Jim Smart

Music:

Member Since: 7/18/2006
Band Website: myspace.com/jimsmartsongs
Band Members: JIM SMART: Seven Fathoms

His string tinged rock music lets your brain wander the fine line balance between the pain of old timey musicals and the foolish pleasures of acoustic punk rock, with power pop nods to artists like the Kinks, the Decemberists, Wilco, and Nick Drake.

Influences: I spent a week on an English farm in a songwriting course with my main influence, Ray Davies, so I'd better start with the Kinks. . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . ..

INFLUENCES

PEOPLE
Ray Davies
Douglas Adams
Orson Welles
Vincent Van Gogh
Woody Guthrie
Noel Coward
Terry Gilliam
Charlie Chaplin
Charles Dickens
The Coen Brothers
Lennon

BANDS
The Kinks
XTC
Brian Wilson
the Zombies
Squeeze
Wilco
Lullaby Baxter Trio
Elvis Costello
Sufjan Stevens
The Thrills
Jon Brion
The Clash
The Decemberists
Pete Townshend/The Who
Talking Heads
Lucinda Williams
Kirsty MacColl
Golden Smog
Pink Floyd
Bob Dylan
Joe Jackson
Crowded house
Nick Drake
Jellyfish
Jon Brion
The Beatles
James Taylor
Syd Barrett
Green Day

MOVIES
Brazil
The Big Lebowsky
Dr. Strangelove
Apocolypse Now
Citizen Kane
The Nightmare Before Christmas
M*A*S*H
Paper Moon
The Third Man
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Easy Rider
Adventures of Baron Von Munchhausen
I "heart" Huckabees
The Godfather I & II
Howl's Moving Castle
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
The Life of Brian

BOOKS
Slaughterhouse Five
Jonathan Strange
Hitchhiker's Guide
Through the Looking Glass
Thursday Next
Letters From a Lost Uncle
Cider House Rules
Walden
The Hobbit
The Picture of Dorian Gray
David Copperfield
Heart of Darkness

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Sounds Like: A flaming pie with a Beatles crust, a filling of hot Kinks and soft Nick Drake, decorated by the Decemberists on top*********************************** ********************************** *********************************** *********************************** *********************************** ********************************** *********************************** *********************************** Comments about the CD Seven Fathoms:"1 The Fairy Bells Beautifully describes what it's like to enter the world of a little girl....and to know it's not your world to stay in too long....only a place to go for a short interlude. The music has a magical sound to fit a little girl's world.2 Fantasy Fools Truly a love song with great feelings expressed. We all want to be someone's fantasy. Very mellow and soothing to listen to Fantasy Fools.3 Make Believe Everyone wants to make believe and be transported to someone elses fantasy....so surrender to the storytellers of the world....become intoxicated with their fantasies or not. At least try to understand where they're coming from. Once again the music has a magical sound.Your whole album is magical and a delight to listen to again and again. It really grows on you." **************************** ********************************* ***************************************** *********************************** ***********************************"I loved listening through, because it's a little bit like a letter from a friend - I hear the lyircs and wonder about the stories you are telling and imagine what events/people in your life inspired them.From a musical point of view, there's tons of good melodies and harmonies in a style that I am familiar with (all the stuff we have always listened to like kinks, beatles, the who)From a production point of view, you have changed, improved. " *********************************** ********************************** ***************************************** *********************************** ***********************************"I love the story behind the title! Tom is a great Douglas Adam's fan - we listened to them all on BBC and have all the books! His email used to be Tomclark42 - and 42 is one of his favorite numbers for the same reason!I have listened to the cd many times and each time I find I enjoy it more - it is wonderful!I really like Make Believe - the music and words just really appeal to me.Of course I like round lake round - I like the fact that probably only Treetop people know what 'the shell goes round' means?!I enjoy The Fairy Bells as I miss my children at those ages and this captures that distance between the imagination and wonder of those ages and us 'grownups' That is what I enjoy being able to be a part of each summer - childhood.I also like Facing Dragons - the tune and the words.All in all I really love it and find myself playing it over and over."*********************************** ********************************** ***********************************"I've listened enough to tell you that the lyrics on many of these songs are powerful, and in some cases clever to the point where when I first heard some lines I had an "oh wow" response (several of the lines in "Uncertainty" and the fantasy images in "Floating Down the Danube" ... like the Russian dolls one, and other references to eastern European places ... and of course, the opening cleverness in the "characters" and what you want from them in "Citizen Kane".) I love the images of you and Sierra on the second cut (name escapes me, and I'm doing this from memory having listened only briefly in the car when on O'ahu -- not often -- and the day I downloaded it a month ago.)I wish I could talk knowledgeably about the musicality or instrumentation. With a broad-brush, I get the feeling that this CD is more "rock" genre and less early Kinks-like, or folksy. I think on one cut I even had an impression of surfer rock in the opening chords. I also got the impression that the instrumentation is more complicated than before."***************************************** *********************************** ***********************************"Excellent! Looks good. Like the songs, too! Finally had a chance to listen -- took a training class today, and am now working at home, so I can ROCK THE TOONES. Ray D. would be proud, methinks. :^)*********************************** ********************************** *********************************** ***********************************Comments about the video for The Fairy Bells:"It's wonderful. Sierra is the star - no cuter person walks the face of the planet! She's the princess; you're the troubadour." *********************************** ********************************** *********************************"It not only works, but works great! You don't need my help. You did an excellent editing job."
Type of Label: None