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Josh Smith Smith was born on October 7th, 1979, to Janie and Joel Smith in Middletown, Connecticut. Before his 1st birthday Josh's family moved to Coral Springs, Florida, and soon thereafter settled in Pembroke Pines, Florida, in Broward County, one of the new suburbs growing out of the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. At age 3 his parents bought Josh a student guitar and by age 7 he started taking guitar lessons. |
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He had exposure to the blues at an early age, as his parent's musical influences, such as Muddy Waters, Albert King, T-bone Walker, and Freddie King records, were constantly being played on their home stereo. When these artists weren't on the stereo, Josh was going to Allman Brothers, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen concerts. By the age of 12, Josh, wanted to start playing out before live audiences, so his parents started to take him to established professional blues jams in South Florida, such as the world famous Musicians Exchange Cafe in Fort Lauderdale, and Club M in Hollywood. When Josh was 13, the house band at Club M, the Rhino Cats, asked him to be its lead guitarist. At the Musicians Exchange Cafe in Fort Lauderdale, Josh's dad Joel, took over the restaurant concession at the club, and the growth of a young musician's career, started to spawn. Musicians Exchange owner, Don Cohen, was so taken aback by the talent of this very young musician, that he asked to help in the management and development of Josh's career. The Cafe was reknowned for bringing in the best national touring blues bands, and Josh was quick to learn how to approach these blues greats, many of whom would invite Josh to sit in with the band, thinking that it would be "novel" - a 14 year old kid trying to play the blues. The novelty factor was quickly replaced by musicians stopping,....watching....and listening....as this "kid" wailed out blues licks better than many of the touring guitarists on the circuit. Josh began sitting in with such greats as Jimmy Thackery, Chris Duarte, Tinsley Ellis, Kenny Neal, Lucky Peterson, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, Double Trouble, Joanna Connor and Kim Simmonds, to name a few. At age 14, Jimmy Thackery said, "Josh is three heartbreaks away from being a true blues guitar genius". The Rhino Cats now began performing all over Florida, as Josh Smith and the Rhino Cats, and quickly became one of the most in demand "blues" bands in the area. In 1993, '94' and '95 Josh Smith and The Rhino Cats received headlining slots at The Riverwalk Blues Festival in Ft. Lauderdale. In 1994, Josh Smith and The Rhino Cats received the Florida Jammy Award for Best Blues Band, and were selected as XS Readers Choice Award winners in 1995 for best blues band. In 1996, while Josh was a senior at Dillard Performing Arts School, the national Magazine, 'High School Senior' put Josh on the cover , and hailed him as the "Up and Coming Guitar Legend". Washburn Guitars Int'l, also recognized Josh's talent in 1996, and gave him an endorsement, flying Josh to Chicago and having guitar luthier Grover Jackson, build him a custom Washburn Guitar. At the age of 14, Don Cohen and Josh's dad bought time at a local studio, Funkadero, and produced and released Josh's first CD 'Born Under A Blue Sign', a collection of original Josh Smith compositions. At age 15, on September 26 and 27, 1995, in demand engineer/producer, Peter Yilanos recorded Josh's 2nd CD release, 'Woodsheddin'-Live at The Musicians Exchange Cafe', in front of 4 Sold Out shows of avid Josh fans. Although Josh was an honor student, after graduation from high school in June of 1997, while his friends all chose to go off to college, Josh followed his heart and his destiny, and made the decision to pursue what he was best at, being a true musician. His first National tour ensued with his newly formed band and power trio format, JOSH SMITH AND THE FROST. Josh was now the band leader and the main vocalist, so he not only had to develop his guitar chops, but also had to concentrate on his vocal prowess. In September of 1997, Josh's dad sought out world reknowned producer, Jim Gaines, whose credits include, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison, Steve Miller, and Jimmy Thackery, to name a few. Josh enlisted Gaines to produce his 3rd CD release, "Too Damn Cold", recorded at Ardent Studios, in Memphis, Tennessee. This latest CD, released in December of 1997, shows Josh's incredible maturity in his playing and vocal abilities, allowing him to become a true force in the music industry. The CD has a wide variety of guitar styles, and shows Josh's true diversity. It has established him as a young guitarist, influenced by many, but with his own guitar virtuosity and style, not another "copy cat" guitarist. In 1998, now with 4 national tours completed, from Florida, up the East Coast to New England, and out through the Midwest, including the Chicago blues belt, Josh has become a recognized force in the music biz, even in the tough and oversaturated California market. In January of 1998 BILLBOARD Magazine, took note of this rising young talent in a Continental Drift article. In February of 1998 Josh was asked to support BB King on a number of theatre dates, and in March of 1998, the TV show, 'Chicago Hope' purchased rights to the tune "32 Degrees" from the CD "Too Damn Cold" and aired the tune on national TV on an episode of the show. An international CD release 'The Mentos Freshmaker Tour', included the title cut "Too Damn Cold" in the spring of 1998. Josh is currently endorsed by Rivera Amplification, GHS Strings, Conklin Guitars & Levy's Leather. With his 4th CD release, "Woman", by the age of 20, Josh is truly establishing himself and being recognized by critics and fans nationally as being one of the next great guitarists of this generation.
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