The Alchemist, February 9, 2010, Volume 3, No. 110
Vol. 3, No. 110
2010 Alchy Award Winner: Best Acoustic Performer
Jenna Summer Smith
Jenna Summer Smith is a locally-headlining musician with a knock-out voice and a talent for songwriting. She’s damn good with the guitar too, that must be why you voted to award her The Alchy Award for Best Acoustic Performer. Spurred on by help from some of Corvallis’s most talented, Smith is a musician who is going places. Literally. She’s even acquired a school bus to get ready for touring.
“I am so lucky, and really grateful, to have the support for my music that I do,” Smith said, “It really matters to have people pushing you to do your best.”
A large part of that support is her partner Más, a player in the band as well as Smith’s manager, advisor, and a general source of inspiration. Her mother has also been a great source of encouragement, an asset on the business end, as well as the designer of Smith’s flashy show posters. Then there is the band – yes, she doesn’t just play acoustic. Most lately billed as “some of the usual suspects” Jenna has quite a list of sometimes-members from around town including last years Alchy winner for Best Electric Performer, Linden Wood.
“My band is full of really talented musicians,” Smith commented.
This is a band with a centerpiece, though. Jenna Summer Smith hasn’t been a lead performer for much of her career, but no one could deny that is has been a long time coming. Smith is totally rooted in music; she started playing guitar and songwriting at 15. Her father Mike “Smitty” Smith was the drummer for the northwest rock band Paul Revere and The Raiders. Jenna stepped into the world of music singing, both with local theatrical productions like Little Shop of Horrors at the Majestic Theater and singing back-up vocals in local bands like Albany’s rockabilly group Tim Ryan and the Pit Bosses.
“I learned to sing the harmony before I sang the melody,” Smith explained how she got so good.
Early on Jenna also sang A Capella with her mother and a friend in the local group Chanteuse. The sets, filled with songs from the 40’s and 50’s, only added to her range. She also got a taste of rock singing with the Corvallis all-girl band Innerwound, whose ranks included Mell, this years runner-up for Best Bartender, and Debo, owner of Nearly Normals, winner of this years Alchy Award for Best Breakfast. It was also the first time Smith tried playing some of her own material in a band.
With friends like those, the talent she can garner for her shows these days should be no surprise. That’s jumping ahead just a bit, though.
“It was in San Francisco I first started singing solo in public,” Smith said.
Jenna and Más spent most of 2007 living in San Francisco. Between jobs at many restaurants, Smith started playing many open mic nights, and began amassing original songs. She also began using GarageBand and had about a dozen songs recorded by the time they moved back to Corvallis a year later.
It was then that friends and family really stepped up their encouragement for her to go solo. Linden Wood and Amber Walker both began playing in the band regularly, and her brother stepped in on drums for a while. Smith kept writing songs, she’s up to about 50 originals now, and started cutting back on covers.
“A big motivator for all original music is record companies,” Smith explained, “Coffee houses and places pay a fee for bands playing covers.”
Along with more music and shows, Jenna also did a stint hosting an open mic night in town, and got a job at Gracewinds Music – two great ways to meet more local musicians and get her name out there. And it worked, kind of.
“I was offered a recording contract locally and turned it down,” Smith said, “But it has motivated us as a family to get a professional album done without a label.”
Jenna has since left her job at Gracewinds to focus on music. Recently she attended the Western Fairs Association Convention in Reno – a gateway to gigs and state and county fairs up and down the west coast. That’s the plan for the school bus this summer: up to Seattle and back, then down through California.
“By this summer I’ll definitely have an album to sell at gigs,” Smith added.
That’s her other focus for the moment, and the reason she has so few shows coming up. She’s busy picking songs and picking musicians. You can help her out, by the way, as Jenna would love to have song suggestions posted on her Facebook page. It may be a tough choice for you as there are many songs to relate to, especially with topics like ‘day jobs’ and ’sleeping in too much.’ At least Jenna has a studio in Eugene lined up – where she has been working as a back-up house singer for some time.
“I’m easy to work with and I have a big range,” she explained.
With no shows line up at the moment your best bet to hear Jenna is her recordings: on the internet or on her forthcoming album. You might also randomly catch her around town with bands like Space Neighbors or at gigs like last weekends Belly Full of Bob birthday celebration. She sends out her thanks to everyone that supports her and comes to her shows, especially at the outset of this next big step.
“I quit my awesome job and I’m taking this leap off the edge to… maybe.”
~Robin Canfield
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