Speaker 1: I love that for a couple of different reasons, but
we'll talk about that in a moment. That is Sign
of the Times. Welcome everybody. We have entered our number
two new marowdos of Matt Connorton unleashed and we are
live from the studios of wm NH ninety five point
three FM in glorious but very cold, but glorious Manchester,
New Hampshire. Today is Saturday, January third, twenty twenty six.
Happy New Year, everybody, our first show of the new year.
Jenny is here, of course at the news table.
Speaker 2: I really like that song a lot.
Speaker 1: Yeah, isn't that good? I'm like over here, it's so good.
And joining us in studio, Gary Smith is here. Hello, Gary, Hello,
how are you guys? Gary Smith, as I like to say,
the busiest musician I know anywhere. He's in two hundred
and seventy four bands and there's something like that. Right,
we're in double digit, definitely in double digit. Can you
just pull that mic over a little. I just want
to make sure it's right. Yeah, there we go, perfect,
Thank you, so Sign of the Times. So I mentioned
that that's special to me because so I that song
has been played on the show before, but not that version.
So I played the I played it. I've played it
maybe a couple of times, not recently, but the Chemical
Distance version of the song that I played bass on
years ago seems like another lifetime in some ways. But
but that is my favorite version, the one that that
you've brought to us. That's amazing what you took and
did with it. And of course our friend MHP Michael
Helpley Pierce who of course I was in Chemical Distance
with him along with Auto Kinsel, and that was always
one of my favorites to play live because it's such
a great track and Mike's rap on that whole thing
is so good. It's so smooth. And I assume you
didn't take the original vocal track that's he redid that, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3: At our engineers, just with kind of a backing track,
and then he sent the raw vocals to me and
then I just kind of did everything up in my
bedroom and then I sent the stems back to Pete
and we went and mixed it and made it sound
good on all his his nice expensive equipment.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So just kind of a little studio time sometime
in my room and then just the mixing time, So
it was really it was a fun way to do
it because I had pretty much as much control. I
knew what you want, he said that weird little breakdown section.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 3: He's like, just do whatever you want. So I did
like a halftime guitar so good. Yeah, the whole thing
is so good. I think it's the third version of
that song, because I think it was originally a Litherman's song,
a Litherman's load, the hip hop duo that Mike had,
MHP had, and then and then he brought it to
Chemical Chemical Distance and then and then brought it to.
Speaker 1: You to do that Like who's whose name is that officially? Under?
Speaker 2: Is that under? It will be.
Speaker 3: Released under Jam tomorrow, Okay, but it will be featuring
Percussive Maintenance because that's my like producer name, so that yeah,
so it'll be you'll be able to find it through
my my streaming stuff, which is all under Percussive Maintenance. Okay, yeah,
just because me and Pete kind of I did most
of the product production. Pete did the mixing master, he
did some little production stuff. So okay, but yeah, yeah,
be uh it'll be under Jam tomorrow. We have three
or four other songs that should be coming out this year.
That one and two other songs are basically mastered, ready
to go, okay, just waiting for some art and some
other logistics to other Jam Tomorrow. So the Jam Tomorrow songs, Yeah,
one with a guest. Actually probably three other yeah, three
other Tomorrow songs. One with Michael Freeman who's in Free Will,
which is a little group around here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's playing drums.
Speaker 3: Ones with Brian Murphy, who's my trumpet player, buddy who's
been on some of my stuff, who's a Boston musician.
Speaker 2: He's amazing. He's playing trumpet on some stuff.
Speaker 3: So uh okay, yeah, we we actually added him on
drums some stuff. So like he was, he was hanging
out with me. So I'm like, okay, you're going on
a bunch of Jam Tomorrow songs. But yeah, we have
I think four songs that should be coming out. Oh wow,
probably fairly soon. Oh fantastic? Are are there songs we
would know from the show that that you guys have played.
Speaker 2: On the whole Wide World?
Speaker 3: The Rachel the Yeah, yeah, that's pretty much ready to go.
White Whale, which I think we played here once. That's
the one that me and Mike wrote when I was broken. Yes, yeah,
that one's pretty much recorded. I played piano on that, okay,
that's the one Mike Freeman plays drums on. And then uh,
twenty two, we've done that before, okay, and we added
some cool trumpet harmonies on that one, so that one's
really unique sounding too. Okay, I think those are Yeah,
those are the four I think that are pretty much ready.
