The Rich Roots of Smith House

There was once a house that had a beating heart of it's own. It warmly pulsed it's lifeblood through the veins of Colorado, and it's roots grew deep, tapping into the wells of authentic living. It's 100 year old walls constantly vibrated with the music of young, inspired humans, and it's kitchen counters groaned under the weight of huge community meals. It's rooms ached from the use of many many people, travelers from afar and friends from close by. This was the Smith House, a bustling community house, a center of music and inspiration, and a refuge of meals and warmth.

Smith House is a Colorado folk band, and from this house described above comes our name. Any success we have had comes from the multitudes of inspiration that came out of our roots. Barrett and I (Zach) were residents of this community house, and helped to establish it's beginnings. It was a place that all people were welcome, whether it was just for a dinner and music jam on "Family Dinner" nights every Monday, or whether it was a couch to sleep on for a couple weeks while you were having a rough patch with employment or you were just passing through town. The house only existed for about a year, but in that time we packed in more life than we ever could have asked for.

During our time living in the constant spirit of music and intentional community, Barrett and I wrote a lot of songs together, and started taking them out into the world and playing at coffeeshops and on street corners. When the house dissipated and folks went their own ways, we decided to keep going and we named our musical endeavor "Smith House" in honor of the place we loved so much.

We played as just a duo for a short time. We recorded a dirt cheap EP and called it "The Raw and Rich", and took it on a busking (street performing) tour of the western US. Two months on the road we played street corners and sold our EP, but in late summer, we split ways. I was enrolled in college in Canada, and Barrett was committed to work and Colorado Springs.

My endeavors in school did not last long, however. After a semester and a half in Toronto, I lost steam on my career plans and felt more called to return to my roots. Barrett and I immediately reunited and revived our music together. It wasn't long before we realized our duo needed expansion, and we opened our ears to more band members. We met Julie, our bassist, and Barrett hit up his old friend Brittany, our violinist (and now my wife!). There was instant symbiosis when the four of us finally got together for our first practice as a band, and thus Smith House was born as it is today. We've been playing as a four-piece for three years now, we've toured the US once, and we've produced our first full length album.

We're so thankful for the opportunities we've had so far, and we owe so much to our rich roots in "The Smith House". Our mindset is constantly oriented much like it was back then, always looking for ways to bring community to our city and enrich the things around us that foster people coming together. Our sights are on growing something beautiful, they are not on becoming famous or "selling out". Seems like Steemit is symbiotic with our communal mindset, and I am so excited to hopefully grow our community through this vein as well.

Thanks for reading, can't wait to get to know you all!