian Football League's (CFL) 91st Grey Cup halftime show in Regina, Saskatchewan.
- July 2, 2005: Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario.
- January 1, 2008: AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, outdoor ice hockey game in Buffalo, New York.
- August 2, 2008: Opened for The Eagles in Moncton, New Brunswick
- March 29, 2009: Performed at the 2009 Juno Awards
- July 18,19 2009: Performed at Folk on the Rocks, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
- August 7, 2009: Performed a free concert at Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, in honour of Sidney Crosby and his Stanley Cup win.
- February 20, 2010: Performed at 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
- December 31, 2010: Performed free concert in Brampton, Ontario for New Year's Eve celebrations.
- June 25, 2011: Performed at Bobcaygeon Musicfest in Bobcaygeon.
- July 1, 2011: Performed a free concert in Ottawa on Canada Day for Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
- September 9, 2011: Performed at University of Toronto's FROSH week.
See also
References
- ^ "Sam Roberts Biography". MapleMusic Recordings. http://www.maplemusic.com/artists/sro/bio.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ "A whole lot of love for Sam Roberts". Toronto Sun. 2008-05-30. http://torontosun.com/Entertainment/Music/2008/05/30/5718566-sun.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Biography for Sam Roberts". IMDB.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1391356/bio. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
- ^ "Upcoming Canadian Releases for 2011!". CBC.ca. 2011-01-12. http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2011/1/Upcoming-Canadian-Releases-for-2011. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
- ^ http://www.rounder.com/artist/news/detail.aspx?nid=4558&aid=97806
- ^ "OLP leads Much noms". Calgary Sun. Canoe, Inc.. 2003-05-22. http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=74680&x=articles&s=showbiz. Retrieved 2008-11-20.[dead link]
- ^ "MuchMusic Video Awards '04". Calgary Sun. Canoe, Inc.. 2004-06-08. http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=85360&x=articles&s=showbiz. Retrieved 2008-11-20.[dead link]
- ^ "Billy Talent, Kardinal up for MuchMusic video honours". CBC. 2006-05-24. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/05/24/much-music-nominees.html. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- ^ "Winners". MuchMusic. http://www.muchmusic.com/events/mmva08/nominees/. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
External links
- Sam Roberts Band
- Sam Roberts on Myspace
- Sam Roberts at the Internet Movie Database
- Sam Roberts Band collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
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