BORIS SMILE profile picture

BORIS SMILE

Hibernating

About Me

BEARTOOTH: behind the scenes
"The real strength of this band is a timeless quality of wistfulness that runs through all of their songs. No two songs are too alike, but even in the saddest ones I found a hope for the future. In fact, the simplistic veneer of their lyrics hide a lot more than just hope - I detected plenty of sardonic wit, loss, and even a strong sense of generational disconnect. Coupled with their surprisingly complex and mature sound, Boris Smile has already made the kind of music that makes you sit up and hit rewind over and over again. With a little more growth and time (and money), they could be really impressive." ---- AWAITS THE DAY
"One of the most endearing things about this band is the fact that its not a small group of friends or a band led by one person who writes all the parts, it is a massive group of friends (twenty-one people were listed as contributors) who all add their own personal touches to every track." ---- ABSOLUTEPUNK.NET (2008)
"Boris Smile are a fun loving group from Long Beach, CA who boast a whopping 10 members with an additional dozen "friends" sometimes dropping by to help out. A bit of an orchestral Superchunk playing Weezer's the Green album as if it was Pinkerton, lead A. Wesley Chung sings with warmth as his band takes you through more time changes than an international flight. Maybe it's just my affinity for pulse pounding lo-fi pop or maybe this group actually rules." ---- WHO KILLED THE MIXTAPE? BLOGSPOT (2008)
"BEARTOOTH EP" (Fall, 2008) REVIEWS:
"In essence, Boris Smile’s Beartooth EP is an intimate and instrumentally compelling piece of indie pop. I wouldn’t be lying if I said A. Wesley Chung’s acoustic guitar-based arrangements were extremely admirable and well thought out, but I would be lying if I said this EP keeps my attention in the slightest. ---- WHATWEHATE.COM (2009)
"Beartooth EP is certainly an interesting collection of songs and shows a lot of potential. I am not completely convinced that Boris Smile will be a permanent fixture in my record collection but I am sure that there will be days that I will revisit this EP and perhaps find more to like about it, ..." ---- THEPOWEROFPOP.COM (2009)
"All in all, I do want to hear more from Boris Smile. The vocals and sweet-as-all-sentiment melodies are rock solid. The question should be whether they want to be rough or polished, or if they want to continue straddling the line." ---- RADIOEXILE.COM (2009)
"YOUNG AND IT FEELS SO GOOD" (Spring, 2008) REVIEWS:
"Boris Smile plays music that will consistently leave you feeling like you just had one of the best days you’ve had in a while. The music has such a great, inviting organic feel to it. If you remember what it was like to have your mom take care of you when you were sick, and you feel a lingering comfort right now when you think on those memories, this music is very reminiscent of that feeling." ----THE DELI (LA) (2008)
"Boris Smile has not merely put out a new record or simply put some random songs together on an album calling it ‘Young And It Feels So Good’, but rather they have carefully and skillfully built what can only be called a time machine." ---- THEALBUMPROJECT.COM (2008) ("YAIFSG" was number 10 on the albumproject.com's top 10 albums of 2008)
"CHAPTER I" (Summer, 2007) REVIEWS:
"...Chung and Boris Smile accomplish exactly what they set out to do. Chapter I is an endearing, fun listen that manages to put a smile on your face." ---- SOUND AS LANGUAGE (2008)
"There’s a really good chance you’ve never heard on Boris Smile but don’t let that keep you from missing an amazing band and an amazing record. Although Boris Smile fits best in some kind of folk/pop/rock genre the close second would be ‘circus’. The whole record is full of surprises around every turn with lyrics that will make you chuckle to instruments you would never expect, the album has it all." ----THE ALBUM PROJECT (2008, Chapter I was given a rating of 4 out of 5)
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BORIS SMILE now on: ITUNES, AMAZON.COM, RHAPSODY, EMUSIC, and more....
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Get the BEARTOOTH EP from Count Your Lucky Stars Records here:
If you would like to own a physical copy of one of our albums please contact count your lucky stars records [they have copies of "Chapter I", "Young and it Feels so Good", and the "Beartooth - EP"]

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/23/2004
Band Members: MAIN BAND:
A. Wesley Chung (vocals/acoustic guitar/electric guitar/keys/arrangements)
Abigail Davidson (clarinet/vocals)
Meagan Christy (trumpet)
Avi Buffalo (electric guitar/lapsteel)
Seth Shafer (tuba/arrangements and composition)
Doug Brown (bass)

FRIENDS/CONTRIBUTORS/PAST MEMBERS:
Andrew Chen (violin)
Jon Palsgrove (drums/djimba)
Hannah Ellis (vocals/ shaker)
Jon Carman (keys/guitar/banjo)
Rory Felton (bass)
Matt Proffitt (trombone)
Jessica Dobson (guitar/vocals/bass/arrangments)
Brad Lindsay (guitar/bass/arrangments)
Ed Keller (french horn/trumpet/glockenspiel)
Ben and Johanna Vanderbeek (trombone and flute/oboe)
Heather Robertson (vocals)
The Aztec choir [bill, kate, alyssa, matt] (vocals)
Orlando Nieto (engineer)
Beth Balmer (keys/viola/cello/accordian)
Jason Chung (bass)
Stevie Kugelberg (bass)
Alan Archambault (electric guitar/lap steel)
Rebecca Rivera (bassoon)
Influences: Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan, Aaron Copland, The Beatles
Sounds Like:

boris smile - Home (Folk in G Sharp)

Add to My Profile | More Videos

"A Cruel Time in Life" Music Video and Interviews (directed by Ryan Green)

Record Label: unsigned/count your lucky stars
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

NEW REVIEWS for Beartooth EP

HERE THEY ARE.... SOME GOOD SOME NOT SO GOOD:http://www.stereosubversion.com/reviews/album-reviews/b oris-smile-beartooth-ep-01-22-2009/http://diatribeinc.org/20 09/01/22/boris-smile-beartooth-count-you...
Posted by on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:58:00 GMT

Spring is here, yet Boris Smile hibernates once again

Yes, it is true.I was gone in the fall for six weeks... and now I am going back to the UK for three months.My time away will be healthy for me as an individual as well as be beneficial for my growth...
Posted by on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:25:00 GMT

under the COVERS project in full swing

If you didn't know, Boris Smile started this thing called the "Under the Covers Project" where anyone can record a cover of one of our songs and we put it up on lastfm.com.... just a way to let people...
Posted by on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:41:00 GMT

New Happenings: Top Ten in 2008 and more PBS

We were number ten on the thealbumproject.net's top ten albums of 2008:http://thealbumproject.net/2008/12/best-albums-of-2008/ And we are on another episode of PBS's "Roadtrip Nation":http://www.pbs.or...
Posted by on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:31:00 GMT

Boris Smile on PBS!!!!!

So, one of our songs will be on the show "Roadtrip Nation" on PBS. Also, we got on the soundtrack they've been giving out for free around the country to different universities. I am not sure when ou...
Posted by on Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:20:00 GMT

PRE-ORDER BEARTOOTH EP

So, the Beartooth EP is done. It is on itunes, amazon, rhapsody, emusic, napster, amie st., etc....but if you would like the real deal with all the album art go ahead and pre-order the EP through Cou...
Posted by on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:26:00 GMT

About the Beartooth EP and other news

Well, it will be out soon. In the next month or so hopefully.Its a real good one. Little darker, moodier if you will. It was my pleasure and privilege to co-produce this one with our tuba/keys play...
Posted by on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:59:00 GMT

THREE SONGS FREE FOR DOWNLOAD!!!!

Our friends from the band Brown and Blue have started the coolest blog in the greater Long Beach area. Its called shop sessions, and we recorded three live songs... they are up for download... and I ...
Posted by on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:22:00 GMT

Interview on PopRockCandyMountain.com

So, I got interviewed on "Indie 101 With Aly From The Merry Andrews Show" on the site Poprockcandymountain.com. Ms. Carr (like the title of the show says) is from the Merry Andrews Show which feature...
Posted by on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:58:00 GMT

Boris Smile on the "Merry Andrews Show"

Well, we had the privilege to be on the newest installment from the Merry Andrews Show. Its a very cool weekly online radio show that plays some very good indie music (i.e. Boris Smile...hahaha). pl...
Posted by on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:50:00 GMT