Speaker 1: The ones that I have, because I definitely have recordings
of at least a couple of those. Are those demos
that we that.
Speaker 3: I he may have given you either like not fully
mastered ones right right, yeah, or like like the song
one of the songs I gave you here is the
non fully ready to release version, okay, as the stems.
He's going to do some mixing and mastering to that,
but this is kind of the pre mix version, just
to kind of tease it out there.
Speaker 2: That's that jazz one, okay, but.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's probably what we did there. But yeah, now
twenty two is much further along. You may have played
close to the studio version of White Whale.
Speaker 2: That would probably.
Speaker 1: Probably okay, yeah, yeah. And then so you've been you've
been very busy.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: We always say you're you're the busiest musician I know.
But also you've been and since the last time you
were here, So you're now playing with Roots of Creation, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Roots of Creation and Grateful Dub. So that's that's huge.
That's been a.
Speaker 3: Fun adventure for sure. Those guys are so fun, so
fun to jam with, and it's a it's nice to
kind of see the next level of like band leader
and like how Brett runs the band is it's a
it's a it's given me good ideas in terms of
like how to operate my things because he's just so
like good at controlling what's going on on stage, and
especially in something like that where there's like a lot
of improvisation. Our New Year's Eve show, we did two
of the seven songs on our setlest he's like, let's
do this instead, let's do this, and said so but
and then it's like we'll hold accord. He's like, let's
see how we can get to this next part. He's like, Okay,
now go up a half step, now go before. So
it's like kidding, It's really all a lot of improvisation, which,
as a jazz nerd is is right up my alley.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but yeah, I know, it's it's been fun.
Speaker 3: It's met some crazy people and uh, they just released
were Wolves of London for Halloween. I played based on that,
and we have the Grateful Dub album is coming out.
The second one is coming out very soon. Recorded some
stuff on that, Okay, that's very exciting. A bunch of
stuff in the theater or a bunch of stuff in
the studio like Paul from Slightly Stupid on a bunch
of stuff, a bunch of a bunch of cool people
on you Love on some stuff. Yeah, yeah, it's uh,
it's been so fun. And yeah we're doing a big
Florida South Southern tour February in March. But yeah, I
mean we are playing a couple of cool shows around here.
February sixth and seventh. We're playing a Flying Monkey in
Plymouth excellent. Then Wally's on February seventh. Oh, very good,
both of those with Paul uh the organists from a
Slightly Stupid opening for us.
Speaker 1: Okay, nice, It was definitely worth worth checking out.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I know, it's it's it's been it's been
an awesome adventure and uh, all the guys at the
band are so fun and so easy to play with.
And yeah, obviously as a bass player, I care about
the drummer, and the drummer is so easy to get along.
Speaker 1: Oh really yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2: After a few crucial like we're like locked in.
Speaker 1: It's good.
Speaker 2: Good.
Speaker 1: Now, how did that come about? Because you initially you
were like a fill in right, Yeah exactly.
Speaker 3: I filled in actually with my engineer back in March
at a at a show they had up in a
sugar sugar bush or one of the yeah, one of
the mountains up there, just sugar sugar loaf, sugar loaf, yeah, okay, yeah,
And I just filled in with uh with Bread on bass,
just for like a last minute show.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And then when they were looking for a bass player
because their bass player lives in Florida and it was
difficult for for that, he recommended me. He's like, oh,
Gary does all this weird jazz fusee and stuff like that,
I can just dial it back and do some dude yeff.
And then once I did, like okay, yeah, this will work.
So then yeah, yeah, we stubbed in for a few
shows like up in Vermont, uh in New Jersey and
then uh yeah, towards the end of last year kind
of made it official, got some cool pictures, So yeah,
I know, it's it's been. Uh, it's definitely been an
experience and it's yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: It's uh.
Speaker 3: I ended up doing you know, probably Eve though I
only joined really in September. I did like twelve or
thirteen shows with him last year and it was really
fun to kind of to lock in and kind of
learn some new stuff. And obviously I'm a nerd. I
show up with all the sheet music because I like
transcribe everything. Yeah, yeah, like what are all these notes?
I'm like, I write out all of them?
Speaker 1: Do no kidding?
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, it helps me learn, Like like in school,
taking notes help you learn, like that. I listened to it,
I write it down, and then I like, locked in
my brain is the picture of those that writing out
those notes?
Speaker 1: That makes sense?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Interesting, It must be cool too to have something like
that work out where because that probably wasn't something you
thought was going to happen in twenty twenty five, right,
that you'd end up playing with Roots of Creation and
then and then become a member of the band.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, it's definitely wasn't on my it wasn't on
my guest list of what I thought it was gonna happen.
Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah, I was.
Speaker 3: I was really pleasantly surprised. And yeah, I mean it's
I love playing bass and playing bass with you know,
a bunch of guys who just love the music like
you can't you can't go wrong with that. And they've
obviously been around for for so long, you know, over
twenty years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Breton Tal have been.
Speaker 3: Doing it, so it's uh, it's definitely, Uh, it's cool
to step into something like that. I mean, obviously my
other band's like Fox, Fox and Flamingos have been building
so long, and like it gives me ideas with how
they operate in.
Speaker 2: Terms of transferring.
Speaker 3: And yeah, we got a new piano player with Fox
and Flamingos last year too, so yeah, he's a little
he was. I met him through Kevin Haran, who I know.
You know, we did we did that show at the
Bank of Hampshire stage last year and I met his
piano player who was in the Dave Matthews tribute band.
And then our piano player was leaving because family stuff,
so I'm like, hey, you should join us. So like
he's like Dave Matthews tribute bands, like a national tribute band,
and they're actually their managers, the same managers Roots of Creation,
So like it's all like this weird thing. So yeah,
now both of us are in and so like that's
kind of bump Fox up a little bit in terms
of his professionalism, like having day sheets, having stuff much
more organized instead of just kind of flying by the
seat of our pants. Sure, sure, so that's that's definitely
helped Fox get a lot of cool and better opportunities.
Speaker 1: Oh that's fantastic, great, great. I still love that song
Don't Be a Stranger. Oh my god, that is such
a great song. I love Fox on the Flamingos. Isn't
how hard to juggle all this? I mean, you must be.
You strike me as someone who must be very organized, right,
because you've got so much going on, you have to
be organized.
Speaker 3: It's in certain things. I'm very organized. It's organized chaos,
like I know exactly where I need to be, where
I should be, but like some things of my life
are definitely not the most organized. But yeah, sure, I
mean it's for when I I kind of just go
down rabbit holes. Like I I know what I need
to do and like, but yeah, I'm mostly organized. Yeah,
as my ask my kids, they may give you a
different answer, but I mean, obviously it helps. I try
to kind of check off all the boxes. And then
like even now with the root stuff, like I have
for Fox, We've got a sub basis. So for those
that new shows that I can't make it, oh, we
have a basis who's a very good basis who can
fill in for me as needed. Yeah, and pretty much,
you know, obviously Jam Tomorrow can operate without me. Cosmic
Boston can operate. They have separate basis, so most of
this stuff can. I can wiggle it around needed. And
then you know, even my solo shows, if I get
a last minute tour thing, I can just plug in
someone to one of my solo shows and most of
the venues are cool with that.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh that's good, trust me. So yeah, that's really good.
Speaker 3: So yeah, it's a mixture of things, but yeah, it's definitely. Uh,
I look at my schedule many times.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I can imagine. And this is probably the
busiest you've ever been, right, I mean, have you ever
had a point where you were busier than you are recently.
Speaker 3: No, because I mean, I don't know if we ever
talked about it too much. I took a long, long
break from music, so like when I was in high school,
I was doing a lot of jazz, probably playing thirty
forty shows throughout high school. In the beginning of college.
Then I mean, my ex wife got into having a kid,
having a family, and I didn't play music for two
thousand and three to twenty twenty pretty much.
Speaker 1: Really.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I didn't have music out for seventeen years.
Speaker 1: That shocks me, Yeah, because I remember, I do recall
because even on the show several times I do seem
to recall you talking about a break, but I didn't
realize it was that long. So seventeen years.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the last The first time I played out was
during COVID. I played at six oh three Brewery with
the old piano player and the drummer from Fox and
the Flamagos. I got in with them, and that was
like the first time being being and then uh, and
then I started playing with Jam Tomorrow, and then Fox
and Flamengos formed and then it's just been a whirl.
And but yeah, like I was looking back twenty twenty three,
I did like forty shows. Last year, I did one
hundred twenty shows. Two years ago I did one hundred
twenty shows, and then this year I did two hundred
and ten shows. So yeah, I don't that trajectory isn't sustainable,
but if I can stay around two hundred, I'll be happy.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Now during that break, did you did you still
pick up the bass or other instruments.
Speaker 3: I played my guitar decent amount during then, but not,
but it was like it was weekly. It wasn't like, okay,
daily like, so you never completely disengaged, but I still
had a guitar, but there would definitely be times where
I would probably go.
Speaker 2: A month without playing it.
Speaker 3: No, yeah, I was doing I mean that was when
I was super into car racing and oh yeah I was. Yeah,
so that that was part of it. Two that that
kind of took away. But yeah, I mean my ex
wife didn't necessarily love the music side of things. So
even a lot of times when I would go to
like pick up the guitar, that's when you turn on
the TV or something, I was like.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I get it.
Speaker 1: So oh wow.
Speaker 3: So then I got divorced in twenty twenty, and that's
kind of what's what sparked me. And actually MHP we
had some jams with my sister used to date Hernesto
before she passed, and so we would jam at Arnesto's
like garage, and that's how I originally met MHP and
that's how.
Speaker 2: That allay it all started. Okay, that was probably like
twenty nineteen that we did that.
Speaker 3: Twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen we jam for the first time,
but that was like my first time even playing with anyone.
Speaker 2: Wow for probably fourteen years. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Wow, it's just mind blowing that, you know, you had
such a long break and now you're so busy. It's
like a completely it's like such a total life shift
in that way.
Speaker 2: It really is.
Speaker 3: I mean I wish I had been doing it the
whole time, but also like I wouldn't be in the
place because like obviously I was a car sales manager
for a long time stuff like that, so I have
a little bit of stuff aside. So when I kind
of took the plunge, yeah, I had some safety net
where if I was twenty and taking the plunge, it
wouldn't have ever worked.
Speaker 1: True.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's kind of a blessing in disguise. And you know,
I know a lot of I have a lot of
friends who've been doing music their whole lives, and some
of them more burnt out.
Speaker 2: Than others, you know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like I've I'm definitely burnt out from being a
car sales Right. This is like I still don't I
tell people I don't work, like I just play music
all year, Like yeah, it's not like I need a
vacation like.
Speaker 2: Right, playing music.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true. That's true. So it's you're doing what
you love.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's what my parents when they were my mom,
when she was like forty five fifty, they got a
they started a music store and wallis so like that
was kind of there chasing their dream, leave the corporate
world and start a music store. So she would be
she would be happy that I was doing what I'm
what I'm doing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. If you're just joining us,
Gary Smith is here with us, And should we play
another track? You sent us a bunch of new stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, let's let's uh, let's do the Heist tune. That'll
uh okay, this is called listen here. Heist is a
project I'm in We play every first Wednesday of the
month at Hermano's Up and Conquered. Oh, okay residency there,
Uh play it. Panucci is a bunch two. They have
a jazzy and kind of a rock side. I tend
to stay on the jazz side because the rock side
is usually on Saturdays when I already have gigs. But yeah, no,
they're they're cool. They're under heyst improvised music on Facebook.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Curtis Arnett, Curtis Martin. What's his Aaron? Who does
the kids the kids concerts? Aaron?
Speaker 3: Oh, I can't think, but yeah, he's in it. Took
Randy Honeyman a bunch of people in it, so it's
it's a cool Eric Billadoh, it's a cool little combination.
Speaker 2: But yeah.
Speaker 3: This is when we recorded actually in basement and Conquered.
This is with Randy, Curtis Arnett on sacks, Curtis Martin
on drums, and me on bass and guitar.
Speaker 1: Okay, very good, very good?
Speaker 2: All right?
Speaker 1: So this is Heist.
Speaker 3: This is Heist and the what's the track call? Uh
listen listen here? Yeah, let me just make sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah listen here, listen here by high Star. I checked
this out.
Speaker 4: Short as the th the thirtle Bird, the b As
a Bad Turn Turn, Time of n Look at that
noble record, recurscurs am.
Speaker 2: I love that that is Heists.
Speaker 1: What's the track again? Listen here here that Uh that
guitar solo. It's it's like it's telling a story, you
know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Thank you? That's the goal?
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, I love that. I love that very very cool.
Is that I haven't heard you mentioned Heist before? Is
that a new project? You're newer for you?
Speaker 2: It's somewhat newer. I kind of just can't think.
Speaker 3: I sat him with them at Hermanos just to start
out because they needed someone to do some jazzy stuff.
And then yeah, then Curtis is a bartender at Prevate Friends,
so we've sat him with sitting with me at Feathered Friends,
and then yeah, we just kind of it.
Speaker 2: All worked out.
Speaker 3: Curtis Martin the drummer from this and sid in with
Cinnamon Jazz Trio, one of my other jazz group too.
Speaker 2: Okay, so it's a yeah, it's fun. We're all, we're all.
We all just shared it. Jazz is fun like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, it's Uh, I've never played jazz music.
I've only been in rock bands and stuff like that,
and a couple of things that were a little a
little different. But it must be kind of I imagine
it to be liberating to have that kind of freedom
with a project like that, where where it can you
can play in different configurations and you know, and do
a lot of improv is improvising and and all that.
Speaker 3: That must be really cool. No, it's definitely nice. I mean,
I ran jazz dams up at PCL for the last
couple of years. Okay, just people come in if you
kind of has some semblance that had to play jazz like.
It's so even though people think it's so like nonstructured
and it's so chaotic, like, there is a lot of
structure to it.
Speaker 2: So way you understand the structure, it's easy to just
kind of PLoP in.
Speaker 3: Like Cinnamon Giastrio, we've played a bunch together the last
song or one of those songs that she plays flute
in or piano player on that, but we've never had
a rehearsal because we just get up together and we're
all tight. We all know how each other works at
this point, so we can just play and put on
an amazing show just without.
Speaker 2: We know how to interact with each other.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's fantastic. Yeah, it's very fun if you're
just joining us. Gary Smith is here with us and
sharing some some new music and uh so, what what's
kind of the thing that takes up is Roots of Creation?
Does that take up the most of your time in
terms of because we were talking earlier about how you
you don't have to be very organized with your calendar.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean they probably. I mean in terms of
actual work, solo solo shows take up the most time.
Like last year I did seventy solo shows and like
twenty two jams Iran, so the majority of the shows
are that. But yeah, I mean in terms of just overall,
especially this year, I'll definitely be playing the most non
solo shows with Roots, Okay, and then obviously like traveling
and Tory and stuff that that you have travel days
and stuff like that, so.
Speaker 2: Those will get those will get gobbled up.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but yeah, I mean beyond that, I mean I
did play the most shows with Fox last year. In
terms of band, I mean with me and Mazie again,
more projects. Me and maze split off and we do
vaudeville Vixen, which me and Mayzy just doing jazzy stuff
and some Fox.
Speaker 2: Songs in like kind of a duo thing with my Looper.
So oh cool.
Speaker 3: So we did probably thirteen shows like that last year
then on the top of the thirty Flamingo shows, so wow.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So, I mean me and Maizie are probably the most
busy together or being Bob because me and Bob play
together a bunch with Me and Bob are actually playing
tonight with RGB trio at Brickhouse in Milford. Oh nice,
and we have Amanda van Tyne, this lead singer from Cosmic.
She's going to come in and join us for a
lot of the sets, so it's going to be.
Speaker 2: It's excellent party.
Speaker 1: Excellent.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean, though they all.
Speaker 3: Take some amount of time, and even like Jam Tomorrow
last year I didn't get play with them as much,
but we did a lot of stuff in the studio.
So I did more stuff in the studio with them
last year than really probably anyone except for Rooster Creation.
So so yeah, I mean, it's just where they're so
good to operate among themselves and even some places they
like we don't have space for a trio. We just
need to do a like play at eat whatever in
Bedford and they just want to duoh. So I'm like, okay,
that's fine. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I mean it's I
gotta juggle.
Speaker 2: But I keep busy.
Speaker 3: I'm always adding things. Uh yeah, I'm in a project
with Scott Soulski now, who's a seven string guitar, So
I play eighth string guitar.
Speaker 2: He plays seven ring. And then Mike Wall she was
an amazing drummer like me, in seventy three different bands.
He played drums.
