The only recording artist to appear on both NPR's and , Tom Smith combines high-energy folk rock, SF/fantasy, popular culture, progressive politics, cartoon voices, unbelievably bad puns, and the occasional recipe into a show you will never forget. Winner of fourteen , three Songwriting contests, and a spot in the , no one is likelier to break your heart with one song, your head with the next, and your funny bone with the one after that. If you only catch one concert this year, well, you should get out more -- and, when you do so, go see Tom Smith live!
At Tom's web site, , you can from Tom's album , an RSS feed with a new song every week.
I started learning guitar in 1985. By 1987, I'd won my first songwriting contest, and my 1988 I was giving concerts at SF/fantasy conventions. Since then I've written hundreds of songs, given a few hundred concerts, and performed in the US, Canada, and Great Britain.
Been doin' it for thirty years. Love it. Love house concerts, love larger shows. And far too many special moments to get into in such a short space.
Just about everything is an influence: Stan Lee comic books, Harlan Ellison short stories, my Sunday School being unable to explain dinosaurs 'n' stuff, Lola Falana dancing, Julie Newmar in a Catwoman suit....
Oh, musically? "Creatively" would be more accurate, because the music comes from lots of things. I get as much from Carlin and Cosby as from Tom Lehrer, from Robin Williams and Jim Henson as from Allan Sherman. Some of the obvious influences beyond that are "Weird Al" Yankovic, Meat Loaf, The Beatles, Barenaked Ladies, Christine Lavin, Uncle Bonsai, Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, Frank Gorshin, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Steven Sondheim, Howard Ashman & Alan Menken.
And whatever's on the Internet this week. ;)
AKG mics, Reaper, Band In A Box, Acid Pro, Sound Forge, misc. other software, Sigma classical guitar (which I shamelessly beat on as if I was a Beach Boy)
