The big leagues
Talking to local star Sam Kelly about landing gig with Andy Frasco

Greetings, dear readers! This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Durango’s hometown musical hero Sam Kelly. A familiar face for nearly 15 years in the local music scene, Sam, who grew up in Dolores, played with Elder Grown and also worked at iAM Music. He recently moved to Denver with Elder Grown before being called up to the Big Leagues to play with Andy Frasco and the U.N. 

After subbing in for a few months, he was officially indoctrinated into the band with a ceremonial swig of whiskey at last weekend’s Telluride Blues and Brews. (Read about it in the Denver Post: tinyurl.com/yv9d6ks6.)

He’s now a bona fide touring musician, playing saxophone night after night for thousands of fans. I caught up with Sam to hear about making the jump from local stages to a life on the road with one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in the country.

SS: You’re in town for a hot minute and things have shifted in your musical life in a massive way. You were recently hired by Andy Frasco to play horns. What do we call this? Have you graduated? Leveled up?

SK: Leveled up.

SS: What’s it like to come from a small pond and get the call to live the life of a touring musician?

SK: Durango is this awesome sanctuary. You can incubate here until you feel like you’re growing out of it. I moved to Denver with Elder Grown, and we got asked to open for Andy Frasco and the U.N. down in New Mexico of all places. I hit it off with those guys. Andy said, “Hey, you guys should sit in with us … So I drove across the state and sat in with them at the Animas City Theatre. I got up on Andy’s keyboard, ripped a solo, and it’s all history from there.

SS: For readers who might not be familiar with Andy Frasco and the U.N., can you describe what kind of music it is?

SK: For all intents and purposes, it’s a rock and roll band with jammy, funky elements. He’s got some fantastic albums and great music videos, but the show is the real thing. It’s rowdy – ridiculous stage antics. Andy’s half quarterback, half comedian. We’ll be doing a song and suddenly he’ll throw in a Nirvana cover mid-set. Two songs in, he’s calling tunes for the rest of the night. Everything is based on the crowd. It’s high-energy and very interactive.

SS: What’s it like to look out at thousands of people?

SK: It’s terrifying (laughs). You want to make it to that level, but once you’re there it’s overwhelming. I got thrown into this so quickly there hasn’t been much time to second-guess it. Either I commit, or I lose the gig. So I jump in, eyes closed, then open them and think, “Oh my God.” It feels like a dream that I get to do this almost every day.

SS: How do you pass your time between gigs?

SK: I still work for iAM Music doing marketing and event promotion, so that fills a lot of my daytime. Otherwise, it’s just being on the road with your friends – cracking jokes, getting dinner, hanging out. You spend more time together off stage than on, so the camaraderie really matters.

SS: What’s the biggest surprise about being a touring musician?

SK: How exhausting it is. It’s a lot of work. The best-case scenario is being on the bus where everyone has their own bunk, but you’re still getting jostled around all night. And trying not to eat piles of greasy food every day – that’s honestly the hardest part. You’re living a dream, but it’s still a grind.

SS: What’s coming up that you’re excited about?

SK: I’m excited for Elder Grown’s show at the Animas City Theatre in November. It’ll be great to come home for that. I’m also glad we have almost all of November off from the Frasco group to reset a little. Then we’ve got some big New Year’s Eve shows and more cool things in January and February. Elder Grown is also doing a weeklong tour with Andy Frasco, so I get to bring my boys along. That’s so cool. I still feel like the fresh little baby in the group.

SS: Thanks so much for chatting. Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

SK: If somebody’s reading this and wondering how to make something like this happen – it’s perseverance. Keep your eyes on your version of the dream. As cheesy as that sounds, I believe that. I’ve worked really hard at this, but it’s also luck. Looking back on how many bands I’ve played with and how much I’ve put into it, I’m just glad the effort paid off.