“Sky Smeed – Live at the Rock House For those who enjoyed the music of the late Steve Goodman or John Prine, Sky Smeed is a refreshing addition to that genre. As soon as “Hanging On” began, his warm voice & singular acoustic guitar were reminiscent of Goodman & Prine. Sky isn’t an imitator either. His showcase has the same rich storytelling intonation & character. It’s a small listening room, but it’s in these forums that the audience is even more engaged & personal with the performer. Sky mixes his set with serious tunes & some novelty music to keep the performance entertaining. The value added is his songwriting. This is his 10th album, so there is an audience for Mr. Smeed’s music. But to gain more media attention does he have to write a song like Randy Newman’s “Short People?” There are 14 performances to Live at the Rock House (Dropped April 3), a venue in Reeds Spring, Missouri, recorded by Barak Hill. The show’s upbeat, with a light touch like Goodman (“The City of New Orleans”), Hamilton Camp (“Star Spangled Bus”) & John Prine (“In Spite of Ourselves”). Sky isn’t as cutting & acerbic as Randy Newman, but he does have a distinctive voice & covers themes the other artists don’t. “Good Luck” is a fine example. His storytelling can be poignant with a Norman Rockwell color. His “Lunker Bass” is played in the tradition of Prine, yet the construction is all Sky Smeed. That’s not emulating, that’s influence. The tunes have no extraneous polish except for Sky’s fine voice captured warmly in the intimate natural setting. “Nine To Five” is more in the Prine style, but it’s edgy like Merle Haggard & Waylon Jennings. It may even be something Ramblin’ Jack Elliott would record. Songs about life, some insignificant because for some they’re memories they cherish, moments they still talk about at picnics & family gatherings. Sky is solo with no other musicians — it’s a singer who is laid bare, just a microphone & an unplugged guitar. One of the most poignant pulpits for a single person on a stage before a few strangers. This singer-songwriter has a heartbeat, & because AI-generated recordings don’t come from the soul. Yes, AI can regenerate what’s come before, but it will never create something wholly original because AI doesn’t experience anything personally. Does AI even understand what “Keep Rolling On” means? While several tunes are emeralds, “I Don’t Know What To Do” is the diamond. It’s a well-recorded live set with lyrics that sound as if the late comedian George Carlin may have co-wrote. Great set. Talented artist. Highlights – “Hanging On,” “Good Luck,” “Lunker Bass Intro/Lunker Bass,” “Nine To Five,” “Keep Rolling On,” “I Don’t Know What To Do,” “Bumper Sticker” & “Without Music.” John Apice - Americana Highways ”
“Sky Smeed: Live at the Rock House (self-released) More songs about romance and victuals delivered by a Kansan singer-songwriter with a casual, comfortably comic drawl who’ll “work for food and beg for sex” and whose most recent brush with danger involved choking on a piece of tofu. No wonder he’s worked up a ditty called “Chicken of the Trees” to promote the canned squirrel-meat business he’s running with his brother and dad because they know if you don’t that the “furry little fuckers make a damn fine meal”—as in its own way would the lunker bass as big as he was back when his dad told the world his son was the up-and-comer who’d hauled the thing in. Songs like these, he wants us to know, definitely beat feeling like “a cold hot dog on a styrofoam plate.” Let’s hope he’ll avoid the fate of Johnny Paycheck, whose “Take This Job and Shove It” royalties, Smeed notes, didn’t keep him from dying broke. And note that the one called “Without Music” seems to have occasioned the purchase of a wedding ring. A”
— Robert Christgau - And It Don't Stop
“This record (Live at the Rock House) contains everything there is to love about a Sky Smeed live performance: the wit, the warmth, the charm, and yes, the positivity. But it also deftly showcases Sky’s strengths as a songwriter and a musician: his emotional range and ability to hit us with the hooks. Repeated listens ongoing.”
— Michael Clabby - Tell You What Podcast
“The true testament to any songwriter is the ability is make listeners mind wander. To hear a story unfold in a song, happy or sad. This is what I heard way back to Sky Smeeds first release. Its perfect that his 10th album showcases some of those songs in a live acoustic setting. Never disappoints, studio or live.” - Tim Schaefer
— Tim Schaefer - WBRK FM and WBCR FM
“"Sky Smeed's newest release "True Love" elevates the art of the song. It is the music I didn't know I needed at this moment. From the pristine sonic production to the masterful wordcrafting, Sky remains one of my favorite song farmers. I truly believe John Prine is smiling down on this effort." Diana Linn, Host of the Tasty Brew Music Radio Show and Podcast; Co-Founder of the Heartland Song Network”
— Diana Linn, Host of the Tasty Brew Music; Co-Founder of the Heartland Song Network
“If you can catch a live show you better do it. Sky has the ability to take a song he has played on stage a hundred times and make it better. I don’t know how this works or how it is possible. I have never witnessed even a hint of burnout or boredom in Sky’s performances or recordings. He sings his crowd pleasing songs which we have come to know and love as if they were newly rediscovered old friends. This is not a slick and polished veneer like we hear from pop tunes out of Nashville, but the soulful patient nurturing of a master who seems himself to sometimes be surprised when he is singing a piece of his heart and his Guild guitar is in perfect tune. ”
— Jack Hofman, Poet
“I’ve seen Sky Smeed win over audiences all over the U.K. It’s impossible not to fall for his charm, his smile and his wonderful songs.”
— Beans On Toast
“Drive All Night is my favorite release of 2015!”