Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts
Sam Roberts singing at Lollapalooza in 2007
Background information
Born	October 2, 1974 (1974-10-02) (age 35) Pointe-Claire, 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 Records (Japan) Lost Highway Records (USA)
Website	Sam Roberts Band

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.

Biography

Born in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, to South African parents, he attended Loyola High School and McGill University. Roberts formed the band that was eventually 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 couldn't break 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 home. In 2001, Roberts recorded and released a six-song EP, The Inhuman Condition, independently. The EP sold slowly at first, but following a re-release of the EP in the summer of 2002 on MapleMusic Recordings, his first single "Brother Down" became one of the biggest Canadian hits of the year, and the second single, "Don't Walk Away Eileen", followed suit 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, though mainly just in Canada.

The band's second album, Chemical City, was released in Canada in April 2006. In Canada, 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". "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' most recent 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 of 13 years, Jen, and they have two daughters.^{[citation needed]}

Band members

The members of the Sam Roberts Band as of 2008 are:

• Sam Roberts (lead singer, guitar)
• Dave Nugent (lead guitar)
• Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar)
• James Hall (bass)
• Josh Trager (drums)

Past band members or roles:

• Corey "Cuddy" Zadorozny (drums 2001-2005)
• Dan Roberts (keyboards 2001-2002)
• Dave Nugent played bass until James Hall rejoined the band in 2002
• Eric Fares played lead guitar until James Hall rejoined the band in 2002

Discography

• Brother Down (2000)
• We Were Born in a Flame (2003)
• Chemical City (2006)
• Love at the End of the World (2008)

Awards and nominations

Roberts first single, "Brother Down" received two nominations from the Juno Awards and three nominations from the MuchMusic Video Awards, winning the award for Best VideoFACT. The song "Hard Road", from Roberts' third album We Were Born in a Flame, received six nominations at the 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards and received the awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Post-Production. Overall, Roberts has received 11 awards from 24 nominations.

Juno Awards

The Juno Awards is a Canadian awards ceremony presented annually by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Roberts has received four awards from seven nominations.^[3][4][5]

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]

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.
• September 2006: Headline performer at the annual Student Society of McGill University's Frosh.
• January 1, 2008: AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, outdoor ice hockey game in Buffalo, New York.
• July 2008: Opened for The Eagles in Moncton, New Brunswick
• March 29, 2009: Performed at the 2009 Juno Awards
• August 7, 2009: Performed a free concert at Sidney Crosby's hometown Stanley Cup celebrations in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.
• August 15, 2009: Performed at the Big Time Out in Cumberland, British Columbia....

References

External links

• Sam Roberts Band
• Sam Roberts at MySpace