Mr. Smolin pays tribute to an old teacher in an L.A. Times article entitled Mr. Schoenman's Flying Lessons
Mr. Smolin's song "The Earth Keeps Turning On" is the closing tune on Episode 7 (Season 3) of the Showtime television series "Weeds" airing Monday night 9/24/07
Q & A with Mr. Smolin in The Rip Post
Add Mr. Smolin on iLike
Listen to Mr. Smolin on Last.fm
DanRae Wilson's video of Mr. Smolin's classic song "Casper":
The Crumbling Empire Of White People is the second album by singer-songwriter Mr. Smolin who has teamed up once again with iconic pop composer/dramatist Stew (The Negro Problem, Passing Strange) to create an earthy follow-up to the outer-space journey of Smolin's debut album At Apogee (Nomenclature Records, 2004). Throughout The Crumbling Empire Of White People, true to form, Stew’s deliciously appropriate brain-tickling production intermingles seamlessly with Smolin's memorable melodies and striking words, making for a listening experience exquisite as crystal. Described by Wired magazine's Steve Silberman as a songwriter who composes both "hooky tunes that you can't get out of your head" and lyrics that are "transcendental poetry," Smolin takes his mad skills to an even higher level on The Crumbling Empire Of White People, signalling an important artist in full flight amid the gathering ruins.
Mr. Smolin is the performance moniker of Los Angeles musician and teacher Barry Smolin, aka Shmo. Best known publicly as the host of the psychedelic radio show The Music Never Stops on KPFK 90.7 FM in Southern California, Smolin has been writing songs for 30 years in a variety of genres, finally settling on a piano-based offbeat sound that reflects influences ranging from Stephen Foster and Hoagy Carmichael to poetic songwriters like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to pop eccentrics like Gilbert O'Sullivan and Tim Buckley, as well as theatre composers like Jerome Kern and Stephen Sondheim, among many others. Smolin's aesthetic, though, retains its own forward-thinking originality—keeping one foot in the avant-garde and one in Tin Pan Alley—with enough straightforward tunefulness to be accessible but enough subtlety to reward repeat listenings. Smolin aspires to create artful music that is equally at home in nightclubs, on legitimate theatre stages, and wafting through the dankest bohemian loft-spaces.
The Crumbling Empire Of White People boasts performances and other contributions from some of L.A.'s finest musical talents. Stew not only produced the record, but sings harmonies and plays a mixture of intruments, too. In addition, Stew’s creative cohort Heidi Rodewald chimes in vocally, as does smoky Echo Park chanteuse Patria Jacobs. Also on hand are multi-instrumentalist Probyn Gregory (The Brian Wilson Band, The Wondermints), Carlos Guitarlos producer /bassist Marc Doten, woodwinds virtuoso Vince Meghrouni (Atomic Sherpas, Fatso Jetson), bassist Carl Sealove (Fun With Animals, Boxing Gandhis, New Corvairs), drummer Josh Baldwin (The Negro Problem, Revolutionary Side Effects), and Smolin's longtime musical foil Harvey Canter (Sea of Green, Ruby Flux).
In addition, the album art offers an extra visual flourish with arresting images courtesy of renowned Pervasive artist, Emmy-award winning animator, and longtime Smolin enthusiast Gary Baseman.
At once timely and timeless, embracing and provocative, The Crumbling Empire Of White People is Mr. Smolin's take on love and loss, politics, religion, and other burdens of our age. Dizzy with a world in retrograde and the only superpower teetering under the weight of its own excess, Mr. Smolin has applied his insightful mind and melodic grace toward concocting this piquant batch of apocalyptic pop tunes, a brain-tonic laced with luscious production and whopping awesome fun, the perfect soundtrack for those seeking illumination, mindfulness, wit, heart, and a real good time.
When he isn't making radio and music, Smolin wears a variety of other hats as well. His primary fulltime gig is as a high school English teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is also a dedicated writer of fiction and poetry, seeking out methods of forging language that communicates the deepest layers of consciousness. As a journalist, Smolin has written articles on a variety of subjects for such publications as the L.A. Times, NY Arts, Relix, Dupree's Diamond News, The Sondheim Review, Rhino.com, and Jambands.com. He has also provided liner notes for numerous recordings over the past 10 years. In 2004, Smolin wrote the Foreword to the book Dumb Luck , a retrospective of the work of Gary Baseman .
In the words of Billie Jean King, "Pressure is a privilege."
The Crumbling Empire Of White People is currently available for purchase online at our preferred retailer cdbaby.com and at amazon.com or via download at the itunes music store as well as PayPlay.fm
Crumbling Empire "album extras"--2 alternate takes of "A Goddamn Thing" and an uncut version of "Knock This Gulag Down"--are available for grabbing from the Mr. Smolin Downloads page .
At Apogee is currently avaiable for purchase online at our preferred retailer cdbaby.com and at amazon.com or via download at the itunes music store as well as PayPlay.fm
Or purchase downloads at Mr. Smolin's SNOCAP store:
(Click on album title for individual tracks)
**Download unreleased tracks in Mr. Smolin's always ongoing Bootleg Demo series**