Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts Hit Clementine Cafe
Posted March 3rd, 2014 on breezejmu.org
Read Article Here
Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts hit Harrisonburg’s Clementine Cafe this past Saturday. Clementine, notorious for its concerts and delicious cuisine, was packed with people eager to listen to this up-and-coming band.
Smith, who has written over 500 original songs, has toured up and down the East Coast, and has also performed in Australia and Honduras. The band’s most recent album, “Turn it Up” was released in October of 2012. It was recorded in an authentic ’60s style, similar to that of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
In addition to Smith, The Wild Hearts features Justin Shifflett on drums, Jay Austin on fiddle, Joseph O'Connell on bass and Jeff Miller on banjo and vox. The band’s raw sound works hand-in-hand with the genuine songwriting of Smith. The band formed about four years ago, but Smith has been putting out EPs and albums since 2008. The band encourages fans to experience its music live, and Smith does a wonderful job engaging with the audience. “They lose themselves in the music, we lose ourselves in the music and it just becomes something different,” Smith said.
Smith has been playing music since his early childhood and regards the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Gillian Welch as some of his greatest musical inspirations. One thing that sets the band apart from the rest in the business is its powerful and genuine songwriting. “I never just write a song just because,” Smith said. “I am writing to tell a truth. Every honest moment I have, I draw from that.” This is definitely conveyed to the audience during the band’s performances. The crowd at Clementine was an eclectic mix of college students, residents of Harrisonburg and others who came to Harrisonburg from around the state to hear the band.
Allison Wilder, from George Mason University, was spending the weekend in Harrisonburg and was encouraged by family friends to come see the show. “I’ve never seen them before, but I’m really excited since I’ve heard so many good things,” Wilder said.
Smith, who is 28, is always looking ahead. The band plans on producing more music and albums to continue to be enjoyed. In regards to his sound, Smith is always aiming to be “more honest, more raw [and] more pure.” Cliff Dalrymple of New Market, who frequents concerts at Clementine fairly regularly, admires Smith for his incredible talent on a six-string guitar as well as his sound in general. “He has a voice that no one else in the business has,” Dalrymple said. “Their genre can’t be put in a box. Their sound is so unique and powerful: I think gritty and raw is a fair way to describe them.” Bryan Elijah Smith & the Wild Hearts will be playing at the State Theatre of Culpeper, Va. on Saturday, March 29. The band’s music can be found on Spotify and iTunes. Be on the lookout for its latest album, predicted to debut this summer.
2013
You Gotta See This
Posted May 24th, 2013 on dirtyimpound.com
(dirtyimpound.com/2013/05/you-gotta-see-this-bryan-elijah-smith/)
Posted March 3rd, 2014 on breezejmu.org
Read Article Here
Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts hit Harrisonburg’s Clementine Cafe this past Saturday. Clementine, notorious for its concerts and delicious cuisine, was packed with people eager to listen to this up-and-coming band.
Smith, who has written over 500 original songs, has toured up and down the East Coast, and has also performed in Australia and Honduras. The band’s most recent album, “Turn it Up” was released in October of 2012. It was recorded in an authentic ’60s style, similar to that of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
In addition to Smith, The Wild Hearts features Justin Shifflett on drums, Jay Austin on fiddle, Joseph O'Connell on bass and Jeff Miller on banjo and vox. The band’s raw sound works hand-in-hand with the genuine songwriting of Smith. The band formed about four years ago, but Smith has been putting out EPs and albums since 2008. The band encourages fans to experience its music live, and Smith does a wonderful job engaging with the audience. “They lose themselves in the music, we lose ourselves in the music and it just becomes something different,” Smith said.
Smith has been playing music since his early childhood and regards the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Gillian Welch as some of his greatest musical inspirations. One thing that sets the band apart from the rest in the business is its powerful and genuine songwriting. “I never just write a song just because,” Smith said. “I am writing to tell a truth. Every honest moment I have, I draw from that.” This is definitely conveyed to the audience during the band’s performances. The crowd at Clementine was an eclectic mix of college students, residents of Harrisonburg and others who came to Harrisonburg from around the state to hear the band.
Allison Wilder, from George Mason University, was spending the weekend in Harrisonburg and was encouraged by family friends to come see the show. “I’ve never seen them before, but I’m really excited since I’ve heard so many good things,” Wilder said.
Smith, who is 28, is always looking ahead. The band plans on producing more music and albums to continue to be enjoyed. In regards to his sound, Smith is always aiming to be “more honest, more raw [and] more pure.” Cliff Dalrymple of New Market, who frequents concerts at Clementine fairly regularly, admires Smith for his incredible talent on a six-string guitar as well as his sound in general. “He has a voice that no one else in the business has,” Dalrymple said. “Their genre can’t be put in a box. Their sound is so unique and powerful: I think gritty and raw is a fair way to describe them.” Bryan Elijah Smith & the Wild Hearts will be playing at the State Theatre of Culpeper, Va. on Saturday, March 29. The band’s music can be found on Spotify and iTunes. Be on the lookout for its latest album, predicted to debut this summer.
2013
You Gotta See This
Posted May 24th, 2013 on dirtyimpound.com
(dirtyimpound.com/2013/05/you-gotta-see-this-bryan-elijah-smith/)
Hey timid program directors of radio and music television, here’s a perfect fit between the endless plays of Kings of Leon and The Strokes tunes. Bryan Elijah Smith has the same knack for hook-laden, energizing, populist wooing pop-rock as these established brands, and frankly this one is catchier than a lot of their songs. DI’s love of Smith is well established – check out our recent questionnaire where Smith gets philosophical and we gush about his latest album, Turn It Up, from whence “Run Around” comes – but we’re increasingly impressed with the kid’s video wrangling skills. This is fun to watch and builds on the music in a nice way. The scenes of a scruffy Bryan lustily mangling his guitar remind us of those filthy Calvin Klein ads in the 90s that got pulled – not a bad thing, just an observation to point out that Smith is cute in a way that could go Twitter mad, which seems to be something PR stooges and label folks notice more than music now. So, with this artist you get both Teen Beat potential and a tune you can dig. What’s not to like?
Impounded Inquiries
Posted Feb 7th, 2013 on dirtyimpound.com
(dirtyimpound.com/2013/02/impounded-inquiries-bryan-elijah-smith/)
It’s a pleasure and a rare one to boot to watch an artist continually get better. For most, the lifetime of backlogged creative exuberance on debuts and early recordings are the high water mark of their career. There are exceptions, often found in musicians who regard what they do as a work-in-progress, the long view informing every step. Bryan Elijah Smith is this sort, a precociously mature singer-songwriter marbled with a restless drive to refine and reinforce every good aspect of what he does. From DI’s introduction to Smith as a shipboard busking chum to another glorious exception (to so many rules) Nathan Moore on through his nicely crafted, pop-tinged studio work, we’ve been kept attentive by what this young artist. Each chapter has proven a bit stronger than the last, and always the horizon seems broad and bright for what Smith will ultimately create.
Still, it’s worth pondering each fresh salvo so one doesn’t miss the charms and nuances of what’s currently at hand. Case in point, Turn It Up, the latest album from Smith and his increasingly fine band The Wild Hearts. A more pronounced rock vibe permeates this set, the energy of the band recording in the same room picked up on tape, the group’s live presence honed into a quality studio counterpart. As usual the personal and populist mingle appealingly in Smith’s songs, the mixture suggesting a new millennial answer to cats like Jim Croce and Bob Seger (Smith shares a similarly manly husk to his singing as well as Bob’s lusty lyrical overtones). But it’s not like Smith and his collaborators are harking back to another time. This feels young and modern but it has some of the same general public appeal and assured swing that AM radio had in its 60s/70s heyday. Songs like “Roses & Wardens,” the title cut, and “Run Around” are the sort most folks will dig right away and then want to return to again and again. The free spirited cover shot of Smith’s grandmother – who the album is dedicated to – neatly hints at the joie de vivre and gusto for a life that burns brightly inside this album. One imagines that lady would be proud of her radio-ready troubadour descendent.
We’ve always found Smith to be a thoughtful cat, so we decided to see what he had to say in DI’s ongoing philosophical roundtable.
What’s the first thing that springs to mind when you see the word “God”?
Love
Which has the better cosmology, Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?
I loved the most recent remake of Star Trek. I have to go with Star Trek. It seems more realistic to me. It should be noted that I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to Star Wars.
Name one album that has spiritual resonance for you.
