For 14 years, folks have known Kevin Daniel Smith just as Kevin Smith.plain and simple. Many people have said that "Kevin Smith" is just too generic of a name for this anything BUT "generic" musician. The daily use of his given middle name only makes sense.
A fixture on the local Austin scene, Smith blends his Americana and Texas Country roots to a sound that can only be defined as his own. If you have not already heard his voice, think Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. Kevin Daniel Smith's unique delivery, passion for the music and love of storytelling is truly what sets him apart. From the campfire to the Broken Spoke to the U.S.S. Batann, Smith resonates with young and old alike.
"With a deep, booming voice harking back to a time in music history when singers Like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash reigned supreme,(and with songwriting abilities to boot), his songs relate to just about anybody, and his sound is all his own, no doubt."
Born and raised in Austin, TX, and a graduate of Texas A&M in College Station, Smith got his professional start in 1994, where he, within two days of moving to College Station from Austin, got a weekly gig playing at The Tap, an established live music venue in town and favorite Aggie watering hole. The gig paid $50 every Wednesday night, enough money to float his entertainment expenses around town, and enough to keep him from getting a 'real' part time job. After spending several months performing weekly shows there, he wanted more and knew after playing shows with several of his heroes and friends like Jack Ingram, Jerry Jeff, Gary. P. Nunn and eventually Waylon Jennings, He wanted and knew there was more to come. Towards the end of his college career, his first record, Bluebonnet Blues, which was independently released in 1999, found its way to a regional distribution run, which sold several thousand copies. Thereafter, Smith returned home, and moved right back into the South Austin neighborhood where he grew up.
Smith continued to perform and write songs, drawing upon his life experiencesand playing shows in town at The Broken Spoke, Saxon Pub, Momos, and many places around The State, country, and World. His follow up record, Mantel Of Misfortune, produced by Phil Pritchett, showcase songs that go straight to the soul of this 'son of a preacherwoman'. The only one that could ever teach him'.
