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Sammy

$20.00

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.

Ships on or before the 3/24 on-sale date.

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.

Ships on or before the 3/24 on-sale date.

About the author

Jeff Gomez lives in California and has written several books of fiction and non-fiction, including Our Noise, Geniuses of Crack, There Was No Alternative: Generation X, Aids, and the Making of a Classic Nineties Record and Math Rock.

  • Publication date: 3/24/26

    ISBN: 979-8-9917394-4-3

    Format(s): Paperback, ebook

    Pages: 224

    Size: 5x8

    Includes 22 B&W images

  • "The story of so many bands who didn't quite break through, but came close enough to taste it. Jeff Gomez's history of Sammy is well-researched, admirable, and clearly an act of love."

    —Howard Fishman, author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse