Jesse S. Smith - Musician

Performer, Songwriter, Recording Artist, Bandleader

Jesse Smith is a singing multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the guitar. After a childhood of piano lessons, Smith picked up the guitar in 1988. He began creating multi-track recordings in his (dorm room) home studio in 1995. Through the years, Smith has been involved in a number of musical performance groups and has produced or been featured on several indy-label albums.

What kind of music does Jesse Smith play? It depends. Smith loves the groovy funk, but his own personal style also incorporates a number of various elements, including but not limited to swing, pop rock, techno, industrial, and Eastern influences (Arabic and Indian), as well as the usual sentimental introspective acoustic ballad stuff that you get from singer-songwriter types.

Flumergex

 

The name of this group was dreamed up by Smith and keyboardist Andy Hoke. The performing lineup includes Hoke, Smith, and Mr. Jon Rigby on hand drum.

The first Flumergex album, "This One," was primarily a Smith solo act, with Hoke and Rigby performing on one song each.

The follow-up album, "Flumergex Emerges," is a much more collaborative effort. The recordings are still primarily Smith, but the songs also feature performances and collaborative songwriting with Hoke, Rigby, and drummer Tom Morgan.

 

Operation J

 

This band should have been known as the Tom Morgan All-Stars. The group was anchored by awesome prog-rock drummer Tom Morgan, better known as The Count. Operation J also featured the inimitable Screemin' Steve Hovey on bass guitar, and Andrew Hoke on keyboards. The guys loved to perform quirky non-crowd-pleasers like their original composition entitled "JAST," which probably helps to explain why they never hit the big time; but this was a supergroup of awesome prowess, and the live performances of Operation J were probably the peak of Jesse Smith's musical carreer.

 

The Mushtones

 

Smith lived in a barn for a year and a half, beginning in the fall of 2001. It was a nice barn, though, if a bit cold in the winter; and while living there, Smith recorded a double-CD album which he believed at the time would launch his career as a major figure in the music world. On the recordings, Smith sang and played guitars and keyboards, as well as bass guitar, drum kit, sitar, and clarinet. It was almost entirely a solo act, but Jon Rigby performed on his Ashiko hand drum on one song. It's too bad this album was not professionally mastered or properly marketed, because it actually had the making of a timeless classic.

On his return to Portland, Smith tried to get together a band to become The Mushtones for live performances. He managed to gather a fantastic lineup (Tom Kay on bass, Marc Silverman on electric piano, and Chris ... on drums) which totally fell apart after performing a single lousy gig in Oregon City. Undaunted, Smith found more musicians to perform with: Eric the bass player, OMG I can't remember the guy's name on saxophone and that's really embarassing, Swami Spitzer on keyboards and Tom Morgan on drums. This lineup was somewhat more successful for a little while, but fell apart after a couple of gigs. Morgan and Smith then went on to put together Operation J.

Backup Musician

Some of Smith's best performance opportunities have been as a member of bands organized by his friends.

T. Ray and the Shades

Smith played bass guitar for this blues band. Although others filled the same role at various times in the group's history, this was one of Smith's most successful and long-running musical collaborations. Drummer and bandleader Matt Murray was able to arrange a variety of gigs, and these performance opportunities kept the group together and motivated over a long period of time. Lead singer Tiffany Murray provided the feminine edge that differentiated this group from so many other musical acts. The group showcased the unbelievable talents and huge sound of Matt Zekala on lead guitar, and the blistering chops of tenor saxophone professional Scott Johnston.

The Plushies

The Plushies were the brainchild of frontman Jeff Dickie and guitarist/bassist Steve Hovey. This group rocked stages in Portland and Vancouver for a couple years. The Furbeast lives! The Plushies were driven by the raw energy of Tom Morgan on the drums. At various times Smith played bass and stunt guitar for this metal mayhem; other people also filled each of those roles. Andrew Hoke occasionally sat in on some live gigs, I think.

The Burners

Matt Murray on drums, Tiffany Murray on vocals, Jason "Pig" on guitar (he didn't like us to use his real name), Andrew Hoke on keyboards, and a young Jesse Smith on the bass guitar. It was loud. This group is one of the reasons I have permanent tinnitus. "What?"

 

Music Teacher

For the 2000-2001 school year, Jesse Smith taught music classes at a private school in Cairo, Egypt. Most of his classes were middle and high school students, but at one point the other music teacher quit and Smith ended up giving music lessons to students from Kindergarten all the way through 11th grade. Smith's experiences in Egypt are detailed in his book "Teaching Music in Egypt."

Based on this experience, Smith has promised himself and anyone who will listen that he will never, ever try to teach anything to anyone, ever again.

The Early Years

Smith has been privileged to work with a number of creative individuals in a variety of performance and recording contexts through the years. Prior to about the year 2000, these projects included:

• The Visitors with Jon Rigby on hand drum and Brendan Slevin on bass guitar
• JUT with musical giant Tom Kay on bass guitar and Ulysses Martinez on drums
• Motasm with Jon Theile on bass, Mike Osterman on guitar, Laura Applegate on drums, Dylan McNierny on alto saxophone and Eric Marsh on trombone
• Sweet Dreams with Brian Olender on drums and Jason Thornton on bass guitar
• Sweet Dreams (the earlier acoustic duo incarnation) with Daergan Guy from Gwee!