Speaker 3: We're playing at a big bear lodge Andre's Art Institute,
which is gonna be a cool show. So yeah, but yeah,
like he was someone I met literally last year and
we've become friends and started playing with and recording a
bunch and he was in Foresight Funk when they when
that existed, in a bunch of other cool stuff.
Speaker 1: But I think, didn't you bring the eighth string here once?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I've brought it here a few times. Yeah, yeah, I
usually bring the nylon string eighth string, but I most
of the time I'm playing an electric eight string when
I'm out out about.
Speaker 1: But yeah, yeah, because I remember you, Yeah, that's right,
I remember you. Playing the eighth string here with Jam Tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: And I think I had comment I think I had
said to you that day on the show that it
was fascinating to me. I was like watching you the
whole time because it's like you're it's it's like a
bass and a guitar having a conversation exactly.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: It was so fascinating to me to me to watch
you and listen to you, you know, kind of go
back and forth between you know, it's just really really
interesting because I've never seen I don't know if i'd
ever even seen an eight string, let alone seen an
eight string up close like that, you know what I mean,
And to just watch you play it, it was fascinating
to me.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3: I mean I try to kind of get the Charlie
Hunter like pianist approach where you're kind of being like
a pianist and combining it too as much as possible.
But it's yeah, it's definitely a different world than piano.
But uh yeah, I mean it's it gives me some
extra flexibility and like, yeah, tonight with O RGB, it's
just me and Bob. Bob plays guitar, I play the
eighth string. Yeah, so we're just going back and forth.
I'm playing bass guitar. Sometimes he's singing, but he has
like a bass patch on his thing, so he'll play
bay well bass while I play solo.
Speaker 2: And I've been teaching.
Speaker 3: Oh okay, so it's a it throws people for a
loop because there's always bass going on.
Speaker 2: Right right.
Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome. Well why do we play another?
Speaker 2: Uh oh yeah, we have time.
Speaker 1: Let's uh play day Luge.
Speaker 2: That's a quick one, okay, and uh tell us about this.
Speaker 3: This is I played in my buddy's wedding in October
and I wanted to just fill out the procession with
some songs that I had created. So I just randomly
wrote a uh classicalish song and so I recorded it.
I thought it came out cool. Put a little rain
stick track behind it to make it kind of like
vibe like that, and yeah that's what this is.
Speaker 2: But it's a cool, cool song.
Speaker 1: So this one's all you.
Speaker 2: This is all original young guitar.
Speaker 1: Yeah, nice, nice, all right, this is called de luge.
Speaker 2: Ah. That is so pretty thank you. I really like that.
I really like that.
Speaker 1: If you're just joining us. Gary Smith is here with
us in studio and when can you when you record
something like that? I mean, is are you improvising or
are do you actually sit down and write that ahead
of time? Or how does that work?
Speaker 3: So it starts off with me kind of just improvising,
and then I do write it down for those types
of things, So like for that, I will improvise to
kind of figure out the parts, and then I'll put
it into my use music score for sheet music and
I'll kind of put it in there, and then I then,
even though I can read music, then I look through
I convert it to tab so I can see if
there's a better way to do any fingering and interested
in doing something that could be more like then once
you see it in the tab, like you're like, oh,
why would I go from here to hear?
Speaker 2: Because that's how I had it in my brain. But yeah,
I could just do this to this and it's so
much easier.
Speaker 3: So even though I read sheet music, but a lot
of times will convert it to tab just to kind
of make sure that the fingering is as efficient as possible.
Speaker 1: That is that's very interesting to me. I've never heard
anyone say that before, but that makes sense logically, yeah,
you know, because most people, I think most guitar players
are and bass players too, think of tablature as you know,
if you can't really read music, or if you don't
want to bother with it, you just look at the
tablature and it's you know, that's what I would do.
I never really learned to read music, so that's what
I would.
Speaker 2: Be, for example, to reading tab Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but but what you just explained makes sense. You know,
the tab is going to show you a more efficient
way to do the same thing. And obviously, I mean
that's one of the first things I learned when I
took guitar lessons is you know, you want to be
efficient with everything you do because that way you can
do more. So that, yeah, that makes total sense. That's
that's really interesting. Does it Does it ever change? Like
so obviously when you when you look at the tablature,
it's going to show you a more efficient way. Do
you ever end up changing anything at that point?
