Photo caption: Young Mark Bilyeu and cousin Bill Thomas, a step away from savagery, on the banks of Bull Creek.
Howdy, howdy, howdy. It's been a while since we've put out a newsletter, because it's been a busy time for Big Smith, but now that the holidays are over, we've had a chance to catch our breath. Mainly, 2003 kept us busy recording our children's CD. You've probably heard by now, it's called "Hay to Zzzzzz: Hillbilly Songs for Kids." The reviews are pouring in. From Jeff Wilhoit, Ozark, Missouri, age 8: "I'm driving mom and dad crazy by forcing them to play this disc over and over. Thanks Big Smith!" From Susie Peckingham, Charleston, Illinois, age 4: "I want a CHEEEESE enchilada!!" And from Brian O'Grady, Lincoln, Nebraska, age 5: "Not only is this new release from Big Smith enjoyable on an aesthetic level, it holds up conceptually as well. That along with the bands' unfettered exploration into a new, expanded aural vocabulary make this one of the most enjoyable listens this reviewer has experienced in a long, long, time. Now, it's time for me to eat some Play-Doh."
What else has kept us busy? Well, right about the time we were putting the finishing touches on our CD, a documentary film crew from Germany began following us around during the month of November. Perhaps you saw them with a camera and a microphone literally in our faces at a recent gig. The results should be interesting. We'll keep you updated on the final product, expected to be completed in the summer or fall of 2004. I'm sure you're all just dying to know the ins and outs of our daily lives, aren't you?
Both the new CD and the documentary captured many moments with our extended family. This bunch is always creating music and our label has recently released a couple of CDs that we'd like to tell you about. One is "Heavenly Highway Hymns," a set of gospel music by our uncle Hosea and family, sung traditionally, only with a piano. All of the songs were taken from our family's favorite hymnbook of the same name.
Switching over to the secular realm, we're also pleased to tell you about our cousin Bill Thomas's debut CD, "Live in Spokane, May 4, 2002." If you didn't know, Bill is a great songwriter, clearly evidenced by his fine performances of his original songs on the kids CD: "Hay is For Horses," "When I'm One," and "Paw Paw Patch (Revisited)."
You can buy both Bill's CD, Uncle Hosea's CD, and "Hay to Zzzzzz" at www.mayapplerecords.com.
Looking back, 2003 was the year of jamming. Not only with our parents, uncles and aunts on the kids CD, but also with Red Meat in California, the Waymakers at their 25th reunion, the Domino Kings and Robin Luke at the Juanita K Hammons hall, Speakeasy at not one but two summer outdoor festivals, Cary Hudson at Chesters, the guys from PoDank at the Outland Ballroom, and to bring in 2004, a New Year's gospel encore with the Bottle Rockets at the Blue Note. Let us hope that this is a trend that will continue.
In fact it will continue, certainly with Cousin Scott and our friends in Red Meat anyway. You don't want to miss our performance with them on January 31st at the Juanita K Hammons Hall in Springfield. That and many gigs are coming up - follow the links below to the recently updated dates page. Happy New Year to you! We hope to see you in 2004.
Click here to go to the dates page and see the latest scheduled gigs.
Read the previous newsletter by clicking here.
Website: www.bigsmithband.com | Booking: (417) 866-4094 staciebilyeu@msn.com
Email: cousins@bigsmithband.com
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