Ray LaMontagne’s Till The Sun Turns Black. It saved my life. Not only that, it changed the way I feel and write music.
Woody Allen once said, “I don’t know the question but sex is definitely the answer.” So, what’s the question?
Can you give me a good title for a new song I just wrote that’s only a minute and a half long and I apologize at the end?
You can have a dinner party with any three people throughout human history. Who do you invite, what’s on the menu and what intoxicant do you share for dessert?
I would invite Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and my Grandmother Milred Smith because I miss her. Food would be tacos and tortilla chips with salsa & queso from El Charros, my favorite local restaurant where I live. We would have red wine for dessert.
Written by Dennis Cook
2012
ONE MORE TIME by Bryan Elijah Smith
Posted April 2, 2012 on swampland.com
(swampland.com/reviews/view/title:one_more_time)
Posted April 2, 2012 on swampland.com
(swampland.com/reviews/view/title:one_more_time)
After reviewing the quietly excellent Dear Puppeteer by Nathan Moore, I couldn't help but notice that his album had been enhanced by a co-producer, musician, and collaborator named Bryan Elijah Smith. A quick bit of websearching led me to Smith's own website. I reached out and Smith graciously sent his latest album to Swampland HQ. My curious streak was rewarded as One More Time revealed itself as one of 2011's best releases.
But first a little background...
Bryan Elijah Smith is a young Virginia-based songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer. Smith was born and raised in the small town of Dayton, VA which lies in the Shenandoah Valley near the Virginia-West Virginia border. This is rural farmland area and Smith proves it in his bio by explaining his time spent working on a dairy farm.
After a brief time in NYC trying to further his music career, Smith settled back in the Shenandoah Valley area and began a fruitful stretch of recording. One look at his website and you will see over 8 albums and EPs that Smith has released since mid-2008. In a recent radio interview, Smith estimates that he has written over 500 songs.
Through all this glorious productivity, Smith has found solid footing on One More Time. The connection between Smith and Nathan Moore began on Smith's last album Pour On Me. They recorded "I'm The Same" which also appeared on Dear Puppeteer featuring dual vocals. This soulful and heartfelt song is a highlight of both those albums.
Pour On Me, which precedes this release, was Smith's first album to prominently feature the backing duo of the Wild Hearts, Jay Austin on fiddle and Jeff Miller on banjo. Smith and the Wild Hearts create a unique but familiar acoustic sound that fits Smith's Shenandoah roots. On One More Time, this trio further hones its sound combining bluegrass with old time mountain music, displaying hardscrabble edges, while never losing a pastoral sense of melody.
As is always the case with great songwriting, the final product can be lifted or undermined by the playing. It is rare that the quality of the songs are matched by the quality of the performances and vice-versa. This is where Smith and the Wild Hearts shine. Though a trio of guitar, fiddle, and banjo might appear to be limiting, they stretch these limitations to the furthest extent.
In many ways, Smith and the Wild Hearts have expanded the definition of mountain music with their sound. They have elements of dark and brooding Americana ("Goodbye, Hello" "Smoke & Mirrors" "Minute Or Two"), pop ("Forever" "Baby Blue" "Somedays"), old time mountain ("All Those Years" "Penny Arcade"), roadhouse blues ("Another Day (Until I Go)"), and even a little funk on ("Hook Me Up"). Most all of these elements come together on the album's centerpiece track "Dance With Me" which blends driving acoustic strumming with mournful fiddle and fragile banjo to reflect the song's sad and lonely center:
I'm moving to a song that no one knows
Dancing to a song I can't see
I'm moving to a song that no one knows
Come on baby, dance with me
Only in his mid 20s, Bryan Elijah Smith appears to be shot out of a creative cannon. This energy has been fully captured on One More Time. That this acoustic trio can link together timeless sounds with modern sensibilities stands as a testament to how far Smith and the Wild Hearts can take things going forward.
