Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

XIV at the W

“We play a broad mix of acoustic and electronic styles,” says Nathan Samuels, who programs the melodies and beats for downtempo trip-hop trio XIV. The band uses an array of keyboards, guitars, trumpets, and analog and digital percussion.

“Our music is usually compared to acts like Portishead and Massive Attack, but we’re always adding new elements — rock, jazz, hip-hop, drum and bass, industrial, ambient. Whatever fits the mood.”

Nathan’s wife, singer/flautist Kelly Samuels, bristles at the request to describe XIV’s sound. “If we try to accomplish anything, it’s to defy genre classification.”

In concert, the trio’s dark carnival sound is vaguely cinematic while their svelte attire, big-band stage moves, and Kelly’s jazz-diva persona are more akin to purveyors of lounge Muzak, a genre they both enjoy and exploit without a trace of irony.

Furthering their soundtrack-style presentation, bassist Tony Sandoval designs and engineers video projections that appear behind the band on multiple circular screens, Pink Floydian in appearance but scaled down to more club-friendly dimensions. The projections are combined with real-time footage of the band shot live with multiple cameras operating around the stage.

The group’s second CD, Theta, was released this summer. XIV performs at the W Hotel on Saturday, December 18.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

Nathan:

1) Beirut, The Flying Club Cup. “This guy has the amazing ability to make music that transcends time and space. When you listen to the songs, it’s hard to tell when and where they were recorded.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

2) Yppah, You Are Beautiful at All Times. “Some great instrumentals here, with irregular beats, spacey electronic sounds, and beautiful guitar melodies.”

3) Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple. “I love how the vocals are so soulful yet dirty.”

Tony:

1) Engineers, self-titled. “Great, relaxing electronic dream-pop, from the band who does the opening-credits song for the HBO show Big Love.”

2) Mike Watt, Contemplating the Engine Room. “A punk-rock opera from the legendary Minutemen bass player.”

Kelly:

1) Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom Live. “Because I always love a good storyteller, and this guy is number one.”

2) Skalpel, self-titled. “Über-chill jams and fat beats, with an ultimate old-school sound on this one. Feels like a movie.”

WORST BAND NAME EVER?

Nathan: “Limp Bizkit.”

Tony: “Hoobastank.”

Kelly: “Hootie and the Blowfish. I mean, really?”

HAD A BRUSH WITH POVERTY?

Nathan: “I used to add frozen peas to Top Ramen noodles to make it more nutritious.”

Tony: “My first year as a school teacher, I was taking home $900 a month. Luckily, my rent was only $250.”

Kelly: “I have children, so every day I get a little poorer. And yet somehow life becomes richer.”

MOST EMBARRASSING SONG YOU LOVE?

Nathan: “I definitely get strange looks for playing ‘Our Mother the Mountain’ by Townes Van Zandt. I’m not usually a country fan, but I must admit I dig his tunes.”

Tony: “How about Slaughter, ‘Fly to the Angels’?”

Kelly: “I like to clean house to Jamiroquai.”

BEST CONCERT?

Nathan: “Dead Can Dance, the Spiritchaser tour, at Spreckels Theatre. A young girl asked Lisa Gerrard to sing ‘The Host of Seraphim’ for her mother, who had recently passed. She didn’t have the right instruments, so she did it a capella. The power of her voice almost knocked me unconscious.”

Tony: “Rage Against the Machine, 1993, at Iguana’s in TJ. My favorite live band at their peak, and the craziest crowd, with people jumping off the third-floor balcony.”

Kelly: “Tricky, a few years back at the Belly Up. Two words: stage presence.”

WHAT IS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Nathan:

1) “Visit Africa.”

2) “Open up for Tricky.”

Tony:

1) “Visit the pyramids in Egypt.”

2) “Explore the Galapagos Islands.”

