Rozino Smith
The Blurry Summer Story:
I never picked up the guitar before my freshman year at Baylor. I was going to be a doctor and go on trips to other countries and give them medicine. I found out that pre-med kids are born, they are not made. The good ones were already there, accepted into the summer program, already a semester ahead of us regular non-schol kids. Neuroscience is hard. Real hard.
But I wrote. I wrote all the time. Short stories with no endings, they just sort of stopped when I got bored or saw something shiney. And poems, god the endless amount of awful rhyming poems about whatever catches an 8 year old's attention.
I had never really sat down and wrote a song before. The first one got a polite review by Mindy. yeah her. She said it was a nice concept...that means it sucked. So I wrote another one, and another one, and then I had an album's worth. So I recorded it with brotherluck (rip) and it was nice. It was fun to learn what being in the studio, spending money on making songs, felt like.
This album is about the last two years. It's about friends you love, losing hope, finding life. It's about those who go away and never come back. And about new places you never want to leave and meeting people who don't want to go away.
--Rozino Smith
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Rozino Smith says he completely missed the 80s. Not that he didn't live through them, of course, it's just that growing up in Abilene, TX didnt exactly put him on the cutting edge of pop culture.
Of an era passing him by, Smith says it allowed him a unique approach to the art form, one totally uncompromised by the influence of modern music culture. "My family used to listen to old, mellow stuff on eight-track, people like Willie Nelson and Don Williams, he muses.
While in college Rozino found himself in his first band playing bass - an instrument hed never touched before. After deciding that he could sing better than their vocalist, Smith kept edging more and more of his own material into the bands set eventually bringing an end to that band and striking out in 1998 to begin another in the rock outfit, Brother Luck.
Brother Luck became a short-lived force to contend with on the Houston music scene with acoustic driven modern rock songs, contemplative lyrics, riveting harmonies and an energetic live performance. After only one critically acclaimed album the harsh realities of being a working band took their toll and they disbanded as well.
Spring 2005 brings about the much-anticipated release of Blurry Summer, the solo debut of Rozino Smith on independent Magellan Records. Blurry Summer is a refined collection of acoustic rock in true alternative singer-songwriter fashion.
The contemplative, introspective panoramas painted by the singer-songwriter often invoke emotions on the edge of intensity. Smith explains, "I've decided to take a more deliberate path at being who I claim I want to be. It's hard sometimes to be happy with who you are, but it seems quite insane to be miserable with who you aren't."
Already a sought after performer throughout the Texas region, Rozino Smith has garnered the attention of his industry peers. Grammy winning producer Robert Metzgar raves that Rozino has a sound and a voice that is ready for national exposure.
Album track Japanese Gum, looks to be the leading contender for radio across the region as Rozino Smith kicks off a string off dates in support of the new album with a CD release at Houstons Hard Rock Café. Look for Blurry Summer at local retailers Summer 2005!
Website
http://www.rozinosmithband.com
Discography
Blurry Summer
Released May 2005
Tracks: 10
Label: Magellan Records
Beautiful (band: Brother Luck)
Released July 2002
Tracks: 11
Label: indie release
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Houston, Austin, Dallas.
I love it.
Classic blurry summer moment, driving to san francisco to meet laura heywood (www.lauraheywood.com) and rock the red devil lounge, preston throwing up in new mexico, us almost demolishing a deer in arizona, no smoking in an el paso suburban IHOP? rocking hollywood and rolling up to the show and parking a block away 10 minutes before sound check. nice, nice show. thanks san fran.
Your musical influences
dave matthews, adam duritz, david crowder, cliff young, marc bianchi, pete yorn, howie day, don williams, bj thomas, the beatles, the preston rhone bluegrass experience, scat daddy jenkins
writers: john piper, ann rynd, roald dahl, susan swan, bill watterson to name a few other:
other: abilene,tx december 28, j edwards beating me up in middle school everyday-i loathe you, katy, cass cambell, mindy, counting crows - august and everything after album
What equipment do you use?
taylor guitars
Anything else?
websites:
www.rozinosmithband.com
www.myspace.com/rozino
www.magellanrecords.com
www.brokenrecordproductions.com
