by Jeff Gomez (Author)
In the mid-nineties, Sammy checked all the indie-rock boxes. The duo-East Village singer/guitarist Jesse Hartman and L.A. lead guitarist Luke Wood-released a jangly, lo-fi debut on the label run by Sonic Youth's drummer. They moved up to major-label Geffen for their second LP, Tales of Great Neck Glory, a literate, highly polished record that foreshadowed the skinny-tie rock revival of the next decade. And then it was over.
Sammy left behind two LPs, an EP, and a legion of fans scratching their heads, wondering what happened. Hartman went on to a well-received solo career; Wood became a heavy hitter behind the scenes. Thirty years later, the pair are looking back on lives well lived and their wildest dreams realized.
F. Scott Fitzgerald-whose best-known novel incidentally takes place in Great Neck-once wrote, "There are no second acts in American lives." The story of Sammy proves him wrong.