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‘The blues’ has come to mean many different things to different people since its origins as the voice of the rural poor in the USA. For many, ‘the blues’ carries connotations of emotional guitar based music formatted around the traditional 12-bar sequence.However, this is somewhat removed from what ‘Firebird Smith’ is all about!‘ Firebird Smith’ evolved out of the interests of several musicians on Merseyside to perform the blues. We are non-traditionalists in so far as we askew replicating the early delta blues, or the later synthesis of blues and rock, rather we are drawn towards R & B, funk, soul and swing.These influences tend to introduce more musical colour and texture into our performances than what a blues afficiando might expect from a traditional guitar based blues band. It also dictates the instrumentation of our current line-up;horns, drums, bass/vocals, keyboards/vocals, guitar/vocals, fronted by serious lead vocals! The name of the outfit is derived from one of the founder members- Bill ‘Firebird’ Smith, a singer originally from Kansas, USA. The legend goes that Bill earned his pseudonym ‘Firebird’ from the circumstances surrounding his conception - on the back seat of the classic automobile! True or not - it certainly hasn’t done the genre of the blues any harm to have amongst its ranks such a fine exponent of the idiom. Other members of the band have earned pseudonyms that range from the ugly to the unprintable! Turning from domestic matters back to the music, each and everyone of the musicians in ‘Firebird Smith’ is an outstanding player in their own right and make vital contributions to the overall sound and performance of the outfit. Musical ability is important for a band that seek to combine blues, funk, soul, swing, and R &B into a live set that is coherent and does not fall into disjointedness or disarray. So, if your bag is something more than re-hashed 12-bar rock/blues,or if you are eclectic in your appreciation of the blues, or even if you just love damn good ‘goodtime’ music, then you should check us out!

Ultimate goal - get the album out, play somewhere warm.