Brian Smith

Born in the African tundra and raised by a roving band of taxi cabs, Brian Smith found himself deposited fully grown on US shores by a rogue wave. He attended music school as a saxophonist for two years before realizing that his degree was about as useful as a screen door on a spaceship. Dressed in a fancy new suit of disillusionment, he stalked the mean streets of Greensboro, North Carolina. Realizing most people don’t really want to hear a saxophone, he picked up the guitar and sought greener pastures in Nashville, Tennessee, where he currently lives and works as a guitarist and singer.

Brian specializes in rock, pop, blues, and country styles of guitar. As a teacher, he draws inspiration from Paul Gilbert and Guthrie Govan, both of whom emphasize a focus on musicality and following your ear, rather than on strictures of technique. He believes that music should be as inclusive and accessible to everyone as possible, and that elitism and the cult of celebrity are worthy of scorn. As a player, he draws influence from a wide range of sources, but particularly favors the percussive acoustic style of Ani DiFranco, the open tuning and dark tonality of Days Of The New, the aggressive virtuosity of John Petrucci, and the fluid fusion flavor of Guthrie Govan.