Gary Dean Smith – Backbone Sessions #1 [EP]

Keith S | September 7, 2011 | 0 Comments

by Jeanie Straub

Just when I thought this was a good month for local music, I got to listen to Gary Dean Smith’s new dual-single EP and was blown away by its excellence: Turns out it is a great month for local music. Gary Dean Smith has done a lot for this town already, and he’s fairly new as far as resident artists go. Influences: As a teen in the South he listened to the Allman Brothers, and then later he moved toLos Angeles and was heavily influenced by Jazz great Joe Diorio. So I would say he’s mostly a Jazz and Blues-influenced guitarist (aka singer-songwriter), but you get the Classic-slash-Southern Rock backbone in there, too, and it is a nice mix, to say the least. He’s smooth and well-practiced.

This two-song disc was recorded specifically for inclusion in the Rock band video game library; one is a Country tune, “Diana Don’t Slow Down,” and one is Blues/Funk, “Fair Weather Friend” – both planned to come out in August. Overall, Smith is a welcome addition to my local music library. The two tracks are very well imagined and executed perfectly with veteran music types. In addition to Smith on vocals and electric and acoustic guitars, there’s Jason Larson on electric and acoustic guitars, bassist Kim Stone, drummer Brian McCrae, Bobby Cole on piano and keys, Doug Livingston on pedal steel guitar, Brent Bond on tenor and baritone sax, Matthew Spencer on trumpet and the Black Swan Singers (Coco Brown, Shelly Lindsey, and Carl Carwell) on backup vocals. The songs were recorded over the recent Memorial Day weekend at BackBone Studio inLoveland, and produced by Larson.