Written by Jim Markel
7 Minutes In Heaven
Posted April 19, 2012 on dirtyimpound.com
(dirtyimpound.com/2012/04/7-minutes-in-heaven-bryan-elijah-smith/)
Bryan Elijah Smith makes incredibly affable music. One is quickly struck by what good songs they’re hearing and how well handled, too, yet there’s nary a whiff of mainstream stink or premeditation. Instead, one encounters a lively craftsmanship-minded music that’s contemporary but with sturdy roots dipping into much older traditions, crooning, “It’s hard to write a folk song that’s honestly in tune…It drives me wild/ It drives me insane.” Smith genuinely sounds like he’s after something fresh, new, real, and true on his latest offering, One More Time, which is filled with tunes that attach quickly, an array of radio-ready takes on love and life that hum with deeper character than the mainstream generally offers. The primary backing of Smith’s band The Wild Hearts – Jeff Miller (banjo, vocals) and Jay Austin (fiddle) – swings and sways, stoking the romantic elements in his lyrics, as multi-instrumentalist Smith plies guitars, bass, drums, ukulele, harmonica and more. The album is also produced by Smith, who increasingly reveals an impressive studio savvy that’s full without being fussy, the arrangements riding infectiously below his husky, appealing manly voice. What his new album makes clear is Smith is one to watch, the sort of fellow that could easily be opening for dyed-in-the-wool singer-songwriters like David Wilcox and Greg Brown, or just as ably, the likes of Brett Dennen, James Blunt and other current chart tappers, and quite likely stealing the show from the headliners if he did.
We grabbed Bryan for a few minutes to chat about making music.
Why do you think you’re a musician?
I never really had to think about it. I’ve always known what I was supposed to do. I’ve always wanted to make music for my whole life, and it’s definitely my passion, my one true love. I have absolutely no idea where it will take me, but I’m certain wherever it does that’s where I’m supposed to be [laughs].
You strike me as someone with real confidence in what you’re doing. I saw you jam with a dude like Steve Kimock on Jam Cruise and you showed no apparent nerves at all. You just went in and got some of what was available.
With anything going on in life – bad or good – as soon as I pick up an instrument and start singing or playing everything feels right. Playing with really good musicians is just icing on the cake. Playing with people like Steve Kimock is easy because they’re so damn good. And with my band, I’m really happy with the guys I’m playing with right now, who are all really competent musicians, and that makes me even more confident. Because [music] is my passion it makes me confident when I play, and not because I’m cocky or anything. I just know it’s what I’m supposed to be doing.
Listening to One More Time, one’s struck by how you straddle a bunch of interesting worlds. You have a very pure singer-songwriter streak, but you take instrumentation that’s not typically modern and make it so.
I definitely get what you’re saying. I’ve known the banjo player for eight years, and the fiddle player for a couple years, and it just seems like it works. The banjo and fiddle, the way they play it, doesn’t sound as traditional as those instruments often do. The way they play sounds more modern to me, which I really appreciate. It would be easy for you to go the straight folkie route, but that doesn’t seem to be the music in your head. No, definitely not [laughs]! The people I listen to – everyone from Nathan Moore to Dylan to Todd Snider to Gillian Welch to Ray LaMontagne – often have a folkie sound but it’s really a matter of the arrangement in how a song turns out along with the production. In my mind, I often hear these BIG productions even if oftentimes the core is still folk. But in my mind I want it to be as big as it can.
Production is a strong element in what you do, both in your own work and as heard on Nathan’s Dear Puppeteer (which Smith co-produced).
I love producing a record as much as writing songs for it or playing out live. It’s another element to my passion. I’m just happy I feel that way because I couldn’t imagine relying on producers and stuff like that. I don’t know what I’d do then [laughs].
It’s always hard to be at the mercy of someone else when realizing one’s vision. Do you have a studio of your own? Are you accumulating gear? That seems to be the path most studio aficionados follow.
Yes, I have a basement studio, nothing fancy but I’ve definitely been accumulating gear. And for the next record I’m going to get a new computer and a bunch of new mics and a new interface, and we’re gonna cut it completely live – no tracking or anything like that – which will be a first for me.
It helps that you have a banjo player who understands the percussion elements of his instrument. He gets that he’s holding a drum with strings.
Yes, yes, but we just stumbled across a new drummer and it’s completely changed everything for sure. He’s the kind of drummer that can put a beat to a song you’ve been playing for four years and give it a completely new life in a way you didn’t think possible. It’s making it a lot easier for Jeff, the banjo player, to do his thing. We’re all really excited.
Rhythm is a big part of your sound, along with hooks and a steady drive. Swing is very strong in your music. Are you a pop music fan? Pop is definitely an element to what you do.
