Into The Wayback Machine we go, to 1984, when a young Denny Smith (that’s me) convinced his mom to buy a K-Tel compilation called “Masters Of Metal” from a Central Illinois department store, for no better reason than it had “Lick It Up” by KISS on it. Not only was the remaining track-list my first introduction to the likes of Iron Maiden, Krokus, DIO, Twisted Sister, and Y&T, but it also featured “Who’s Behind The Door?”, from Zebra.

Flash forward to 2024, and on Friday, June 14th, some 40 years after this little whippersnapper got his wish to take that cassette home (wearing it out daily, much to the consternation of everyone else in the household), my band The Great Affairs will be supporting Zebra at The Basement East in Nashville, TN.

I still pinch myself every time we get a chance to do one of these shows, with an artist or group that had a hand in shaping the way we do what we do, all the way back to simply making us WANT to do it in the first place, and I’m really looking forward to this one. We’ve put together a set that’s heavy on stuff from our latest, ’Sleepwalker’, along with a few tunes the diehards won’t let us get away with leaving out, plus we’re tinkering with some new “technology” for the first time too, so wish us luck, say a prayer, light a candle, or whatever it may be that you do when there’s a chance things might go sideways.

Doors open at 7PM, with In Theory on first, followed by us, and then the headliner.

Next month, we’re off to Indiana & Michigan, for some festival dates, and we’ll keep you posted as more shows come together throughout the Summer. Hell, we might even finish up a video (or two) that we’ve been meaning to work on.

 Cheers,
    Denny
    The Great Affairs