Steve Smith profile picture

Steve Smith

About Me

Steve Smith is not a number.He has been called 'Exeter's Poet Laurate' by the city's finest folk/blues mandocello player. Steve rejects this due to his somewhat hazy anarcho-socialist principles.His ancestors were gypsies building, painting and working barges on the canals around Banbury, Oxfordshire, in the 18th and 19th centuries; Steve prefers to write and perform poetry and obscure novellas.He has performed with, recorded with, befriended, hugged or simply met such luminaries as Robert Fripp, Roy Harper, Matt Franklin, Jimmy Page, Mike Last, Mike Heron, Bert Janch, Tom Harrison, Teahorse, the legendary 'Elements' and John Cale.He got drunk with David Gilmour in 1983, but since he doesn't care to namedrop, that evening remains a mystery.Performing solo or with musical accompaniment, Steve's work has been soundtracked by a wide range of genres including avant-garde metal, Native American flute, folk and blues and psychedelic guitar, electric violin, soundscapes, mandolin...and stylophone! Basically he'll play with anybody doing anything. He's been lucky having friends that play with sympathy.Writings include: 'Potato Print Poetry' (1985), 'Circles' (1987), 'Chalice' (1993) and 'Firebird' (2006). You can hear him on his 2007 CD 'Fragments,' with Matt Franklin, and the NEW CD for 2008 'AQUARIUM/LIVE' with studio work by Benjamin Akira Tallamy and a live set with Ren Foster and Tom Harrison at the NBI. You can see him on the 'Umbrella Factory' DVD and Mike Last's wonderful film about Nick Harper, 'Love is Music.' He also has a collection of poems availiable, called 'Now and Then 1987-2008.' 2009 sees him writing a brand-new collection of new verse, and gigging extensively. Steve is currently recording the concept album 'Suppositions,' with Ben Tallamy on instrumental brilliance, for a 2009 release.The first track, 'Aquarium,' is now on this profile page: it's fab! The vocal tracks for this new album are just about complete at 46 minutes in length!Steve also edits and publishes 'Reflections' magazine, which features poetry, prose and visual art. The Summer 2009 issue will availiable in June at £4.50: more details are on the magazine's Facebook group site.He is reading 'The Monk' by Matthew Lewis, and listening to a bootleg of Bob at the O2. He was there!He loves his children, Erinna, Holly and Kester, his girlfriend Vicky, his friends, family, his tropical fish, and hamster, Patrick.He is a free man.However he would prefer to sell his CDs for merely a fiver...

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 08/11/2007
Band Members: Steve Smith and improvisational guests
Influences: Percy Shelley, William Blake, Bob, Lenny, Roy, David Crosby, Grateful Dead, Incredible String Band, John Cale, Patrick McGoohan's 'The Prisoner,' Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil,' Albert Camus' 'The Rebel,' I guess Romantic Poets filtered through Beat stuff...Favourite poets? Bob Dylan and Roy Harper. Trees dreams and the seasons. Producing...love poems, sociopolitical explorations, and the obscure.
Sounds Like: Pretentious bollocks to me!
Record Label: Reflections/Recordings
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

'Reflections' magazine

The first issue of 'Reflections' magazine is now availiable. This is THE new arts magazine for the south-west of England and beyond, and features:Poetry by Ben Tallamy, Steve Smith, KIrsten Irving, Ma...
Posted by on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:11:00 GMT

New Album: Aquarium/Live’

A new CD is now availiable! Aquarium/lLive includes:1- Aquarium2- Another Splash of Innocence3- Moon4- Chalice viii-ix5- Rainfall6- Walking Out in a Feeling Night7- Aquarium (vocal mix)Aquarium is the...
Posted by on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:52:00 GMT

Now and Then

oli's got a lovely photo of the two of us at the firehouse in exeter up on his myspace page, taken a couple of weeks ago. go see it:http://www.myspace.com/olinejadpoetryi'm the one with the eyeliner a...
Posted by on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:40:00 GMT

Selected Poems Availiable Now

I have compiled a volume of poetry, entitled 'Now And Then- Selected Poems 1987-2008.' I guess it's a sort of 'best-of' collection, together with a few obscurities I discovered while delving into must...
Posted by on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:55:00 GMT

She woke up

She woke up with an angelIn her pocket, Dressed in checkedChef's trousersAnd a surfer top, Bouncing around in a van Somewhere her eyes steadiedOn her fellow travellers,The backs of their headsReflecti...
Posted by on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:38:00 GMT

Suppositions, Notes and Queries

I have finished typing up the text of 'Suppositions.' Next step is to get a printer so I can put out a few hard copies, get some feedback, and then get some help to publish it in some sortof attractiv...
Posted by on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:05:00 GMT

Ramblings

Now I've got a laptop i can get on with 'work' ie typing stuff up at home rather than grabbing the free half hours at the library. Am busy typing up the final draft of 'Suppositions,' editing n rewrit...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:33:00 GMT

Firebird

..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />This is the first half of the second draft of a novella, written 2006. Enjoy, and please send me any comments!   ----...
Posted by on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:08:00 GMT

last bit for now

I was reading a book once, written by an author who I admire, well he's okay, it started slowly and flashbacked to no great effect but the sentences were good, poetic in parts with pesuasive assonance...
Posted by on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:57:00 GMT

and more

There are more stars than all the grains of sand on Earth. I'm getting exhausted. There's too much time and not enough to breathe it. It's labyrinthine, those small parts that break and flutter and se...
Posted by on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:13:00 GMT