99-percent of the time I’m not trying to write the quintessential pop song, but then again, I consider Dylan a pop songwriter. There was that element of catchy hooks and easy to follow chord progessions. A really great song says something to someone where the first time they hear it they feel like they’ve heard it before, in a positive way, like it’s always been there. I have a lot of love for a lot of pop artists, though not really mainstream people. I can definitely get into newer acts like Foster The People. I think that stuff’s cool.
What’s usually going through your head right before you go onstage?
Usually when I walk into a show I’m trying to read the audience and figure out what kind of people I’m playing to. I try to read the vibe of the room and figure out what would be a good opening song. Other times, I walk into a room and I feel like the energy is completely off. From there, I’ll do the opposite and figure out a song that will help manipulate the energy in the room to a place that would be conducive to putting on a good show.
Written by Dennis Cook
2011
Jam Cruise Pickin'
Posted January 2011 on dirtyimpound.com
(dirtyimpound.com/2011/01/you-gotta-see-this-nathan-moore-bryan-elijah-smith)
Jam Cruise is full of magic moments but a lot of them this year were generated by a pair of unassuming singer-songwriters who threw down on deck at all hours and reminded everyone that encountered them that music can inform and delight us in ways beyond the ability of words to describe. Nathan Moore and his guest Bryan Elijah Smith proved a happy catalyst all week at sea, touching cruisers and musicians alike. There’s a big ol’ review of Jam Cruise 9 by Dennis over here where you can read more about the whole experience, including the Moore/Smith lead hootenanies, but we’ll just share a taste of the boys on deck and a couple other clips that show what they’re made of. Some glowing words on the latest releases by both gents hitting Impound soon…
B List: 10 Bands That Crushed on Jam Cruise (voted #6 with Nathan Moore)
Posted Feburary 10th, 2011 on glidemagazine.com by Scott Bernstein
Late at night and into the early morning, you could always find Moore holding court on the deck near the Jam Room with his extremely talented songwriting partner Bryan Elijah Smith.
Written by Scott Bernstein
Bryan Elijah Smith at Hideaway Cafe
Posted June 14, 2011 on musicandmunchies.com
http://musicandmunchies.com/wordpress/?p=116
http://musicandmunchies.com/wordpress/?p=116
I hate to brag, but sometimes I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. I get to go to work every weekend and listen to some of the best music and meet some of the coolest people. I am a bartender at Hideaway Cafe, a quaint little bar/venue/recording studio on Central Avenue owned by John Kelly. This isn’t your ordinary music venue. Kelly calls it a “listening room”. People go to the Hideaway Cafe to listen to music, and that’s it. It’s a great escape from all the other bars full of obnoxious drunk people screaming melodies in your ear, and then spilling their beer on you.
Saturday left no exceptions. Bryan Elijah Smith played and hour and a half sets full of original music and even some covers (Mumford & Sons, Oasis, Johnny Cash and more). Smith is a young, up-and-coming musician full of energy and stories to tell.
“He played an hour and a half of his own tunes and few classics from Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan…I think he sold everyone in the room a copy of his CD, Pour on Me, full of his own tunes. He even got up for an encore… Don’t miss out on this kid…. he really is something,” Kelly said.
This country boy plays acoustic guitar and sings, while also playing a homemade drum contraption- an old suitcase with a bass drum pedal. At first glance, I thought it was completely weird. But once I heard it, combined with his rugged, yet soft vocals and rock & folk inspired guitar- I was obsessed. His sound reminds me of a young John Mayer that grew up in Nashville and loved country instead of blues.
“When I heard his stuff on line, I knew his sound and style would be perfect but I had no idea how talented a writer and gifted a voice he really is and has. From the moment he sang his first tune at sound check…I was hooked,” Kelly said.
Not only is Smith a natural musical phenomenon, he’s also down to earth and hilarious! He even invited Kelly and I on stage for a special Hideaway style version of his song “Pour On Me”, the title track of his most recent album. The chorus still lives on in my head, almost 2 days later. He definitely knows how to write a catchy tune.
Smith came all the way to Florida from his home town in Staunton, VA for a one night show at the Hideaway, then flew back to Virginia to continue his tour. He plans on returning to St. Petersburg’s Hideaway Cafe sometime next year to put on another amazing show.
Story by Kate Cillian.