Wil Smith and the Continental Drift profile picture

Wil Smith and the Continental Drift

About Me

The band that used to be Alma Mater, and now is WIL SMITH & THE CONTINENTAL DRIFT formed informally in Summer 2002 as Wil Smith and Mike Lapse in St. Louis. We took the name Alma Mater in late 2003 or Early 2004. We abandoned that name, cause other people liked it too, and are using it. Our shared interest Mid Nineties Alternative bands like Blind Melon, Nirvana, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Foo Fighters set the stage for their music we have made together.Wil Smith is the Songwriter, responsible for Vocals, Guitar, and recorded Bass in the past. Mike Laspe handles percussion Bass Players have rolled in like the tide, and back out again, like, well, the tide. And so it has remained. Take it easy, thanks for stopping by, send us a message, we'll right back in a very warm and friendly matter, cause that's just how we do.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 14/11/2005
Band Website: www.purevolume.com/wilsmithandthecontinentaldrift
Band Members: Willie Edward Smith Jr. aka Mac, aka Willie Boy, aka Will, aka W.E.S., fka Macado, fka Mac Attack, fka Big Mac, fka Little Willie, fka Will Power. (Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Drums on the occasional Humbug) Mike Lapse - the Real Deal Drumming and Percussion.
Influences: If not for the following artists being in both Wil and Mike's Cd collections they may not have started working together or continued to:U2 Nirvana David Garza Radiohead Blind Melon Led Zeppelin Palo Alto MAE The Velvetteen The Fire Theft Coldplay National Skyline Tragically Hip Rage Against the Machine Elliott Soundgarden Foo Fighters
Sounds Like: People say Wil sounds like Tracy Chapman when he sings. People say he plays guitar pretty raw, like Neil Young, and when he finger picks some have said it sounds pretty. The Jazzier and bluesier songs remind people of Ben Harper and the Stray Cats. The "Rock" songs have reminded some people of Jeff Buckley and Jimi Hendrix. Some have said the arrangements remind them of Coldplay and Nirvana. WIL SMITH & THE CONTINENTAL DRIFT say "We need to practice more often and do a better job of capturing the energy that these songs have when we are at our best and most enthusiastic." If we could be a cover band, we would be a Sunny Day Real Estate cover band, doing songs from Diary to the Rising Tide (and beyond.)
Record Label: none

My Blog

1 Year Anniversary

It was supposed to be the day my relationship with Katie Dillard ended permanently. We were going to bury the hatchet and shut the door. She was returning from Mexico, in town, and I was going to gi...
Posted by on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:49:00 GMT

Video of Us at Off Broadway's Open Mic today


Posted by on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:59:00 GMT

33% of my life, really? Seriously. *revised*

So, I am in a lousy mood. It happens. Some of it has to do with poor health (my own and loved ones), some of it has to do with dysfunction amongst the same folks. It's all a bummer, but then my pers...
Posted by on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:23:00 GMT

Willie Gets All Philosophical Instead of Doing Laundry

Popular beliefs give credit for the order to Science or Supernatural Entities, namely God. Science aims for Objectivity, which gives it authority over subjectivity, which they site as the only...
Posted by on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:26:00 GMT

It's not smart to make a snowball at the top of a hill...

...unless you want to see things get flattened. My World has been flattened by the last year in particular, it's lost a lot of depth, and I have every intention of trying to get it back. But that's ...
Posted by on Mon, 11 May 2009 22:45:00 GMT

Eternal Life, Mortality

I had a pretty harrowing dream recently, a wake up call on so many levels.  I had to start my day with making peace with some very derisive things in my heart.  Acknowledging my pain, my dissappointme...
Posted by on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:59:00 GMT

Been a long time, Shouldna Left you without a dope beat to step to...

Something about only getting 4 hours of sleep a night will make you very unproductive. Maybe that will explain why I fell asleep on a saturday near 10 pm, woke up at 4 am sunday, and went back to bed...
Posted by on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:26:00 GMT

FEB 16 Cancelled!

I will not be playing Steiler's Pub, I will either be going down to Fubar near SLU to see Reign of Kindo at 7pm or watching Heroes at 8pm here at home and cleaning house.The next show will be a big on...
Posted by on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:26:00 GMT

Wil Solo!

for those interested I'll be playing solo at Streiler's Pub on these 1st two holidays Jan 19th, and Feb 16th, from 8pm-10pm.  Absolutley free.  555 Howdershell Rd Florissant MO.
Posted by on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:37:00 GMT

Coming to a North County Strip Mall Near You, Maybe

Streiler's Pub 555 Howdershell Road Hazelwood M0 63031.Not sure when, I'll know by bedtime tonight perhaps.Two Man Band, as was the olden style.Pretty/ Intense Songs.Smokey Bar.Hmmm...
Posted by on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:28:00 GMT