Joel Smith

Bio:

“Joel Smith is a smartass.”

So concluded one Northwest newspaper critic after interviewing the Spokane-based singer-songwriter about an upcoming show. “That can make him difficult to interview at times (as can the fact that his day job is working for a newspaper),” the critic quipped, “but it’s great for people listening to his folksy, Americana songs.”

It’s this combination — of rootsy warmth, journalistic curiosity and smart-assery — that sets Smith’s music apart. On his 2003 debut record, River Roads — a musical exploration of the lower Mississippi River — he mined the nuances of control and desire, ambition and debauchery. Set to the twang of a banjo or the growl of an electric guitar, his songs teem with wordplay and imagery — shifting from verse to verse, swaying on a wave, sprouting wings and soaring off a cliff.

That’s won him fans in Spokane, Wash., where he plays regularly with his five-piece band, the Hands of Plenty. In 2007, Spokane 7 magazine named him Artist of the Year for his solo work and his work with emerging it-band Hockey. The following year, The Pacific Northwest Inlander dubbed him one of five buzzworthy local acts to watch. He has shared stages with Josh Ritter, Jackie Greene and Band of Annuals.

And things are only looking up. On his new record, The Filibuster, Smith pushes the Americana envelope with a dynamic batch of songs that draw inspiration from modern photography and old Portuguese poetry as much as from lost love and longing. In one song, “The Broken North,” he twists the story of two 18th-century surveyors to craft a song about a divisive break-up. On the title track, he frames the act of performance itself within the vagaries of legislative politics — complete with a sing-song refrain.

“By noting how the refrain says nothing,” wrote the “smart-ass” newspaper critic, “Smith is also — although perhaps unintentionally — critiquing modern, lazy songwriting, which often focuses more on sounding pretty than saying something.

“Hmmm, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Joel Smith is just smart.”

What Others Are Saying…

Jeff Echert, The Pacific Northwest Inlander
“He’s proven himself and become one of the most talked-about artists in Spokane. With a clear, expressive voice and a host of friends to provide support, Smith’s recorded work is an oeuvre replete with joyous sounds and linguistic glee [and] a cozy sense of wordplay to his music that few artists match. He’s a born songwriter who has worked and plucked and scraped himself into a musical craftsman.”

Andrew Matson, The Pacific Northwest Inlander
Joel Smith sounds like Damien Jurado with a sense of humor … [His music] sways like twangless country, and there’s a vague alcoholism in its warmth.

John T. Reuter, The Sandpoint Reader
“Many of Smith’s songs include the clever turn of phrase and thoughtfully written verses, but the exact wording of the lyrics isn’t its greatest strength. What makes his songwriting impressive is how every aspect of the music is used to enhance the story he’s telling.”

Isamu Jordan, Spokane 7
“One of the local scene’s most respected singer-songwriters.”

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Member Since:

May 30, 2005

Members:

Mark Ward
Bryan Coats
Dan Spalding
Parker Moosman

Influences:

Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Paul Simon, Lyle Lovett, Langhorne Slim, Laura Veirs, Josh Ritter, the Avett Brothers, Talking Heads, Steely Dan, Blind Pilot, Hockey, Belle and Sebastian, Fleetwood Mac, Feist, the Jayhawks, Kathleen Edwards, Wilco, Maria Solheim, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sam Cooke, Shuggie Otis

Sounds Like: