Sam Roberts (singer-songwriter): Difference between revisions

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Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2002 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 1998. 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 1998, 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, on MapleMusic Recordings. The EP sold slowly at first, but by the summer of 2002 his first single "Brother Down" had become one of the biggest Canadian hits of the year, and the follow up single "Don't Walk Away Eileen" quickly followed suit.

Roberts then signed to Universal Music, releasing his full-length major label debut, We Were Born in a Flame, in 2003. That album's singles, "Where Have All the Good People Gone?" and "Hard Road", received, once again, a large amount of success, mainly in Canada.

The band's new album Chemical City, was released in Canada on April 11, 2006, and in the United States on May 16, 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". The third single in Canada is "With a Bullet".

Bandmates are Eric Fares (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Dave Nugent (guitar, vocals), James Hall (Bass), and Josh Trager (drums).

Sam Roberts is bilingual, speaking both English and French.

Discography

Albums

Brother Down (2000)
The Inhuman Condition (EP) (2001)
We Were Born in a Flame (2003)
Chemical City (2006)

Singles

For the following, only "Where Have All The Good People Gone?" was released as a commercial CD single. An edited version of the "The Gate" was made available for download from iTunes and other online retailers.

From The Inhuman Condition

"Brother Down" (2002) [radio and video only]
"Don't Walk Away Eileen" (2002) [radio and video only]

From We Were Born In A Flame

"Where Have all the Good People Gone?" (2003) [commercial single with video]
"Hard Road" (2003) [radio and video only]
"Dead End/Every Part of Me" (2003) [double radio-only]

From Chemical City

"The Gate" (2006) [radio and video only]
"Bridge to Nowhere" (2006) [radio and video only]
"With a Bullet" (2006) [radio only]

Previous releases with other bands

Piranha (1997) [EP released on 7" yellow vinyl with the band William]
Northstar (1998) [self-titled EP released on CD with the band Northstar]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
2003	Juno Awards	New Artist Of The Year		Nominated
	Juno Awards	Single Of The Year	"Brother Down"	Nominated
	MuchMusic Video Awards	Best VideoFACT	"Brother Down"	Won
		Best Pop Video		Nominated
		Best Independent Video		Nominated
		People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Artist		Nominated
2004	Juno Awards	Album Of The Year	We Were Born in a Flame	Won
		Rock Album Of The Year	We Were Born in a Flame	Won
		Artist Of The Year		Won
	MuchMusic Video Awards	Best Director	"Hard Road"	Won
		Best Cinematography		Won
		Best Post-Production		Won
		People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Artist		Nominated
		Best Video	"Hard Road"	Nominated
		Best Pop Video	"Hard Road"	Nominated
2006	MuchMusic Video Awards	Best MuchMoreMusic Award	"The Gate"	Nominated
2006	MuchMusic Video Awards	People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Artist		Nominated
2007	Juno Awards	Video of the Year	"Bridge to Nowhere"	Won
2007	Juno Awards	Rock Album of the Year	Chemical City	Nominated

External links

Sam Roberts Band - Official Site
Sam Roberts Band - The band's MySpace website
Chemical City - Chemical City Official Site
Sam Roberts Maple Music - Maple Music Site
Sam Roberts Universal Music Canada - Official Universal Music Canada Site
Official Sam Roberts Lost Highway Artist Page

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 ==Biography==
-Born in [[Pointe-Claire, Quebec]], to South African parents, he attended [[Loyola High School (Montreal)|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 the late 1990s. Roberts' bandmate [[George Donoso]] went on to significant success in indie rock circles with [[The Dears]], but Roberts struggled for several years afterward.
+Born in [[Pointe-Claire, Quebec]], to South African parents, he attended [[Loyola High School (Montreal)|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 1998. 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 1998, 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'', on [[MapleMusic Recordings]]. The EP sold slowly at first, but by the summer of 2002 his first single "Brother Down" had become one of the biggest Canadian hits of the year, and the follow up single "Don't Walk Away Eileen" quickly followed suit.