WT800B / D610XLT
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Shaun Smith
"Music was always second nature to me," says Shaun Smith matter-of-factly. From the church choir and school band and musicals, to performing on the Grand Ole Opry Live, Shaun has always been a natural. This is not to say, however, that the road from a small town in Western-Central New York to the big leagues was quick or easy. From garage band to bar band to regional band, there have been dues to pay along the way. But this performer wouldn't have it any other way.
During high school Shaun performed regularly throughout the area with his rock band, and played the Tuba in the concert band. It was during these formative years that he discovered his knack for playing bass while being the lead singer. From Rochester to Syracuse to Binghamton and everywhere in between, weekly shows helped him hone his skills as a performer.
College carried along with it a broadening of musical tastes, and Shaun started a new group with his two older brothers. Psychedelically dubbed 4:20, this group concentrated on classic rock and college-oriented "jam band" cover material. During this period, the Smith brothers came together as a vocal powerhouse, with their three-part harmonies becoming the highlight of their shows. This band was instantly a hit with local college students, and before long they were playing to sold-out crowds in local clubs. Though his bachelor's degree is in Social Work, one might say that he minored in musical performance, as his busy schedule included four shows weekly.
After college, Shaun wrote and recorded an EP with his newly-formed rock trio named Second Generation of Blue, and then moved the act to Nashville, Tennessee. Hoping to catch the attention of the local music industry, S.G.B. was a regular on the Music City rock scene. The band performed successfully throughout the area for several years, and recorded a second EP. During this time, Shaun met numerous musicians, and began to take on gigs with different acts. He toured Tennessee with the Peter Moon Band for two years before joining up with a Warner-Chapel songwriter named Jon Stone, who was looking for a record deal. This was his first official country gig, and he instantly loved the genre. It wasn't very long before he met the band leader for a brand new Mercury Records recording artist named Billy Currington, and joined the band that would bring him 2 ½ years to the present, where he is the bass player, background vocalist, and band leader for the up and coming country star.
"Spending the past two years with Billy Currington has been a fantastic experience," Shaun says excitedly. From small clubs to festivals of over 40,000 people, they have done it all in a relatively short amount of time. Highlights from 2005 include performances at the Sundance Film Festival and Union Square Park in New York City. With Currington's first three singles being top-ten hits including his smash duet with Shania Twain entitled "Party For Two," the band has been quite busy, racking up 150 shows before the year-end.
Shaun uses our WT800B to power a D610XLT cabinet. His reasons for using Eden are simple. "My Eden rig gives me more bottom, punch, and volume than other, much bigger rigs," he says, "and I can get absolutely any tone I want from it." |