Featured Artist
August 21-27, 2000

The new "Artist of the Week" web site feature will highlight a new flatpicking guitarist each week. With the recent release of the Lonesome River Band's new CD Talkin' to Myself, we felt like it would be a great week to highlight Lonesome River Band's guitarist, Kenny Smith

	Kenny Smith: Taking Flatpicking Into The 21st Century
	Reprinted from Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Volume 4, Number 3 (March/April 2000) Kenny Smith was also featured in our "Masters of Rhythm Guitar" column in Volume 1, Number 3 (March/April 1997) by David McCarty
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Kenny Smith certainly enjoyed the last year of the 1900s, and it had nothing to do with the fact that the much-vaunted Y2K bug failed to bring computerized civilization to its knees. 1999 saw the 32-year-old Indiana native win his second straight Guitarist of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association. His band, the Lonesome River Band, continued its streak as one of the hottest, most influential groups in bluegrass and they've just finished a new album which Kenny says is his favorite album with the bluegrass supergroup. Kenny and his wife Amanda started work on a joint gospel project, and he's planning to record a follow-up to his outstanding debut album, Studebaker. Reflecting his growing stature as one of the flatpicking guitarists who will redefine his instrument in the coming years, AcuTab Publications released the first volume of transcriptions of Kenny's ground breaking solos from the LRB (Kenny Smith AcuTab Transcriptions, Volume 1) and his brilliant 1997 solo release, Studebaker. And he moved into a new home he and his talented wife, Amanda, are renting in the tiny mountain burg of Vesta, Virginia. In the basement, Kenny has a workshop where he does guitar repair and other woodworking projects.

But the most important project he's had in recent years has been his own guitar playing. Always a restless, inventive creator on guitar, Kenny Smith has opened amazing new horizons on the instrument by refusing to be limited to playing guitar within the confines of traditional "position" playing. Instead, he's taking concepts from many other guitar sources to create a fresh, innovative new approach to flatpicking that is as revolutionary in its own way as the work of earlier flatpicking pioneers such as Clarence White and Tony Rice. A student of everything from the rock guitar stylings of Eddie Van Halen to the brilliant fingerstyle work of guitarists like Jerry Reed and Merle Travis, Kenny's trademark sound is built around a fluid style incorporating frequent open notes even when he's playing licks in the fingerboard's upper registers. The result is a technical and musical breakthrough allowing Kenny to utilize the instrument's entire tonal range at any given moment. It's a sound never before heard in flatpicking; one that will influence guitarists far into the next millennium.

Born far from the hotbed of bluegrass in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on Sept. 19, 1967, Kenny heard music played around his house right from the start. Both his dad and grandfather played fiddle, and in addition to playing with many local groups Kenny's dad made sure his family got to travel to local festivals and hear bluegrass music live whenever possible. Kenny's introduction to guitar now seems preordained. "We had a guitar around house. My dad had built it for a cousin and had that in a closet," Kenny recalled. "He told us never to bother it, but of course I would go in and try to strum it. Dad came home early one day and caught me playing it. Rather than whipping me, he taught me G, C, and D chord. He came home the next day, and I had those chords down. So I got a guitar that Christmas, when I was four. I still remember taking my guitar in for kindergarten and playing for the kids in my class."

By the age of seven, one of his dad's band members taught Kenny to play "Cripple Creek," urging him to make use of his little finger on his left hand as much as possible to increase his speed and fluidity, a lesson the young musician certainly took as gospel. During the 1970s, Kenny started backing up his brother and other musicians in the few banjo and fiddle contests available in Indiana at the time; there simply weren't any guitar contests held in the area for the young flatpicker to enter. Still, he picked up numerous fiddle tunes and bluegrass standards during this period, and began to seriously study the great flatpickers.

One player who influenced Kenny tremendously early on was Norman Blake, whom he saw perform on a PBS television special. At Kenny's urging, his father ordered Blake's classic Old and New album from Elderly Instruments. Kenny studied that album thoroughly, patiently working out Blake's licks and breaks. He also discovered the classic 1975 "J.D. Crowe and the New South" album on Rounder featuring Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs and Bobby Hicks at the local library. "I had that album out for about three months," he says. "I just loved that sound." Rice's buoyant, jazz horn-influenced guitar tone, of course, grabbed young Kenny's ear right away. "The first thing I noticed was how clean and explosive it was. It was one of those things that was neat on acoustic guitar, and it was different for me."

