JIM SMITH
In addition to an extensive five-year gig at the Quaker Square Hilton of Akron, Ohio, Jim's calendar has been filled with many long-running repeat engagements in other northeast Ohio venues including The Red Bull Inn, Anthe’s, The 356th Fighter Group Restaurant, Kurt's Inn and Fitz’s Restaurant, with occasional performances at Pancho's Southwestern Grille and Corky's Cafe.
In recent years, the majority of Jim’s performance schedule is now booked for private parties, social events, community festivals and corporate functions.
Born in the city of Roanoke, Virginia, Jim Smith's interest in music started at age seven when he began learning to play the piano. It was also around this time that Jim heard The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the first time. From there he was constantly glued to the radio and TV, with his mind made up to be a musician. As Jim elaborated, "That was the turning point. There had always been music playing in our home, and on the car radio wherever my parents would drive. My mom always had the stereo playing ... she's always been very open minded, when it came to the styles of music that she liked ... which is definitely where I learned to appreciate the importance of variety. She also played gospel music on the piano and encouraged me to take lessons ... she's always been very supportive of anything I've done related to music."
Just after his ninth birthday, Jim’s family relocated to the village of Canal Fulton, Ohio. Still a "terminal Beatle-maniac", Jim had been pleading with his parents for a guitar for nearly three years. Finally, under the Christmas tree that same year, along with The Beatles "Rubber Soul" album ... there it was. "My dad remembered a few basic guitar chords learned from a friend while he was in the military, which he showed me to help get me started." With that, in conjunction with what he'd learned from piano lessons, and a chord book from the local library, Jim taught himself to play the guitar.
Starting in the 5th grade, Jim played both guitar and piano for programs in elementary school and throughout the junior high years. The following year, he joined the school band program, playing trumpet. It was around this time that Jim's sister dropped band from her scheduled classes, and gave Jim her flute. "She showed me some of the finger positions and how to make a decent sound. Within just a couple of weeks, I was playing the flute better than I’d ever played trumpet with five years of practice! I still use it in my performances today, on songs like ‘Nights In White Satin’ and ‘Colour My World’. It helps to add a bit more to my program, plus I enjoy it. I also include harmonica on a couple of numbers for the same reason.”
By 13th birthday, Jim had formed his first band with two classmates from the seventh grade. Soon, they played their first “paid” performances, performing for local birthday parties of girls in their school. As the years went on, Jim continued to perform in various bands, each an improvement from the previous. Most of these bands were based in the northeast Ohio region, with names such as “Ambrose”, “One East”, “Horizons”, “Clean Slate” and “Country Aire”. He also founded a couple of bands which included “Fantazia” and “Nightrider”.
In the years to come, Jim's favorite music included, in his words, " ... everything from soft acoustic music (James Taylor, Jim Croce and Simon & Garfunkel) to the heavier sounds (Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin) … to soul (Motown) and funk (James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone). And of course, I'll always appreciate the diversity and raw magic of The Beatles' music. But I like way too many styles to choose one over another!"
In addition to working as a performing musician, Jim has also been a music instructor, which he began doing since the age of 16. Starting with a few students in a music store, he was soon teaching between fifty and sixty lessons per week. For the next decade, he taught an estimated total of over 500 students, many who are professional musicians and teachers in their own right.
As a songwriter, Jim Smith continues to grow. Although many of his original songs would more likely be considered "pop" or "contemporary folk", Jim was invited to be a guest on "Country Today". The show was broadcast into an estimated 63 million homes, via The Nashville Network (TNN).
Jim recently released an album, under the pen name of Brandon St. James (www.brandonstjames.com) which features 12 of his original compositions. The recording, “Only Dreamers Understand” covers such a wide variety of musical styles (pop, folk, ballads, jazz) that it’s hard to narrow down into a description of just one musical style. A multi-instrumentalist and experienced session musician, Jim plays all of the instruments on the recording (except for drums on 4 of the selections), and covers all of the vocal parts – including the backing harmonies.