My Drew Smith Article in N2 Magazine, June 2009

Hello N2 Music Lovers,

I hope you took action last month and purchased Gavin Degraw’s and Kellye Gray’s music! I enjoyed sharing their music with you and hope you are now devouring their songs as you read this month’s article.

In the past month I have been on tour in Italy, back to Austin, on the road again back and forth to Houston and various other spots on the map. After tens-of-thousands of miles, I know a lot about road touring and one of the most important things is the music playing on the car stereo. I listened over-and-over again to Drew Smith’s latest CD, Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir.

Drew Smith just returned from his own road tour with his full band. We spoke on the phone today about the difficulties of touring. The logistics. The time spent. The unexpected low turn-out. The unexpected packed house. For the leader of the band, it’s a hard job, but with all of it comes the joy of playing live music with your favorite band-mates on stage night after night until the ensemble becomes so tight that the last show is exhilarating and flows like second nature; you are exhausted, you are excited, you are sorry to leave the road, you are ready to get home to record the next record and play your home stage.

We are blessed to live in Austin with so many great venues, the likes of which (Momo’s, Saxon Pub, Continental Club) you will find Drew Smith and his band dressed in suits and ties making melodic pop music alla Paul Simon and Van Morrison, complete with punchy horn sections and all.

Smith was highly influenced by the above mentioned artists along with others like the Beatles, but the most obscure influence is Harry Nilsson. The first track on Smith’s latest release titled “Nilsson Sings Newman” is a reference to one of Smith’s favorite records by Harry Nilsson on which he sings all songs written by a young undiscovered college student named Randy Newman. Smith’s song opens with a bouncy piano and follows with a catchy beat, simple and open, and is topped off with vocals full of personality and a seemingly positive edge.

All of the records Drew grew up listening to have left a strong mark on the music he writes and creates today, not only in their vibe and melody, but also in the way he chose to record the songs. In today’s studio world many of us work with digital media, thus allowing virtually as many tracks to record on as one could imagine. Drew, instead, chose to work in East Austin at Infinity Recording Studios which records in an old fashion way directly to 1.5 inch tape, limiting the recording down to 16 tracks and fewer opportunities to make mistakes. Analogue sound is warm, organic and makes you feel like you are listening to a record that could have been recorded back when Drew and I were in Middle School. Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir is a timeless piece of simple genius. The record (and I call it a “record” purposefully to say it isn’t like many modern CD’s which are often a collection of singles, rather than an entire journey) flows like a classic. You don’t want to skip over any songs. You are comfortable listening all the way through its consistent sound and groove. He sounds good. He feels good.

Drew Smith, more than anything, is an artist, a song-writer, a muso with an ear for tasteful tunes and he is surrounded by top-notch musicians at all times. Have fun listening to Drew Smith. You will leave this CD in your player non-stop and you might even put songs like “Nilsson Sings Newman” or “Follow Me Down” on repeat. They make you feel good. Follow Me Down, Down, Down….is the simple catch in the chorus, but I say let’s follow Drew Smith UP, UP, UP.

Let’s work together to be a part of Drew Smith’s musical journey. Visit him online at www.drewsmithmusic.com or catch him live in the Austin area.

(Photo Above By Ed Verosky | www.veroskyphoto.com)