Kelly:

“World tour. Look out, France, here we come!” ■

Band songs

XIV

More

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Next Article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief

“We play a broad mix of acoustic and electronic styles,” says Nathan Samuels, who programs the melodies and beats for downtempo trip-hop trio XIV. The band uses an array of keyboards, guitars, trumpets, and analog and digital percussion.

“Our music is usually compared to acts like Portishead and Massive Attack, but we’re always adding new elements — rock, jazz, hip-hop, drum and bass, industrial, ambient. Whatever fits the mood.”

Nathan’s wife, singer/flautist Kelly Samuels, bristles at the request to describe XIV’s sound. “If we try to accomplish anything, it’s to defy genre classification.”

In concert, the trio’s dark carnival sound is vaguely cinematic while their svelte attire, big-band stage moves, and Kelly’s jazz-diva persona are more akin to purveyors of lounge Muzak, a genre they both enjoy and exploit without a trace of irony.

Furthering their soundtrack-style presentation, bassist Tony Sandoval designs and engineers video projections that appear behind the band on multiple circular screens, Pink Floydian in appearance but scaled down to more club-friendly dimensions. The projections are combined with real-time footage of the band shot live with multiple cameras operating around the stage.

The group’s second CD, Theta, was released this summer. XIV performs at the W Hotel on Saturday, December 18.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

Nathan:

1) Beirut, The Flying Club Cup. “This guy has the amazing ability to make music that transcends time and space. When you listen to the songs, it’s hard to tell when and where they were recorded.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

2) Yppah, You Are Beautiful at All Times. “Some great instrumentals here, with irregular beats, spacey electronic sounds, and beautiful guitar melodies.”

3) Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple. “I love how the vocals are so soulful yet dirty.”

Tony:

1) Engineers, self-titled. “Great, relaxing electronic dream-pop, from the band who does the opening-credits song for the HBO show Big Love.”

2) Mike Watt, Contemplating the Engine Room. “A punk-rock opera from the legendary Minutemen bass player.”

Kelly:

1) Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom Live. “Because I always love a good storyteller, and this guy is number one.”

2) Skalpel, self-titled. “Über-chill jams and fat beats, with an ultimate old-school sound on this one. Feels like a movie.”

WORST BAND NAME EVER?

Nathan: “Limp Bizkit.”

Tony: “Hoobastank.”

Kelly: “Hootie and the Blowfish. I mean, really?”

HAD A BRUSH WITH POVERTY?

Nathan: “I used to add frozen peas to Top Ramen noodles to make it more nutritious.”

Tony: “My first year as a school teacher, I was taking home $900 a month. Luckily, my rent was only $250.”

Kelly: “I have children, so every day I get a little poorer. And yet somehow life becomes richer.”

MOST EMBARRASSING SONG YOU LOVE?

Nathan: “I definitely get strange looks for playing ‘Our Mother the Mountain’ by Townes Van Zandt. I’m not usually a country fan, but I must admit I dig his tunes.”

Tony: “How about Slaughter, ‘Fly to the Angels’?”

Kelly: “I like to clean house to Jamiroquai.”

BEST CONCERT?

Nathan: “Dead Can Dance, the Spiritchaser tour, at Spreckels Theatre. A young girl asked Lisa Gerrard to sing ‘The Host of Seraphim’ for her mother, who had recently passed. She didn’t have the right instruments, so she did it a capella. The power of her voice almost knocked me unconscious.”

Tony: “Rage Against the Machine, 1993, at Iguana’s in TJ. My favorite live band at their peak, and the craziest crowd, with people jumping off the third-floor balcony.”

Kelly: “Tricky, a few years back at the Belly Up. Two words: stage presence.”

WHAT IS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Nathan:

1) “Visit Africa.”

2) “Open up for Tricky.”

Tony:

1) “Visit the pyramids in Egypt.”

2) “Explore the Galapagos Islands.”

Kelly:

“World tour. Look out, France, here we come!” ■

Band songs

XIV

More

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Next Article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader