Kevin A. Smith

The Seven is an eclectic, ever-changing, genre-jumping sonic collage that is the personal musical vision of Kevin A. Smith. Dedicated to the creation of great progressive instrumental music, Smith submitted a three song CD-R of his work containing excerpts from his upcoming CD entitled Meaning Of Is... The three tracks draw on influences such as jazz-fusion, hyper-technical prog rock, classical and new age, with Smith manning all the instruments. His guitar work sounds like the way a young Eric Johnson might play if he had one foot planted in progressive rock and the other planted in the blues. The third track, "Roll Over", features some nice trade offs on the guitar with Smith presumably playing all parts. The music really holds your attention--Smith seems to have everything going for him to advance further in the progressive rock arena.
The Seven manifests itself primarily as recordings of Kevin's compositions through the years. He has recorded three albums ("Sounds"-1990, "Signs"-1993 and "Sphere Of Influence"-1996) and has built up a small but loyal base of fans. The concept arose when Kevin found himself writing primarily instrumental music and he had trouble finding musicians with the depth or ability to play the intricate works. He built a small recording studio and began experimenting. Kevin quickly discovered that being the sole creative force allowed him to develop a heightened sense of the interaction between the instruments and their relationships, both rhythmic and harmonic. He believes he has tapped into an interesting creative well working this way, and he is willing to live with the limitations in order to reach his listeners.

Smith's future plans include the scoring of a documentary for UNC-TV that will be aired nationally on PBS, beginning pre-production on a fresh set of instrumental tunes, and putting together a live set of some of The Seven's greatest hits with local musicians for performance at various festivals.

- Guitar Nine Records - The Undiscovered

"The Seven is the brainchild of musician, songwriter and producer Kevin A. Smith. The Seven's eclectic sound takes inspiration from many artists who step outside of the box. Like them, Kevin Smith takes delight in all music, pushing at the boundaries of what is perceived to be possible.

Breaking away from the expected, The Seven take us on a wonderful musical journey. An exploration into Metal, Rock, Jazz, Classical music, and anything else that Kevin Smith finds inspiring. I recently talked to Kevin about The Seven's history, and the new album Unsatisfied, to be released mid-summer 2007.

Please introduce yourself, and what CD is in your CD player right now?

- My name is Kevin A. Smith... 38 years old, married to my best friend Heather, father of Annabelle. In my CD player right now is the album Aerial View, by Gamalon, killer jazz-rock fusion that hit me like a brick in the head the first time I heard it in 1990. My buddy Christian sent me a promo cassette of the album and I popped it in my walkman (remember those?) and listened to side 1 over and over again, it was so freakin' cool that I was afraid the rest couldn't be as good so I just kept listenin' to side 1! I just found it on eBay for $1 and it's as good as I remember... both sides!

Could you tell me a little history of both you and your recording studio?

- Let's see... I was born in Columbia, South Carolina. Started playing the guitar at age 12, a couple years later my parents got divorced and I was "relocated" to Williamsburg, Virginia. It was a very scary, negative experience that was intensified by raging adolescence, but it forced me to turn inwards and focus on music and my guitar playing. In the crucible, ya' know? I quit school and moved out at 17, chasing the music in my head... and 20 years later I'm still chasing.

- Somewhere along the line I bought a four track recorder, a drum machine, a bass, and a keyboard. I kept hearing all of these things in my head that I wanted to capture and after my first few recordings I knew I was hooked on the recording process. This love turned to passion and about 10 years ago I quit my day job and dove headlong into entrepreneurship... Six+1 Studios was born. I bring all my experiences, both musical and relational, to the studio and have grown a varied crop of clients from all around my region. From rap to country to metal to American Indian flute music, my studio is open to all. I have been honing my skills as a producer and have been pursuing projects that I feel I can take to another level. I get paid to do what I love... it doesn't get much better than that.

Who are The Seven, and what instruments and brands do they play?

- At this point it's just me. My main six-string axe is a Line 6 Variax that I put a maple Warmoth strat neck on. I love this guitar! I also play an early 80s Fender Squier Strat (back when they made them in Japan and they were actually good guitars!) with EMG pickups. I also have a 1967 Gibson J-50 acoustic guitar that sounds really great, a Godin BG5 bass and I just bought a Peavey Cirrus 5 string bass. I run my guitars through a Line 6 POD XT live, direct for recording and through a Peavey Classic 50/50 stereo tube power amp to 2 2x12 cabs with EVs for live.

The Seven is an unusual name, is there a story behind it?

- Well, I wasn't interested in the self-aggrandizing that seems to come with self-titled bands. I thought a name would paint a better mental picture than just the Kevin Smith Band or some such thing. I don't consider myself a numerologist, but the number seven has been an important number in my life. It represents completion and wholeness and presents a positive form with just a hint of mystery.

What artists have influenced you? Which still do?

- My first serious influence was a family friend named Scott Miller - a great guitarist and an unusually cool person. When I was about 11 or 12 he got me set up and pointed in the right direction by recommending such artists as Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. I remember listening to his copy of Back in Black, over and over. From there I got really into more metal and progressive music; Judas Priest, Maiden, Rush, Saga, Queensryche. And the sometimes lyrically challenged 80s metal stuff; Ratt, Dokken, Dio, Night Ranger, etc. I was smitten with guitar players like George Lynch and Gary Moore. Somewhere in my mid teens I discovered, with Yngwie's help, that I had a strong love for Baroque period classical music and bought a bunch of J.S. Bach and Vivaldi. Then Joe Satriani happened. After that, there were no more parameters. I just dug into anything and everything, jazz, space music, Philip Glass, and I found myself gravitating towards music with a strong cinematic element. Tunes that presented themselves to me accompanied by a movie that played inside my head. And music that SOUNDED really good... high production value.

- Some of my favorites: Eric Johnson, Neal Scho - Denise Smith (no relation)

I've got three words to describe this... Good Stuff Maynard! The first tune has a Satriani "Echo" rhythm to it, with a bit of variety. I really like the way Kevin constructs the bass, drums, and guitar to do different little fills together. Nice use of harmonies both on guitar and bass. Well written pieces fill this tape, great work between the instruments with clean picking over thoughtful chord progressions. The leads are well placed and fill the songs out perfectly. Outstanding melodies and cool harmonies make this one worth checking out. - Guitarist Network