Goodbye Vermont

I will never lose my affinity or affection for the Green Mountains. I know of no other natural environment so dynamic, so transitory, so ever-changing and full of rock, wind, water, and soil. I was drawn to Vermont in 1997, upon my high school graduation, and have resided there since. Later this month I am relocating permanently to the high desert of Colorado, at which time I will launch a new blog. This new blog, as well as all other original online resources, both past and future, will be listed at smithforecast.com. My home is for sale (cash only)-- click here for more information. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed Vermont, and have many memories to cherish-- not the least of which are listed below. This is far from complete, and may be amended as time and recall allows:

-- sunrises across the hills of Randolph Center

-- sunsets along Ridge Rd. in Brookfield

-- the mist in the valley along the South Royalton/Tunbridge line

-- coming into Rutland via Route 4

-- coming into Vermont where 9 becomes 7 in Hoosick Falls

-- late nights in the Haybarn and Music Building at Goddard College

-- evening shifts when I read all the newspapers at the River Bend Farm Market in Townsend

-- early mornings making coffee at Stewart's in Poultney

-- making breakfast at Camp Waubanong, West Brattleboro

-- lazy afternoons beside the West River, Riford Brook, Thayer Brook

-- sledding with my son in Williamstown

-- sledding down a driveway in Williamstown in a 1993 S10 Blazer

-- stargazing during duty nights at Vermont Technical College

-- commuting up and down I89, teaching at VTC's Williston campus while living in Randolph

-- seeing more than half of Vermont's 251 towns from a Ford Mustang

-- driving through the hills of East Montpelier with my dog eating maple creemes

-- spinning records at WFVR-LP, 96.5FM South Royalton

-- coordinating monthly grocery runs to West Lebanon, NH

-- eating leftovers at the front desk of Mountain Green Resort, Killington 

-- watching the sun ascend over the mountains in front of Second Springs, Williamstown

-- the smell of maple in spring

-- the smell of cow manure on the shoes of students in Randolph Center

-- the smell of Nag Champa incense, drifting from summer windows

-- the rainbow above Abruzzi Stables, Bennington, and the company of Jacob Snyder

-- the sunlight through the stained glass windows of Bethany Church, Randolph

-- the soft moss of the fen in Brookfield

-- the view from the stage of the Chandler Music Hall, Randolph

-- the green dot bins at Exile On Main St., Barre

-- the closing of Circuit City, Williston

-- Tropical Storm Irene, Riford Brook Rd., Braintree

-- Earth Day 1999, Green Mountain College

-- eating a "Vermonster" at the old Ben and Jerry's location in Rutland

-- sausage gravy and biscuits at the Birdseye Diner, Castleton

-- eggs and bacon at Tot's, Poultney

-- having Ramunto's garlic knot pizza delivered to Ritz Camera at the Diamond Run Mall, Rutland

-- popcorn at the Bethel Drive In, Randolph

-- the Wayside Restaurant of Barre, the greatest restaurant of all time

-- driving the Bennington Bypass at top speed listening to Phish

-- learning to drive on Route 133 between Middletown Springs and West Rutland

-- driving 100 miles to band practice in St. Johnsbury

-- the mud at Coventry, 2004

-- the Listen Center in White River Junction

-- the pizza shop in Randolph (the good one)

-- Mocha Joe's coffee of Brattleboro, the best coffee in the world

-- the Gifford Hospital Thrift Store, one of the undiscovered gems of Vermont

-- the Tupelo Music Hall (defunct) in White River Junction

-- stacking firewood aside the cabin known as Hopeful in Braintree

-- watching two dogs lead each other around splashing in the creek on a July afternoon

-- shuttling low-residency faculty and students from Burlington to Plainfield in a Dodge minivan

-- Ween at Higher Ground (old location)

-- Richie Havens at Barre Opera House

-- Avett Brothers at Chandler Music Hall

-- swimming at "Flat Rock" in Poultney

-- swimming at the Dorset Quarry

-- watching the snow fall 

 

Long Road Music (2019)

This collection of instrumental music represents many disparate sessions. All tracks are original compositions, and were composed, performed, and produced by Christopher Smith, with additional electric bass by Randy Welch. This work is dedicated to Jacob Snyder, whose musicianship, friendship, and humor has and will forever be an inspiration to me. 

I have a continued interest in the use of electronic musical instruments, to create soundscapes and compositions built of non-representational sounds. I am especially interested in the use of early 1980s MIDI equipment, by which one may trigger multiple drum machines. How can clashes of tone and rhythm create a music that represents our social discourse? While this work began as purely electronic, it came to include acoustic guitar, drum kit, and many conga and cajon tracks-- a mix of divergent voices, at times working and sounding together. This project is the result of a specific creative process, one of careful, solitary overdubs. In relocating from New England, I anticipate utilizing different creative processes in the future. A short history of this work: 

Fall 2011-Spring 2012: sessions in a backyard shed in central Vermont. These involved a Yamaha RM1x drum machine and PSR keyboard, as well as other MIDI-driven tones.

Spring 2017: sessions in an apartment on Commercial St. in Trinidad, Colorado, using a Casio keyboard and Akai drum machine. 

Fall 2017-Spring 2018: sessions and overdub sessions at Riford Brook in Braintree, Vermont. Some piano, organ, and synthesizer tracks were recorded during this time. Fall '11 session work was discovered, and merged into this project. 

Spring 2019: extensive sessions at Animas St. in Trinidad, Colorado. Drum kit, hand drums, Hammond organ (M103 and T300), electric and keyboard bass, as well as bass work by Randy Welch. Mastered digitally.