Sam Lapides (born David Samuel Lapides, August 14, 1962, Irvington, New Jersey) is an American singer-songwriter, known as the guitarist and lead vocalist for the bands Ghosthouse and Folkminers. He cites Paul Westerberg, The Replacements,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

as influences. His folk-rock sound has been classified as

Americana (music) Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of Music of the United States, American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the United States, specifically those sounds ...

. Throughout his career, he has produced a variety of recordings and completed numerous tours of the United States and Europe.

Early career

As the youngest of five children, Lapides was raised on the East Coast, moving between New Jersey and Maryland. He settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he attended Community High School where he played drums and joined local band The Evaders. He began playing guitar and started busking on the campus of the University of Michigan. In 1987, he recruited a band to play his songs. The Folkminers developed a rapid local following and released a cassette recording and a self-titled EP.

History

The Folkminers disbanded in 1988 and Lapides moved to Boston and then Los Angeles in pursuit of a music career. Like on the streets of Ann Arbor and in the subway stations of Boston, Lapides continued the folk tradition of street performance and occasionally played on the boardwalk of Venice Beach. One day while performing a song by

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, the song's author and indie-rock legend

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happened to walk by. Wynn liked the rendition so much that he decided to produce several songs.Inbetweens Records & Bookings
/ref> At this time Lapides had just formed his band Ghosthouse. Another of Lapides’ heroes, ex-

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guitarist John Thoman, joined the group. They released their self-titled "Ghosthouse" on Italy's Club de Musique Records. They toured Europe several times in 1994 and signed with European label Semaphore. Ghosthouse released their third full-length recording "Thing Called Life" in 1995 on Semaphore. It was released in the United States on Birdcage Records in 1996. They toured with label mate

Stan Ridgway Stanard "Stan" Ridgway (born April 5, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original le ...

several times. The band continued performing and recording until they disbanded in 1997. During a brief move back to Boston, Lapides put together a band,(featuring noted local bassist Christian T. Bachmann) to record new material for his first solo CD, "Wake up from the Wasteland" on Bluerose Records.Blue Rose Records
/ref> The release was met with critical acclaim and Lapides moved again to Los Angeles. After another solo CD, "We’ve Walked These Streets" on Inbetweens Records and several European tours and the successful re-release of the original "Ghosthouse" CD, Lapides decided to reform Ghosthouse. In 2003, the band reformed. In 2004 they released "Devotion" on Bluerose Records. To support the CD, Sam toured the Netherlands and Denmark where he was joined by guitarist Robin Berlijn of

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and Ellen ten Damme. In 2006 he released a CD of cover songs "Ghost in Me" in tribute to some of his favorite artists and to commemorate his history doing covers and busking. Between 2006 and 2014, Sam Lapides played shows in Europe and Los Angeles with various friends. In early 2014, Sam formed a new band called Sam Lapides and the Rotten Liars. The band included Cliff Conley on guitar, David Dieckman on bass, and Kristin King on drums. Cliff, who played with The Chi-Lites and

Eugene Record Eugene Booker Record (December 23, 1940 – July 22, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the Chicago-based vocal group The Chi-Lites from their formation in 1959 un ...

, brought a R & B element to Sam's songs giving them a bluesy swing. In 2015, they released a CD entitled "Bodie," named after Bodie, California of a ghost town that inspired Sam to write the new songs on the release.http://cdbaby.com/cd/samlapidesandtherottenli CD Baby: SAM LAPIDES: BODIE Paul Rutter and Aaron Guitierrez play bass and drums on the "Bodie" CD. In 2019, Scotty Persico, from The Holy Broken, replaced Cliff Conley on lead guitar. In 2021, Scotty was replaced by Bill Lloyd. The current line-up is Sam Lapides on guitar and vocals, Bill Lloyd on lead guitar, David Dieckman on bass, Kristin King on drums, and Julie Fergus on background vocals. Sam Lapides lives and works in Los Angeles with his wife and artist Maureen Maki.

Discography

#Devastated, Cassette, 1986 #Yesterday's Dreams, Cassette, 1986 #Folkminers, EP, 1987 #2 Feet Down 1,000,000 Miles High, Office Records, Cassette, 1988 #Take a Place, Cassette, 1988 #Ghosthouse, Club de Musique Records, CD, 1993 #Everything is Fine, Live, Club de Musique Records, CD, 1994 #Great Expectations, Live, Lazy Eye Mini Album, 1995 #Thing Called Life, Semaphore, CD, 1995 #Thing Called Life, Birdcage Records, CD, 1996 #Wake Up from the Wasteland, Bluerose Records, CD, 1998 #We’ve Walked These Streets, Inbetweens Records, 2001 #Ghosthouse, Inbetweens Records, CD, 2002 #Devotion, Bluerose Records, CD, 2004 #Ghost in Me, CD, 2006 #Sam Lapides and the Rotten Liars, Bodie 2015

References

#http://www.last.fm/music/Ghosthouse #https://web.archive.org/web/20080509113510/http://www.clubdemusique.com/clubdemusique/html/index.html #http://www.bluerose-records.com #http://www.inbetweens.com/index1.php?page=/rec_cd_detail.php&cdid=IRCD014 #http://www.bluerose-records.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapides, Sam 1962 births Living people Songwriters from New Jersey People from Irvington, New Jersey