From the time I could walk, say the folks closest to me, I’ve been singing. I’d entertain the family at picnics from the age of three. My cousin Leanne and I formed our first “band” -- The Flowerbuds --- when I was seven. I wrote my first song when I was ten, performed with the Indianola High School swing choir when I was eleven, and had choral and non-singing roles with the Des Moines Metro Opera when I was twelve and thirteen.

My first formal music lessons were on piano and trombone, but I never really stuck with either of them: I never had the lung power for trombone or the patience for piano. I taught myself guitar when I was 15, bass when I was 18, and drums when I was 19. During my time working at Trifecta Studio, I learned mandolin and harmonica, and got much better at the drums. I’ve since taken up baritone guitar, ukuleles (soprano, tenor and baritone), banjo, bajo sexto and sitar. Piano still spooks me for some reason, though.

I joke that I have a musical attention deficit, and just can’t manage to stick with one instrument. But it was actually a valuable skill in the studio: if a client needed a particular instrument on a recording, it was just about as easy for me to learn a part as to go through my list of instrumentalists’ phone numbers. Usually in the time it took just to get a response on the phone, I could learn a part and we could finish the recording. In my current recordings and with my current bands, I bounce back and forth between guitar, bass, mandolin and drums to fill whatever void we hear in the arrangement.

My first “real” band was put together after a girl asked me to prom my junior year, 1986. I put together two guitarists, a bass player, a drummer and a sound engineer from friends I had in two other bands. The high school band director loaned us the band room for rehearsal space and even offered to play keyboards. “For Sherry” was recorded in three takes (two of which were complete) on the morning before prom, and I presented it to Sherry that evening. (The original 1986 recording of “For Sherry” can be heard on my Demos page.)

After some retooling, I put together a more permanent band called Sound System, and we played and recorded together in different lineups from 1986 to 1989. My acoustic duo project, the audubon society, followed: Rob Straughn and I have performed, composed and recorded together since 1988. We now call ourselves Smith & Straughn.

In 1993, my friends James Haddox, Dave Graham, Tom Jirkovsky and I assembled Mystic East, the first of my bands to make a foray into the Des Moines club scene. We played several times at Safari Club and other Drake University area venues before we disbanded in late 1994.

My solo recording career began with the breakup of Sound System in 1989, and continues to this day. I’m working and playing now with two bands, The Grape Ape Trust and dUUdes, and feeling more motivated now than ever before to get my mojo workin’ once again.

I’ve performed, either solo or with one or more of my bands, at the following venues:

1. Chocolaterie Stam on Ingersoll
   

2. Shadle Memorial Park in Pleasantville
   

3. Indianola VFW Hall
   

4. Pleasantville United Methodist Church
   

5. Caffé A’Roma
   

6. Cumming Christian Church
   

7. Safari Club
   

8. Summerset Winery
   

9. The Brass Rail
   

10. Indianola High School
    

11. Indianola Methodist Church
    

12. Java Joe’s 4th Street Theatre
    

13. Drake University Supreme Court Day
    

14. Carlisle Christian Church
    

15. Ritual Café
    

16. People’s On Court
    

17. Billy Joe’s Lounge
    

18. Vaudeville Mews
    

19. Des Moines Social Club
    

20. Smouse Opportunity School
    

21. First Unitarian Church of Des Moines
    

22. West Des Moines Barnes & Noble Café
    

23. Des Moines Downtown Farmer’s Market
    

24. Pote Theatre
    

25. Simpson Student Union
    

26. Lekberg Hall
    

27. Smith Chapel
    

28. Demicon 20, 21 and 22