Here we are, kids…wrapping up yet another calendar year on planet Earth. The U.S. presidential election took place and the world didn't end the next morning, so there's that to be thankful for.
We at TGA Inc. have managed to get just shy of 50 shows under our belt for 2016, and actually make a little coin along the way…even if it kept us from putting together what I consider to be a somewhat overdue new album. We DID however make great strides recently in finishing up work on the covers EP that we've been yapping about for the better part of the past 12 months, so that's really just around the corner at long last. We're just a vocal session and some mixing away from adding that to our official discography, and I swear it'll be worth the wait, honest.
My solo record 'An Overnight Low'; on the other hand, is out and available from various retailers of both physical and digital media, as well as all the oft-maligned streaming content providers. Do me(and yourself, of course) a favor, and gift yourself a copy or two of this future classic. My mom says she likes it, and a couple of other folks I'm not even related to had similarly kind words on the subject. For instance…
"Written and produced by Smith himself, An Overnight Low shows the singer-songwriter in a new light from his previous band efforts. The gorgeous “Leaving L.A.” is a cinematic love letter to the City of Angels, while the infectious “Hard Stop” is the kind of romantic rocker made for blasting from rooftops and car windows when needing a break away from the insanity of the world.
For those not yet familiar with Denny Smith, his style can best be described as a stirring fusion of Tom Petty and Jon Bon Jovi, with a dash of the Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones. For fans of the aforementioned, An Overnight Low is the album you didn’t know you’ve been impatiently awaiting."
-PopMartZoo
"Silver Lining" opens the album in fine fashion with just the right dose of melancholy to go along with a winning melody, while the more uptempo "Hard Stop" finds the golden mean between Butch Walker and The Gin Blossoms. "All in the Livin'" is an upbeat, acoustic number that's quite ingratiating, and the power ballad "Missing You" is another delight.
-Absolute Powerpop
…and here's a LINK to an interview that accompanies that PopMartZoo review, where I discuss the motivation for making the record, and what actually went into getting it done, among other things.
Back to The Great Affairs though, we're about to sign off on road work until 2017, but we've got a handful of dates to get through before we declare ourselves officially on vacation, starting with a pair of Georgia shows this weekend, and closing out with stops at two of our favorite venues in Illinois and Kentucky the next. From there, we take a brief hiatus to do things of the festive nature, and then get back to work on material for what will hopefully assume the form of album #6.
Here are the specs on those dates:
FRI, DEC 2ND THE LOFT COLUMBUS, GA 9PM
SAT, DEC 3RD THE HUMMINGBIRD MACON, GA 10:30 PM(w/Ninehorn)
FRI, DEC 9TH JOHN BROWN'S ON THE SQUARE MARION, IL 9PM
SAT, DEC 10TH THE CROWDED HOUSE MADISONVILLE, KY 8:30PM
I'd like to say thanks to everyone that came out to The High Watt in Nashville on Tuesday night too. I know we don't play in town much, and we'll try to rectify that over the next few months. It was great to see some faces we hadn't seen in a while, and not have a 300 mile drive to look forward to after load-out. In addition to restful sleep in our own beds, we got to begin the process of testing out some next-time contenders by debuting "Back To Boston", and that's something we'll probably continue to do moving forward, in an effort to weed out any duds we might have become unnecessarily attached to by virtue of personal bias, so please let us know what you think of these new offerings as they materialize. You might save us the costly embarrassment of committing an aberration to tape.
I'm gonna go listen to some Journey and re-string my Telecaster now. You folks be good to each other.
-Denny