Smith was classically trained from age seven and went on to be taught by Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore. He toured England & Europe extensively before moving to the States in 1983 where he joined the reformed "Sweet" and later formed the "Aliens of Extraordinary Ability" with Keith Emerson. In 1996 he put together Heaven & Earth.
With the inclusion of drummer Richie Onori, a well known and respected drummer who has played with such rock icons as Rick Derringer, Bobby Kimball (Toto) & Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (along with Stuart Smith), the decision was made to go with guitarist/producer Howard Leese (Heart) to produce the second album entitled "Windows to the World". Released in 2001 and again receiving rave reviews this album solidified the band in today’s classic rock genre with the fan base growing ever larger with large & enthusiastic audiences at live shows.
Heaven & Earth are currently planning their latest release entitled "Screaming for Redemption" on their own Black Star Records. Meanwhile they’ve acquired the rights to the first album, now released with two brand new bonus tracks featuring amazing vocal performances by Bobby Kimball (Toto) & Joe Lynn Turner(Rainbow).
The band has been out playing live around Southern California at venues such as The House of Blues, The Key Club and The Canyon Club & having lost singer Kelly Hansen to Foreigner have now acquired the excellent replacement Keith St John (Montrose). In June 2007 a stunning performance supporting Paul Rodgers (Free/Bad Co.) was given by Heaven & Earth at a benefit concert in aid of LAPD.
A DVD has also been released entitled "The Making of Heaven & Earth", with 4 hours of personal video footage, song-by-song background, bloopers, stories, studio footage & interviews. This provides an awesome insight into this band & is appreciated by established & new fans alike.
In a musical environment dominated by pop corporate thinking, Heaven & Earth has stuck to its guns and continues to blaze its own trail knowing, believing and proving that there continues to be a demand for this style of music.
The plan is for Heaven & Earth’s new & permanent line-up to tour UK & Europe with some 40+ dates extending across Russia, Cyprus, Germany, Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland & many more countries. Watch this space for emerging news specific to your area....timescales as yet not known.
If you’d like to join the Street Team please message us here at MySpace & let’s talk!
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