Speaker 3: Or Yeah, I've definitely changed some things because like once
I put it to that, I'm like, why would I
go from here to here? And then I'll just I
won't change the notes per se, but just where I'm
putting them. And so if if you know I was
on the first threat, I might go to the sixth
threat to make it more efficient coming from the fourth
threat instead of going down to the first, go up
to the sixth or.
Speaker 2: Something like that.
Speaker 3: So I do I do change kind of how I
play once I do that, and then like once I
do the final recording, I've kind of already figured out
all that aspect of it. So okay, like that is
kind of the most efficient way that I could have
played that song. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I know that's
that's kind of how on songs like that. Again, all
the songs are a little different. There are definitely ones
that are more improvisatory. But though that's kind of more
of like a not a classical guitar song, but kind
of a take on the type of classical Yeah.
Speaker 1: No, it's really nice. It's really nice. And when you
write something like that too, I mean, does the idea
does that melody kind of come to you first? Or
do you sit down and you say I want to
write something like this.
Speaker 3: Most of the time, it's usually me just sitting there
with my guitar, even sometimes with my brain like half
shut off, like watching something or listening to something else
and then I'll just say, oh, I like that, and
then I record it and then I kind of just
branch upon that.
Speaker 4: Ye.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I mean usually the melody does come, but
a lot of times I'll have the chord first and
then I'll build the melody around the chord progression that
that tends to be the way the way that it works.
But again, everything that the melody and that like that
kind of came really quick, just with some like things
I was working on in terms of studying like harmonic
without getting to like Barry Harris things. Yeah, and then
uh it, I'm like, wow, this is a cool way
to do this. And so that's how the melody came.
And even though it's not like a jazz song, like
I took jazz harmony ideas to kind of create it.
So yeah, yeah, I mean every every song is different.
I I try and I try and do I try
and keep it as efficient as possible in songwriting because
like a lot of times when I'm producing beats, I
would like produce, then i'd mix and I produced and
a mix and now I try and just produce. Once
I get like the song where I want it to be.
Then I do the mix thing so that I'm not
bouncing back forward. Say this is it, it's done, don't
don't mess with it after that, right right?
Speaker 1: But yeah, what do you what do you play for instruments?
Obviously you play guitar and bass. What we else do
you play?
Speaker 3: I mean I play enough piano. I wouldn't say like
I'm not like Caleb in terms of playing piano, but
I can play piano. I mean like most stringed instruments,
I can. I can futs around on on mandolin. I
have a tenor guitar that I sometimes play, which is
tune like a violin.
Speaker 2: But really it's mostly that.
Speaker 3: I mean, I I messed with drum machines my whole life,
so like, yeah, play I have an Akai that I
can play drums on, but now I have most of
the stuff.
Speaker 2: I just you know, I'm doing stuff through able to
any But yeah, I mean that's really it.
Speaker 3: I mean again, I'm a I'm a music theory nerd,
So yeah, theory has been one thing that I've always
studied a lot on and ye never stop learning and
but yeah, I mean really I just try and be
as good as at those instruments as I can do
you teach? Oh yeah, yeah, I teach uh I I
have one student this year who doesn't play out the
majority of the people I teach are actually already gigging musicians.
So like people I'm going to talk about, but there's
people who are very regular gigging around here that'll come
for whether it's a technology lesson, some theory lessons. There's
someone who's you know, who's a very well known trio
who doesn't have ale guitars, so she wants to kind
of amplify her legal guitar playing, so stuff like that.
Or like someone who plays a lot of solo shows
and their arms hurt, they want to get used to
how to use a looper R. I can like show
the tricks and the of the trade. So and that's
really I don't I grew up giving lessons at my
parents' music stop, so I don't want to be like
that makes sense teaching you know, C chords and G
chords right when there's other things I could be doing.
Speaker 2: Right, there's definitely a value in that. I don't want
to take away from that.
Speaker 3: Everyone should pick up an instrument, learn it, but abs
with my time, Like I have a friend from high school.
Speaker 2: I've known forever who I teach.
Speaker 3: He's an intermediate, doesn't really play out, but I've I
got him to come out to an open mic at least.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah.