By the time he was in high school, Kenny's love affair with guitar drew him to almost any sort of guitar-oriented music he could find. Since there wasn't much bluegrass in northeastern Indiana, he gravitated to rock guitar as an outlet where he could play guitar with friends and earn a little money playing gigs. "Basically the rock scene was an outlet for guitar. A friend had some Van Halen albums, and I got into that more as a challenge than anything. I played that all through high school," Kenny said. "It did help me in playing without a capo; that opened me up, especially in playing up the neck."

Kenny says Eddie Van Halen's approach to playing melodically over the entire neck (rather than the rock guitar norm of playing "box" or pattern licks in one position) greatly influenced his acoustic guitar playing as he went back into bluegrass. In high school, he also took the time to study a little classical guitar using a couple of guitar instruction books from the library. Again, the classical approach to developing melodic lines encompassing open strings over the entire guitar fingerboard helped greatly expand Kenny's technical understanding of the instrument and opened possibilities in his flatpicking other bluegrass-oriented flatpickers hadn't considered.

But once high school was over, Kenny's experimentation with electric guitar faded as quickly as it had materialized. He moved south, far from the Midwest's hard winters and barren musical fields, to live with his grandmother in Tennessee. To earn a living, he worked on his aunt's chicken farm and later took a factory job. Immediately, though, he discovered a circuit of guitar contests to enter and a wealth of bluegrass players eager to jam with the obviously talented flatpicker. One of those players was Ricky Rorex, a mandolinist who would go on to win the mandolin championship at Winfield. Rorex introduced Kenny to some of the most influential acoustic music of the 20th century - the debut album by the David Grisman Quintet. "We worked a lot of that stuff up," he explained. "It was exciting new music. I'd never tried to mess with anything like it. At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on, but I loved the tunes on it."

By the early 1990s, Kenny had become a regular on the fiercely competitive contest circuit, and began to make his mark as a player. At Winfield, he walked in and took third place in 1991--the first of three consecutive top three finishes for Kenny. He then won the guitar contest at Merlefest in 1992. All the years of intense playing and diligent effort to refine his melodic concepts and sense of bluegrass rhythm and drive had begun to emerge in a unique style of flatpicking guitar. "Winfield got me thinking about arrangements and writing my own tunes, just because you might hear 'Cotton Patch Rag' 15 times in the contest," he said, adding, "That was sort of when I realized I wanted to write more flatpicking songs, too."

While making a living at an auto parts plant, Smith knew he loved music but wasn't sure about making it his career. "I didn't think I was good enough and didn't think it was possible," he said. Eventually, he secured a part time gig playing with Claire Lynch and the Front Porch String Band, and had the opportunity to play with her at the annual IBMA Fanfest. That exposure opened some doors for the young flatpicker, including a meeting with the Lonesome River Band's banjo player Sammy Shelor which eventually led to an audition call. "I was a big fan of theirs. When Sammy called and asked me to audition, I couldn't believe it," Kenny recalled. He was asked to join and has played on the group's last two releases.

He took another major step in his professional career in 1997 with the release of Studebaker, his first solo album (Sugar Hill SHCD3869). Through the CD's dozen tunes, Smith's dexterity and versatility range from the delicate solo flatpicking guitar he performs on "St. Anne's Reel," a variety of catchy original guitar instrumentals such as "Me and My Farmall" and "Amanda's Reel," to his superb straight bluegrass on cuts like "One Horse Wagon" and "Preachin' by the Roadside." On the instrumental title cut, Kenny even shows off some licks which could have been inspired by Eddie Van Halen himself.

"I had a lot of ideas that were running through my head. It's different for a guitar album," he explained. Acting as producer for the CD also gave him valuable experience on the other side of the control board, which he hopes to expand upon in the future in his own projects.

As one of flatpicking guitar's rising superstars, Kenny knows he has the responsibility to be a strong ambassador of bluegrass and flatpicking guitar. "In the future," he said, "I'd really like to get more younger people interested in bluegrass and old-time music. I see a lot of younger kids and you can see it in their eyes; they are just fascinated with this music because they can play well enough to participate in a jam session, but it takes a long time to really master it. It's a big challenge to them."

That challenge still drives Kenny Smith to hone his musical gifts and pursue new musical horizons. Flatpicking Guitar Magazine caught up with the busy musician shortly after New Year's for an interview on his instrumental technique and where he sees flatpicking guitar heading in the 21st century.

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	How has your lead playing changed with Lonesome River Band since you joined the group?
	I'd say at first I was playing too busy, rhythm-wise. Now it's more simplified. It's a little more direct and more basic than when I first joined the group. I think that's just because I didn't know what they wanted. Now I've been able to find a medium where we're both happy. The last couple of years my playing's evolved to suit the song. That's the most important thing. That's what pretty much the whole band is pointing toward: the dynamic of the song. That's been the neat thing over years; everybody's pointed toward that direction.

