Lessampou

Bio, Influences & the Making of Lonesomeville Les Sampou is a self taught, roots-based musician, who got her start in the Boston folk scene in the nineties. Her new 2010 record "Lonesomeville" expands the range of her critically-acclaimed four previous efforts. Sampou, who lives on the South Shore outside Boston, began playing in the streets in what she terms as “relatively late in life.” At twenty five, when all her friends were getting married, buying houses and planning for kids,...

Bio, Influences & the Making of Lonesomeville Les Sampou is a self taught, roots-based musician, who got her start in the Boston folk scene in the nineties. Her new 2010 record "Lonesomeville" expands the range of her critically-acclaimed four previous efforts. Sampou, who lives on the South Shore outside Boston, began playing in the streets in what she terms as “relatively late in life.” At twenty five, when all her friends were getting married, buying houses and planning for kids, Sampou started hitting the pavement to Harvard Square and the subway tunnels, opening her case for coins and applause. It was there she found her voice and polished her guitar playing and wrote the first of her prolific collection of songs. "Sampou is one of the best lyricists to be found in this era of the singer/songwriter. She has a mastery that many accomplished writers can only marvel at and possibly secretly envy. “Songwriter’s Monthly,, New York City After cutting her teeth in the streets, Les began playing area clubs, doing the 9 pm - 1 am shifts for little or no cash that can be summed up as “paying her dues.” After a couple years of what she describes as “too much alcohol and drugs,” Sampou found the coffeehouse folk scene. She describes this period by saying, “Being in front of a listening audience scared me to death. My hands would shake and my voice would seize up. But I was hooked.” She worked her stage fright and didn’t stop writing. Her first indie release “Sweet Perfume” caught the attention of legendary DJ Dick Pleasants and it soon was on the doorstep of Rounder Records, where she was immediately signed. Rounder released “Fall From Grace” and it hit the top of the charts of Gavin Americana Radio in 1997. "New England singer-songwriter Sampou has a distinctive folk and blues style that has made her a favorite at folk festivals from Philadelphia to Kerrville. An American storyteller, Sampou is joined by guitarist Duke Levine and harmonica wiz Jerry Portnoy on "Fall from Grace." Produced by Mason Daring, "Holy Land," "The Things I Should've Said," "Home Again," and "Alibis" are great places to begin your introduction to this exemplary artist." FMBQ Sampou’s third disc, the eponymously-titled album of 1999, was a departure from her folk and blues sound and her penchant for rock began to color her voice and her writing. Despite being shelved by Rounder Records as too much of a side step from her earlier releases, the CD was well received in the music industry. “Les Sampou” is a remarkable CD full of the kind of songs you play over and over again. Listening to songs like "I Want You" -- and believe me I've listened to it enough to wear a groove in my CD -- you can only wonder why Sampou isn't in regular rotation on radio stations across the country. Sampou's mature voice and intelligent heartfelt lyrics make the current flavors of the month on the radio sound like the lightweights they are." Digitalcity Boston, John Black LS Bio page two… Sampou and Rounder parted ways Les released her first all acoustic country blues album, “Borrowed & Blue.” Always side-stepping categorization, this time Sampou put out a collection of the guitar-based blues tunes that were a staple in Les’s live shows. "Sampou's guitar work is breathtaking--her six-string mentor Paul Rishell must be proud. Most notably her vocal work is thrilling, adding layers of emotional depth to this eclectic mix of four Sampou originals, old classics by the likes of Mississippi Fred McDowell and Blind Willie McTell and some surprises, like Bob Dylan's Meet Me in the Morning. An understated triumph." Patriot Ledger, Jay Miller But, it wasn’t until now with her 2010 self-released “Lonesomeville,” that Sampou feels like she “did it right this time.” Pairing up with recording engineer Chris Rival, Sampou and her all star band of Boston’s cream of the crop session players recorded Lonesomeville live in two days. Ducky Carlisle, mix engineer, added his acclaimed rock edge to the Americana set of blues and soul-tinged country tunes. Lyrically, Lonesomeville sums up what Sampou writes best—love gone wrong, hard goodbyes, and honky tonk heartbreak. “There is plenty of loving--hard loving and soft loving-in all kinds of places and spaces—on a train, in bed, on the road, and on the sly. Lonesomeville takes us through lonely hotel rooms, honky tonk highways and the bedrooms of hard-living lovers. The lucky listener gladly goes along, following Sampou on this journey, getting lost in the sexy sway of her voice.” Roberta B. Swartz, The Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange But Lonesomeville is best listened to, not read about. As Music Critic Ken Capobianco reports after travelling the LA coast with Lonesomeville in his cd player, “If you see that lonesome highway, one of the quickest ways to stem the melancholy is to pop this in the CD player, turn it up and forget to look back.” LS Influences: Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, Aretha Franklin, The Band, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hank Williams, The Pretenders, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Lowell George & Little Feat, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, CSNY. LS Bio page three…………… The Making of Lonesomeville: Two rehearsals and two days of live recording to keep it fresh was the plan. And to make it fit the Do-it-Yourself-Budget. And fresh it is. Les surrounds herself with the best of Boston’s night owls: pedal steel/guitarist Kevin Barry (Mary Chapin Carpenter; Paula Cole, Peter Wolf), bassist Paul Kochanski (Swinging Steaks), drummer Andy Plaisted (The Giant Kings), guitarist Mike Dinallo (The Radio Kings), and mandolinist Jimmy Ryan (Hayride). Co-Produced by David Ogden and Andy Plaisted; Recorded live by Chris Rival; Mixed by Ducky Carlisle. “Hot is the understatement of the year for this release! It’s fu%king great! And what a band!” Troy Tyree, WCUW Notable Venues: Tin Angel - Philadelphia, Pa. World Cafe - Philadelphia, Pa. Bottom Line - New York City, N.Y. Bluebird Café, Nashville Sanders Theatre - Boston, Ma. Club Passim Cambridge, Ma. The Point, PA Eddie's Attic - Atlanta, Ga. Fiddle & Bow Society - Winston-Salem, N.C. Freight & Salvage, Berkley, CA The Globe Theater, MD Masters Musicians Festival, KY Old Town School of Music, Chicago Godfrey Daniels, PA The Turning Point, NY The Ark, MI Café Lena, NY Stamford Center for the Arts, CT Acoustic Café, CT Avalon Theatre, MD The Cherry Tree, PA Cape Cod Melody Tent, MA The Music Circus, MA Les performed at Montreal Jazz Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival, where she won the New Folk Songwriting Award, made numerous appearances at Philadelphia Folk Festival, Toronto Blues Festival and Falcon Ridge to name a few. She has conducted workshops at Berklee School of Music and appeared on the top syndicated radio programs such as Acoustic Cafe, World Cafe, and NPR. Sampou has released five albums, three on her own label, MoNando Music, and two on Rounder Records, Her second album, "Fall from Grace", topped the Gavin Americana charts nationwide.