Speaker 3: Most of the people are playing in bands and I
just kind of want to expand. And then I mean,
like even my friends, I like teaching them stuff like
like Nick Burns from Cosmic Blossoms, Like his mind's like
a sponge. So when I come up with some new
idea or I like have a breakthrough harmonically, I'll send
it him and we'll just nerd.
Speaker 2: Out about it for a little bit. So that's great.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's half the fun too, because especially him,
like I give him some harmonic idea and he'll have
a song the next day.
Speaker 2: That's that's amazing. Oh yeah, he's great like that.
Speaker 1: Oh excellent, excellent. Well we are. Yeah, we're approaching the
top of the hour, so we do have one more
track we're gonna play to finish out. But before we
do that, where where should people go online to keep
up with everything that you're doing.
Speaker 3: My Facebook stays pretty active. My Facebook is just Gary Smith. Surprisingly,
if you just google Gary Smith Facebook, I'm like the
first page or two. But I do also have a
website g smith music dot com that has all my projects,
has a bunch of press, has a bunch of ways
to contact and book.
Speaker 2: Any of my bands. Yep. And then I do have
a few quick little plugs.
Speaker 3: Yeah mean by that you also can listen to all
my music under percussive maintenance. That's what I released all
my music under I released. I was on twenty four
different tracks last year, including Fox and Flamingo's Roots Creation,
Costic Blossom stuff.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Like I said, I'm playing a brick house tonight next
cool shows actually with Caleb who was just here.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, playing at the Tupelo.
Speaker 3: With Brad Dubay's blues group because Max Chase, our piano player,
can't get it and Caleb usually plays bass, so I'm
playing bass with them.
Speaker 1: Excellent.
Speaker 3: And then like I said, Cosmic Fox and Flamingos with
Phoenix Syndicate, which is a cool funk show that's up
at the Bank New Hampshire Stage and conquered on January
twenty third. That's going to be a serious, serious fun show.
Phoenix Syndicate used to be for side funks, so a
bunch of funk people, okay, And then like said Flying
Monkey and Wally's Roots of Creation speaking of piggybacking on
them with the fire for the Vine Street thing, I
am running at PCL on February fifteenth, a fundraiser for
the Vine Street calling me Vine Street Vibes.
Speaker 2: Oh cool.
Speaker 3: Both of those guys will be Nickleby. There are some
other people, so it'll be donations. Everything's going to those
guys obviously excellent. And then the only other ticketed things
I have May ninth, Cosmic Blossom is playing at the
Andre's Art Institute, Big Bear and Brookline which they redd
their sound.
Speaker 2: That's a real venue.
Speaker 3: And then me with Scott Solski called seven eight is
playing there with Sad Bastard Loose Standards. That's the band
they they do like jazzy covers of stuff. That's Mike
Effenberger and Chris Claxton to like two well known jazz
jazz nerds.
Speaker 2: So okay, yeah, so those are the cool things coming out? Yeah.
G Smith Music Percussive Maintenance and Gary Smith on Facebook outstanding.
Speaker 1: And what should we know about this so pedal boat
is that the pedal pedal bike is the name pedal bike.
Speaker 3: This is another original. I wrote this one and I
played it with my Cinnamon Jazz trio, which is Me,
Cinnamon and Joe Virga. But me and Scott Solski and
Mike Walts are also in a jazz trio, so we
combined forces. So we have Cinnamon on flute, Joe on piano,
Me and Scott going back and forth between seven and
eight string bass and guitar or seven e string guitar,
and then Mike Walsh on drums. Okay, and yeah, it's
just an original. We have three songs like this that
are coming out this year. We recorded them in Scott's
garage and conquered and yeah, it's so it was.
Speaker 2: It was a fun thing. These guys are so fun
to play with.
Speaker 1: Oh fantastic, Gary Smith, Thank you so much. Always wonderful
to see you and great to see you. Great to
see your doing great stuff and as all and keeping
very very busy as always. So I think you're probably
an inspiration to a lot of musicians who you know,
want to really get out there and and you know,
just do a lot, you know, and and.
Speaker 3: That's what that's what they just get out there, get
out there, talk to people and like I've had people
say basically that all the gigs we're doing is and
like that's what I want more music in the world.
Speaker 2: Is nothing wrong with that? Well said, well said, not
a competition.
Speaker 1: Exactly exactly, all right, thank you Gary.
Speaker 2: And this is pedal bike