How about any changes in your lead playing with LRB?

I guess it's gotten more melody oriented, rather than just playing licks. When I first began with them, I was sort of into the licks and the more radical stuff. Now I'm playing more stuff with the melody. You reach a point where you get out of that gunslinger mode and try to do something new. I think the more and more I play, I find myself trying to play things my dad and my granddad would have liked to listen to or would have interested them. What I play now might reach a broader audience than just playing to younger people. They understand the wilder side a little more, but I'm sort of going the other way. I don't ever want to be known as someone who if you learn one of his solos, you've learned all his stuff. I don't want everything to start sounding alike. So I try to do something different as far as each solo goes.

What do you try to accomplish musically in a solo?

I've always enjoyed the fiddle tunes, which comes from my dad. He played a lot of Tommy Jackson, who was a basic square dance fiddler who had really good tone. That's pretty much the stuff I like. So when I'm soloing I think tone and melody. A strong melody gets to me more than something wide open and fast and notey. To me, that sounds like just a bunch of hot licks.

You've said in the past that you never really practiced, that it was always just a matter of playing a lot. Do you feel that some work on scales and arpeggios and learning the modes and what chords fit would have been helpful, or would that have gotten in your way as a musician?

The disadvantage is that I don't know more musically. I can write tablature, but as for notation, I get bogged down quickly. I took some music theory in high school, which was the first time I was ever exposed to learning about triads and stuff. The way I look at it now is that it's just the old craftsman thing: if it looks right, it is right. To me, if it sounds and feels right, then it is right. I think that's the best rule. As far as doing the scales and stuff, when I hear someone play like that, it sounds mechanical. It sort of leaves me cold. It's one of those deals where I think you reach different maturities in your playing. At first, you want to learn everything. You try to figure out how this one does it and that one does it. Then you get away from that and just start just playing. That's the neat stuff, when you finally leave all that and start playing for yourself.

What's different about your work as a solo artist than with LRB?

It's more laid back. It's a whole different groove. A lot of the stuff I do solo, or that Amanda and I have worked up sitting around house, is more basic than what I do with the band. You can really hear the guitar more. I do have more freedom, but its one of those things when you're producing yourself. You can do a little more, but you also have to lean toward something everyone would like. I want to interest George Shuffler as much as the younger guys, too. As long as George says I'm okay and nods his head, I feel like I've maybe done something that's good.

What's your relationship with George Shuffler?

I know him through the band. Over past four years with LRB, I ran into him a lot. He's been real good to me. He's definitely one of my heroes as far as playing and as a person. He's always taken the time to talk to me. Our relationship means a lot to me, coming from all the stuff he's done. I'd definitely call him a mentor. I love his playing.

Where do you see your playing evolving to? You said you were beginning to understand the concept of the guitar fingerboard as one "position." How did you mean that?

One thing I've done for past four or five years is when I pick up the guitar, I am getting into different fingering. It's stuff I haven't played before. That can come from a fiddle tune, where I try to play it with open notes up the neck. Another thing I've learned, too, is the feel, where I'm not thinking about the notes I'm playing, just how the tune feels. Like on "Me and My Farmall," when I first played that first part, it just really felt good to me. The chords were different than anything I'd played before. I just found myself playing that first part every time I picked up guitar. I played that so much I ended up making it into a song.

Another thing I've been doing is that I have a good friend who's given me some older videos of guitarists like Billy Grammer, Jerry Reed, old Merle Travis stuff and guys like that. And I've been going back watching that stuff. It's just incredible the technique they had: the incredible feel they had on the instrument. They did some really neat stuff. So I'm going back and doing more research now and going back to guys like Lester Flatt, picking out what worked for them and trying to come up with my own thing, too. I've been paying more attention in last couple of years to older bluegrass stuff, the role of the guitar. I'm realizing they were doing the same thing I'm doing now in bluegrass band--playing guitar as a rhythm instrument. It all started from that. Jimmy Martin--he was really aggressive as far as rhythm. He'll put it on ya.

There still must be things that frustrate you as a guitarist. What do you wish you did better or could change?

Staying in tune. That's a hard thing, especially on stage where you're either dealing with being outside where it's hot, or dealing with air conditioning inside and the stage lights. All that stuff's against you. Then when you put on a capo, you bend the strings over frets, so the strings are stretching out of tune. It all gets in the way of good playing.

In addition to your ability to interpret traditional material, you're also becoming known for writing great flatpicking melodies. How do you compose? Is it a deliberate process where you hear a melody line in your head and then go to the guitar to find it, or does it emerge as you're just playing?

