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Late '80s, Bay-Area of San Francisco, the punk scene in Berkeley and its surroundings is very lively and among the bands warming up around 924 Gilman Street are names like Operation Ivy, Green Day, Jawbreaker, and Samiam.
If from the historic core and the ashes of the ska-punk of the first will emerge the future Rancid, and for the history of Green Day rivers of ink have been spilled, with the Jawbreaker who will implode after leaving their mark in the mid '90s with “24 Hour Revenge Therapy”, the Samiam formed in 1988 from the ashes of Isocracy, can be considered the losers of the group, despite several lineup changes, have survived these 30 years the illusion of becoming something greater.
High (in)fidelity.
The historical core of Samiam is formed by the duo of Jason Beebout, the singer, and Sergie Loobkoff (guitarist), who have been present from the beginning to today, while the roles of bassist and drummer have seen significant changes, considering that no less than 6 drummers have passed through the band!
After all, when you're in a band that doesn't tickle the fancy of the masses or either pocket, the motivations can also falter, and you decide to do something else or move elsewhere.
Stateless punk in no man's land.
Many bands, many, don't succeed, that’s not the point, the news is not here. Nevertheless, it must be said, Jason and Sergie had also smelled the success of their friends Green Day (with whom they played several times) back in 1994 when signing with Atlantic, see below.
Samiam, in a certain sense, are children of everyone and no one. They are somewhat stateless punks with imprints left all over the place, but never well-marked in an indelible way. Honestly, they never cared too much about being too fundamentalistic.
After all, Samiam’s records, as lucidly stated by one of the two historical members, would almost never end up among the Best emo '90s records nor among the Best punk-rock '90s records. Too undisciplined to be a trivial pop-punk band, too inconsistent to ascend to the hardcore throne.
The career of Samiam, which counts eight studio albums in total, has been a real rollercoaster, and the evolution in terms of sound over the years has been significant, without losing spontaneity and those characteristics that make them recognizable.
1994: point break
If on July 17, 1994, further south of the Bay-Area, precisely at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Italy is at a crucial point, almost at the peak of its American adventure teetering between dream and despair, a bit further north, Samiam decides to take the plunge and sign a contract with a major label (Atlantic), preparing to take the decisive penalty kick. On August 23, “Clumsy” would be released, the successor to “Billy”, but the reception, despite a timely hook like “Capsized” with a related music video, will be lukewarm.
1996-1997: point break (in reverse)
Atlantic, not being satisfied, and with a second album already ready, decides to cut ties with the band and refuses to release the work. These are fairly tumultuous years for the band, which, after a dispute with mom-major, will manage to obtain, by buying them, the rights to the album only in 1997: it will be the Swedish Burning Heart that publishes it after a thousand vicissitudes.
Matchstick on a sea-blue background.
If “Billy” (1992) had been the album of post-hardcore precariousness that would make Bob Mould, Grant Hart, and Greg Norton laugh under their smug mustaches in a photographic snapshot of the "New Day Rising" period and “Clumsy” that of illusory permanent stability, “You Are Freaking Me Out” updates the dark parables of broken loves translating them into shouted pop-punk prose.
That the losers’ trademark made of heavy silences and spectacular emotional surges is always there is demonstrated by “Factory”, a totem piece to shout at the top of your lungs. And one can talk without reverential fear of that three-letter word, without risking indictment for fascism apology.
And it matters little if “She Found You” might seem to diminish their value by trivializing the formula if you can still faintly whisper the refrain of “If You Say So” under your breath at the horizon or return to shouting in unison with Jason on “My Convenience” and “Full On”.
Although, as emphasized, wearing more shoes has certainly not helped increase their audience neither among the skateboarders raised on beer, Converse, and melodic hardcore like Lagwagon nor among those who at the time were struck on the road to the new (?) rock attractions coming from north direction Seattle.
Let’s resound the notes of “My Convenience” in unison, hold each other tight, cry and scream to the sky, forget the last penalty kick of the divine ponytail like life's bitter pills and rise again from the flames together.
“I think that our style has grown in a way that we are concerned in writing songs rather than trying to be punk or aggressive. Definitely, I would agree with anyone that complained that we are no longer punk enough. That isn’t a concern for us...we just try to make music. That isn’t to say that we aren’t considered loud, shitty punk by most people that don’t listen to aggressive music. Hopefully, we have come to the point where both people that love punk music and others that hate punk, can like us. It has always been a goal for me to bridge that gap and get all sorts of people into what we are doing.”
