Samuel J. Llanas (born 1961) is an American singer, acoustic guitarist, and songwriter in several rock and

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

bands active from the 1980s to the 2000s, including

BoDeans BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin. BoDeans came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to da ...

and Absinthe.

Career

Llanas was one of the founding members of the roots rock band

, which he formed with high school friend Kurt Neumann in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area that ...

. In 1985, after adding

Guy Hoffman Guy Hoffman (born May 20, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a drummer and vocalist, formerly of such bands as Oil Tasters, BoDeans, Violent Femmes and Absinthe. He is a composer for such films as ''Field Day'' and a founding member of Radio Rome ...

(drums) in 1984 and Bob Griffin (bass), the quartet signed a contract with Slash/Warner Records and shortened their name from Da BoDeans to the BoDeans. Under the guidance of producer

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...

, Bodeans entered Hollywood's

Sunset Sound Factory The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...

in October to record their first album. The critically acclaimed debut ''

Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams ''Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band BoDeans, released on 16 April 1986 on Slash/ Warner Bros. The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett. The album title comes from the lyrics to the Rolling Stones son ...

'' was released in 1986. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band had several singles in the top 40 "mainstream rock" charts. In the mid-1990s, the band had two top 10 songs in the "Adult contemporary" charts. Llanas provided backing vocals on three tracks from

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

's self-titled 1987 solo album. He and Neumann, credited as BoDeans, performed on "Showdown at Big Sky" and "American Roulette". Llanas is credited individually on "Somewhere Down the Crazy River". BoDeans took some time off in the late 1990s so Neumann and Llanas could record solo albums. Llanas founded Absinthe, with the help of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

musicians Jim Eannelli (guitars and bass) and

(formerly of

Oil Tasters The Oil Tasters were an early 1980s band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. The band comprised bassist and vocalist Richard LaValliere, saxophonist Caleb Alexander, and drummer Guy Hoffman. The trio, founded on Milwaukee's East Side ...

and

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...

, currently of Radio Romeo). They have released one album, 1998's ''A Good Day To Die.'' In 2011, Llanas announced that he would release his second solo album, titled ''4 A.M.'', on October 25. On August 18, he left BoDeans for unknown reasons.

Personal life

In June 2018, Neumann's stepdaughter, Tessa Neumann, told interviewers that Llanas had subjected her to repeated acts of sexual abuse from 2001 though 2007 while she was a minor. Llanas has denied the allegations. As of March 7, 2019, no police report or criminal charges had been filed.

Discography

*''A Good Day to Die'' (1998) (Absinthe/Sam Llanas solo project) – Llanas Music *''4 A.M. (The Way Home)'' (2011) Inner Knot Records *''Four / Five Live – Volume I'' (2013) Llanas Music *''The Whole Night Thru'' (2014) Daystorm/Sam Llanas Music *''Return of the Goya – Part 1'' (Llanas Music / OARFIN, 2018, CD)

References

External links

BoDeansSam Llanas Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llanas, Sam 1960 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters People from Waukesha, Wisconsin Acoustic guitarists Guitarists from Wisconsin 20th-century American guitarists BoDeans members 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin