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THE GREAT AFFAIRS

  • NEWS
  • Bio
  • Press
  • Pics
  • Store
  • Calendar
  • Contact
  • Music
    • Sights
    • Sounds
  • Press Kits
    • The Great Affairs EPK
    • Denny Smith EPK
From The Dark by Denny Smith

From The Dark

Denny Smith

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"Smith is a soulful, rustic rock `n' roller who's turned out a consistent string of fine records over the past couple of years. All delivered with a passion and desperation that demand attention. No frills. Not sappy, not loud...just oozing with great energy, good songwriting and a powerful voice." - Kool Kat Musik

 Denny Smith is a Nashville, TN-based singer, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to work with his bands The Great Affairs and The Die Youngs, he’s written and produced material for other acts and had his music featured in film & television.


On his second solo LP ‘From The Dark’ ; a departure from his band’s slightly harder-edged output, he employs a more subtle, nuanced approach to the production, and a lyrical bent that makes frequent comparison to artists like Tom Petty & Butch Walker a credible observation.


“I wanted to strip away some of the artifice that can go along with doing the straight-up Rock ensemble thing, and maybe see if I could cut a little closer to the core, and tell stories that seemed less like they’d been viewed from a distance or through some lens, lived vicariously. In fact, I didn’t really want to “tell stories” at all, what I wanted to do was get some things off my chest as truthfully and un-self-consciously as possible.”


The followup to 2016’s ‘An Overnight Low’ was co-produced with Grammy-winning Mixer/Engineer Michael Saint-Leon(Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram), and Smith calls it “10 songs about untimely passings. unexpected diagnoses, unrelenting addictions, and the unfortunate reality that such is life sometimes, when a younger man’s days are behind you. “


TRACK LISTING:
From The Dark
Glass Slipper
I Will
The Bruise
The Whole World’s Clown
Trying To Break Your Heart
When The Darkness Come To Town
These Blues
Like God’s Asleep
One Mississippi


“Another top-shelf collection of kick-ass material which begs to be featured within any play list that includes Kings of Leon, Counting Crows, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, and their ilk. Thought provoking lyrics coupled with Smith’s raspy voice invite you inside the album as it often harkens back to the kind of grit and raw emotion of Rod Stewart’s 'Every Picture Tells a Story'.” -Popmart Zoo
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    From The Dark 3:02
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  2. 2
    Glass Slipper 3:36
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    I Will 4:26
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    The Bruise 4:17
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    The Whole World's Clown 3:17
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    Trying To Break Your Heart 4:17
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    When The Darkness Comes 4:00
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    These Blues 3:05
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    Like God's Asleep 4:10
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    One Mississippi 3:37
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Ten & 2 by The Great Affairs

Ten & 2

The Great Affairs

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"...the instant hooks and melodies of Cheap Trick, with the Americana of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers..." -Screamer Magazine

THE GREAT AFFAIRS

"...the instant hooks and melodies of Cheap Trick, with the Americana of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers..." -Screamer Magazine

Over the course of several releases: 2009's 'The Great Affairs', 2010's 'Ricky took the wheels..', 2011's 'Happy Ender', and 2013's '4', The Great Affairs have undergone a not-so-subtle transformation from the dusty, Americana-leaning fare of their early works to the grittier, pop-infused rock n' roll stylings of their latest, 'Dream In Stereo'.

Swapping out rhythm sections in 2013, after a brief hiatus from performing or recording, the band acquired an additional lead voice in drummer Kenny Wright, whose Paul Rodgers-inspired turns at the mic proved a surprisingly effective foil for the more Paul Westerberg-flavored approach of singer/songwriter Denny Smith.

While they may have cut their teeth on KISS and The Black Crowes, or Queen and Humble Pie, The Great Affairs simultaneously draw from the Pop well of such ‘80s icons as Rick Springfield and Bon Jovi, juxtaposing these elements with the sound of more contemporary acts like The Gaslight Anthem, Butch Walker, and The Stereophonics, to offer up the kind of sweaty, gimmick-free, big guitar anthems that'll rattle your brain, just as easily as they might slip into lonesome troubadour mode and soothe your soul.

The Great Affairs recently signed to NY-based Kivel Records for the release of their new LP, due in June 2018. Once again recorded with Grammy-nominated mixer and engineer Michael Saint-Leon(Buddy Guy, James Cotton), this record finds the band pursuing a more muscular, guitar-heavy sound, owing as much to their Classic Rock forebears as formative efforts had to the Singer/Songwriter model. Inspired perhaps by the 2017 covers collection ‘Six Pack’, where the band mined and reimagined gems from ‘70s FM stalwarts like Thin Lizzy, Fleetwood Mac, and Cheap Trick, the forthcoming collection openly embraces their various influences to create a sound that is both comfortably familiar and refreshingly its own.

THE GREAT AFFAIRS are: Denny Smith: vocals, guitars, harmonica Patrick Miller: lead guitar, vocals Matt Andersen: bass, vocals Kenny Wright: vocals, drums, percussion

"..a surefire cure for your ailing rock n' roll heart" -Eric Allen, Modern Songwriter

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  1. 1
    What You Get Is Gone 5:04
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    Trippin' over Me 3:55
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    Unfound 4:39
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    Like Stone 5:15
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    Sing Along 3:56
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    Back to Boston 3:58
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    Learn to Let Go 4:50
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    Hands off the Wheel 4:03
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    Take the Ride 5:37
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    The Day I Let You Go 4:04
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    Last Good Memory (Revisited) 5:10
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An Overnight Low by Denny Smith

An Overnight Low

Denny Smith

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'An Overnight Low'

When the idea of doing a solo record first came up, I think the initial discussions centered around more of a "get some of these things out of your system" vibe than necessarily becoming invested in a full-blown production. Now, had I simply cherry-picked a dozen acoustic demos to recut in a proper studio, that tack might've worked out alright, but I honestly didn't see the hypothetical finished product appealing to many people, including myself, so I took a different approach.

I started sorting through all the material my band (The Great Affairs) had amassed in the 2 years since we released our last album, even going back to the stuff we'd shelved in favor of the songs that ultimately made the cut for that record, just in case there was something in the archives that might've been unfairly benched in the interest of observing the democratic process. I mean, let's face it, if I'm the only one with their wallet out this go 'round, I should be able to vote a few castaways back ONTO the island, right? Since there were no bandmates or label involved to veto my choices, I took full advantage of this newfound executive power, and rescued a few of these "lost" numbers for inclusion, along with 7 or 8 new ideas I'd been tinkering with.

In the process of liberating those overlooked selections though, the scope of the record expanded quite a bit, and any notion of it being a low-key acoustic outing pretty much took a hike. Instead, I had a batch of songs that ran the gamut from subtle, finger-picked balladry to caveman-fisted power chord chuggery(a word?), and all the stuff in between that makes up what I love about Rock n' Roll music, and that was just fine by me.

…..because…..

In my world, there's no good reason why The Raspberries and Jason Isbell can't get spun on the same radio station, or Cheap Trick can't break bread on E Street with the Boss. Butch Walker would be a millionaire (Well, he probably is, but he'd have a bunch of hits to go with his outstanding bank balance and an assumedly exemplary credit rating.), and John Hiatt would be a household name.

Stevie Nicks, Jellyfish, and Paul Stanley walk into a bar. Bartender says….

Anyway, you get the picture. This is a record I made for me, and if I'm lucky, people like me, who don't get too caught up in putting labels on everything, or making sure it's in the "correct" box. It ain't hip, or cool… at least I don't think it is, but then I'm not sure I'd be aware if it were, so I'll just assume it's not, and that's OK.

Still, I'm too old to have grown up in the Tee-Ball generation, and I believe in earning my trophies, so don't think for a second I didn't bust my ass on this thing, because I sure as hell did. I DO want people to like it. Cool or not cool, I know I made a good record, All I can do now is turn it loose, and hope it gets listened to…but I guess that part is up to you.

Cheers,
Denny Smith
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    Silver Lining 4:07
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    Hard Stop 4:33
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    Leaving L.A. 4:18
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    All In The Livin' 3:25
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    A Little Bit Broken 4:14
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    Rider 3:12
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    Missing You 4:49
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    Hyde 4:34
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    Fall To Me 4:44
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    My Father's Son 4:18
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    Dust 4:14
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  12. 12
    To Call This Home 4:13
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notes
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  1. 1
    I'm Alright 4:00
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  2. 2
    Sherrybaby 4:53
    Lyrics
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  3. 3
    Trying To Break Your Heart 4:17
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  4. 4
    Unfound 4:39
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  5. 5
    What You Get Is Gone 5:04
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    Sing Along 3:56
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    Trippin' over Me 3:55
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  8. 8
    The Next Three Minutes 3:43
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    Leaving L.A. 4:15
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    Nothing's Broken 4:15
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    Hard Stop 4:32
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    Eyes in Every Room 3:50
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  13. 13
    Dust 4:11
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    Head Light 3:24
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    Feels Like Home 4:24
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    Elise 4:48
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    Miss America 5:48
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    Dodge 3:40
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    We Just Disagree 3:08
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    Dirty On the Stereo 3:03
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