Ben O’Brien Smith

Ben O'Brien Smith

• July Album Project :: Audio Sample! July 11, 2009
  Today started off all bright and sunny. I taught a drum lesson, listened to some music and read through a back issue of Tape Op. Then the clouds rolled in with their rain and I ventured to the basement. I tracked some guitars and bass and even made a little sample clip to share with [...]
• A day on the trails… July 11, 2009
  I taught my morning drum lessons and took to the trails at Catamount Outdoor Family Center in Williston. The weather was great- 82ºF and mostly sunny, not very humid at all and a light occasional breeze. The trails were in great condition despite recent rain. There were certainly some turns with a good build up [...]
• July Album Project: Day 9 July 10, 2009
  Inspiration struck late yesterday evening and I threw down an acoustic melody that was running through my head. I took a listen this morning and found that I was still digging the idea (occasionally, in moments of great inspiration, it is possible to have a sub-par idea eclipsed by the in-the-moment inspiration itself- this was [...]
• Break from Recording: The Roots in concert July 9, 2009
  My girlfriend was up for a few days to enjoy all that is Vermont including a concert by the Roots as part of the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration on Sunday evening. The concert was great and the weather held out perfectly. The group, who happens to be the house band for the Late Night Show [...]
• July Album Challenge: Day 3 July 3, 2009
  I’ve been very busy writing and demo recording throughout the past two days. I haven’t found any shortage of inspiration yet (knock on mylar drum head material!). Actually, if anything, I have too many ideas to work on at once. I designed my recording setup in such a way that I can easily bounce from [...]
• The July Album Challenge: Day 1 July 2, 2009
  Happy July! Today being the first day of the month, I decided to allow myself to begin working on my album challenge. I didn’t waste any time getting started. All of the material being written and recorded for this album is fresh, new material. I’ve committed myself to using only musical ideas developed this month (ie: [...]
• A New Musical Project June 30, 2009
  With July just around the corner, a new musical challenge awaits me. I have decided that, in the interest of challenging my musical mind, I will write and record an album in the month of July. My inspiration comes from the RPM Challenge, a music writing challenge in which participants are challenged to write and [...]
• Revision takes to the road :: Grease powered groove June 18, 2009
  Most people have heard of cars that run on vegetable oil. More and more people are converting their vehicles to b e able to run on alternative fuels. For about $1,000 you can purchase a conversion kit online that will add a second tank to your car for vegetable oil while the original contains diesel [...]
• Enough Lettuce to feed a family of four + more funk! June 12, 2009
  I’ve been on total funk overload (TFO, for those you like such things) for the past couple of days. It started with Will Bernard’s group at Nectar’s on Tuesday. That was just the beginning. The following night, Lettuce played a two hour long “evening with” show at Club Metronome. Lettuce was super tight. Adam Deitch laid [...]
• Will Bernard & Friends lay it down at Nectar’s June 10, 2009
  Will Bernard and his band provided an unforgettable night of music on Tuesday at Nectar’s. Along side Bernard were Tim Luntzel, Robert Walter and one of the funkiest New Orleans drummers ever, Stanton Moore. It was clear after the first few songs that this show was not meant to be all about Will Bernard. The group [...]