(Sergie Loobkoff)
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 She Found You (00:00)
what the hell have you got to look forward to
i don't hear anybody knocking at your door
your life has been a message in a bottle
dumped in the ocean, never reaching any shore
at the point where nothing makes you happy
these days seem darker than they've ever been before
here it comes again, that old familiar feeling
get sick and leave your troubles on the floor
(just when i thought you were breaking down
just when i thought you were breaking down
she found you
just when i thought you were breaking down
just when i thought you were breaking down)
you're shuttin people out has become more like a reflex
they used to be your friends, but they don't know you anymore
don't mean to hurt you, but it's my only self defense
i make myself a mystery, so they don't know who to look for
look at yourself, have you noticed your complexion
looks like you've been spending too much time indoors
in the mirror can you see your reflection
or am i the only one who's noticed that you look bored
(chorus)
i watched you fall apart
and never made a sound
what the hell have you got to look forward to
i don't hear anybody knocking at your door
your life has been a message in a bottle
dumped in the ocean, never reaching any shore
at the point where nothing makes you happy
these days seem darker than they've ever been before
here it comes again, that old familiar feeling
get sick and leave your troubles on the floor
(chorus)
03 Cry Baby Cry (00:00)
The king of Marigold was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for the queen
The queen was in the parlour playing piano for the children of the king
Cry baby cry, make your mother sigh
She's old enough to know better
So cry baby cry
The king was in the garden picking flowers for a friend who came to play
The queen was in the playroom painting pictures for the children's holiday
Cry baby cry...
The duchess of Kirkcaldy always smiling and arriving late for tea
The duke was having problems with a message at the local Bird and Bee
Cry baby cry...
Twelve o'clock a meeting 'round the table for a seance in the dark
With voices out of nowhere put on especially by the children for a lark
Cry baby cry...
05 Out of My Mind (00:00)
how did you get this far, understanding nothing at all
you're nothing but small talk, is there anybody home
is there a secret plan that you follow, do you do any thinking of your own
make up your mind, flip a coin or something
just say anything but i don't know
you do so much sneaking around, is it some kind of a stupid little game
let's pretend that you're the master mind, and i'm your little blind dope
(CHORUS)
stay out of my sight, i'll put you out of my mind
don't even want to know you anymore
stay out of my sight, i'll put you out of my mind
out of my mind
don't even want to know you anymore
stay out of my sight, i'll put you out of my mind
how did you get this far, understanding nothing at all
you're nothing but small talk, is there anybody home
transparent, simple mind
just hold your hands over my eyes
unless you're trying to insult me
you'd better work harder on those lies
(CHORUS)
06 Ordinary Life (00:00)
She's always restless,
she's over-medicated
with the kind of emmotion that feels out of place.
Never give your opinion they've got all the answers
follow the leader but remember where you've been..
So dont leave,its not me you know
can't control what goes through my mind.
So stay, please understand,
i don't mean all i said tonight.
Haven't slept for days and my words dont seem to come out right,
it's just a phase that you're gonna grow out of when you die,
and it's alright
you know,everythings going to be just fine
is it too much to ask for,some kind of ordinary life?
Two weeks clean a vague reality,
from a life time clouded,
lost details of your dreams,
the words you eat
the pills you need to sleep,
are things you never think if till they're always on your mind..
So don't leave,its not me you know,
can't control what goes through my mind,
so stay,please understand,
i dont mean all i said tonight.
Haven't slept for days and my words don't seem to come out right
it's just a phase that you're gonna grow out if when you die,
and it's alright,
you know everythings going to be just fine,
is it too much to ask for some kind of ordinary life?
Don't leave!
it's not me you know
can't control what goes through my mind,
so stay please understand i don't mean all i said tonight..
Haven't slept for days and my words don't seem to come out right,
it's just a phase that you're gonna grow out of when you die,
and its alright,
you know everythings going to be just fine,
is it too much to ask for some kind of ordinary life?
Is it too much to ask for, some kind of ordinary life?
Is it too much to ask for, some kind of ordinary life?
Is it too much to ask for, some kind of ordinary life?
07 Factory (00:00)
Old steel factory casting shadows
What it meant to me no one could know
Kept him away from me and I was greatful
And to the bar across the street where he made last call
(Chorus)
Big man
Beer can
Back hand
My last stand
Late night
Fist fight
Black eye
Who's right
Minor tragedy family outing
Major catastrophe two week vacation
Long year seventeen birthday coming
July 5th I can leave no more running
Old steel factory casting shadows
Come July
Please come July
13 Full On (00:00)
How do i still want you,
With everything you've made me do,
You almost taste like hate,
And i can't stay away,
Self destruction, no pain,
Character reduction, slow fade,
Lazy reflex, no feeling,
Hand to mouth, tightly bound,
Remember when we met,
Seemed so innocent,
But i was different then,
Now i know how the story ends,
Self destruction, no pain,
Character reduction, slow fade,
Lazy reflex, no feeling,
Hand to mouth, tightly bound,
I'm the one with the unreached goals,
Never thought i could sink so low,
I believed everything i was told,
Save me from the undertow,
Big on suckers bets,
Placed my soul in debt,
Looks like from where I'm at,
There's no coming back,
I'm the one with the unreached goals,
Never thought i could sink so low,
I believed everything i was told,
Save me from the undertow,
Save me, save me, save me...
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