Usually it happens while I'm sitting and playing by myself. I may be watching TV. We always have a guitar in living room. So I may come up with something there. Sometimes there's something that may inspire me to write something, but usually I'm just sitting around and messing with it.

What do you think is the best tune you've written?

I guess it would be "Me and My Farmall." That tune really reminds me of the tractor and the years I spent on the farm. That tune feels really good to me.

Where do you see your career going in the next five years? Do you see yourself leading a group like Tony Rice?

I definitely do not want to leave the Lonesome River Band. I really like the guys and the stuff we do. They're like family to me. So right now, I'm happy doing what I'm doing. But later on down road, I do see me and Amanda doing something together.

What's most exciting to you now about the state of bluegrass music?

There's a lot of real good music out there now as far as acoustic things go. As far as the caliber of picking goes, it's moving to a different level. At the campfire jam sessions, there's just a lot of great players out there now. We're seeing a younger fan base, too. That's one neat thing about bluegrass. For as long as I've been playing, there's been no generation gap. It's one of those deals where I respect the guys that were first playing it just as much as the people doing it now. Really, there are not too many musical forms like that.

What keeps you motivated as a professional musician? Do you ever hit plateaus where you don't feel you're making any progress, and how do you get over those?

I guess I'm lucky because playing guitar has never become a job for me. If I ever get to that point, that's when I'll slow down. What's important to me is keeping my playing out of getting into a rut. I think that has to do with the love of the instrument. You've gotta love it enough to try different things on it. I think everybody that picks up the instrument has a certain responsibility to the instrument to try to do it better and not play the same thing all the time.

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	Kenny Smith's Guitars & Setup
	Kenny says his prized 1935 Martin D-18 is still his main axe, but he also loves the Kenny Smith model mahogany dreadnought built for him by Randy Lucas of Lucas Custom Instruments (Lucas Custom Instruments, P.O. Box 1404, Columbus, IN 47202, 812-342-3093, www.lucasguitars.com). "I play that one a lot. That guitar has continually evolved. Randy and I keep in touch every month, and that's been a neat relationship," he reported.
	Kenny also uses a self-built guitar as his "sitting around the house" instrument, and added that he's "still waiting for my D-28. I've never owned one." He uses a medium stiff tortoiseshell pick, although he recently experimented with a pick made from the same material used to create false teeth. "I'll try anything that gives you that sound," he said. He rounds his picks to a fairly small size because he feels a smaller pick puts less torque on his hand and tires it out less when playing lead and rhythm. All his guitars are strung with D'Addario EJ-17 mediums, although in the studio he has used the Elixir strings because they stay in tune better. "They slide better under the capo and over the nut better because of the (Gore-Tex) coating. They worked out great. They also last forever," he said. Kenny keeps his guitars with what many flatpickers would consider a pretty high action, mostly as a result of the type of tunes he plays with Lonesome River Band. "We do most of our songs in A, B flat or B, so I'm almost always capoed. We do not do any songs in open position," he explained, so the higher action works better for him when capoed.

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Knee Deep In Bluegrass

Sometime last year John Lawless of Acutab Publications had been talking to a few of the musicians who he has featured in his excellent series of bluegrass transcription books and the idea about recording a project with his coral of banjo pickers, mandolin players, and guitarists was thrown about. John says, "I thought it was a great idea and Dave Freeman at Rebel Records also thought it was a good idea." The project, titled Knee Deep In Bluegrass, was recorded this past summer and features Sammy Shelor, Scott Vestal, Pete Wernick, Alan Munde, Tony Trischka, Butch Baldassari, Barry Bales, Terry Baucom, Wayne Benson, Alan Bibey, Ronnie Bowman, Rob Ickes, Jason Moore, Joe Mullins, Mark Newton, Alan O'Bryant, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, and Ron Stewart. This project will be on the streets by the 16th of May from Rebel Records (Rebel 1759).

In addition to recording this great CD, the Knee Deep In Bluegrass cast also came together on the 7th of January 2000 in Bristol, Tennessee, and performed a live show. This show was recorded by a professional camera crew and John Lawless says that the video of this concert should also be available by May.

The two guitar players on this project, Kenny Smith and Tim Stafford, got together and recorded "Angeline The Baker" as a guitar duet. Kenny said that it was Tim's idea to record a fiddle tune together and that Tim had a great arrangement of "Angeline The Baker" that he played with the capo only freting the first 5 strings. Tim put the capo on the second fret and played the song out of the D position. With the 6th string remaining tuned to E, he was, in effect, playing as if he was in a dropped-D tuning. Kenny decided to capo up on the fourth fret and play the song out of the C position. Kenny's first two solos are transcribed in Volume 4, Number 3 of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine.

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