Gary Smith (record producer)
Encyclopedia
Gary Smith is an entrepreneur
, record producer, and artist's manager known for his work recording albums by alternative rock
musicians since the mid-1980s at Fort Apache Studios
. Smith, who is sole owner of the studio, first became a partner co-owning the studio business in the late 1980s, moving it from Cambridge, Massachusetts
, to Bellows Falls, Vermont
, in 2002.
A Rhode Island
native, Smith gave supportive early guidance to Newport, Rhode Island
's Throwing Muses
group, advising them to move to Boston
's burgeoning alternative music scene in 1986. That year he saw a new band called the Pixies opening for Throwing Muses at The Rat in Boston and convinced them to let him produce their first demos, known as The Purple Tape, in spring 1987 at an early incarnation of Fort Apache's studio digs, then a "ramshackle" building in a dangerous neighborhood. Since joining Fort Apache in the mid-1980s, Smith has produced dozens of influential recordings, including the Pixies' Come On Pilgrim
EP
on the 4AD
and Rough Trade Records
labels. Other artists he has produced include Throwing Muses, Tanya Donelly
, Blake Babies
, The Connells
, Juliana Hatfield
, Scrawl, 10,000 Maniacs
, and Billy Bragg
.
Smith currently resides in New Hampshire
across the border from his Vermont studio. Smith has built Fort Apache into the name of an umbrella company from which he operates several businesses: the Fort Apache Studios business (now also using a second name, Windham Studios), a real estate and concert promotions business called Historea Properties, and an artist's management business representing talent such as Tanya Donelly
and Natalie Merchant
. Smith maintains a "Screed" blog at the Fort Apache website.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, record producer, and artist's manager known for his work recording albums by alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
musicians since the mid-1980s at Fort Apache Studios
Fort Apache Studios
Fort Apache Studios is a New England recording studio internationally renowned for alternative rock sessions produced there since 1986. The studio is currently located in the village of Bellows Falls, Vermont in space leased in an old hotel called The Windham, owned by the town of Rockingham,...
. Smith, who is sole owner of the studio, first became a partner co-owning the studio business in the late 1980s, moving it from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, to Bellows Falls, Vermont
Bellows Falls, Vermont
Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,165 at the 2000 census...
, in 2002.
A Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
native, Smith gave supportive early guidance to Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
's Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the...
group, advising them to move to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's burgeoning alternative music scene in 1986. That year he saw a new band called the Pixies opening for Throwing Muses at The Rat in Boston and convinced them to let him produce their first demos, known as The Purple Tape, in spring 1987 at an early incarnation of Fort Apache's studio digs, then a "ramshackle" building in a dangerous neighborhood. Since joining Fort Apache in the mid-1980s, Smith has produced dozens of influential recordings, including the Pixies' Come On Pilgrim
Come on Pilgrim
Come On Pilgrim is the debut mini-LP release by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in September 1987 by 4AD.- Background :...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
on the 4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
and Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
labels. Other artists he has produced include Throwing Muses, Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...
, Blake Babies
Blake Babies
Blake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
, The Connells
The Connells
The Connells are an American band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They play a guitar-oriented, melodic, power pop style of rock music with introspective lyrics that reflect the American South. Though mostly dormant, the band continues to play to this day...
, Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield , is an American guitarist/singer-songwriter and author from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies and Some Girls. She currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
, Scrawl, 10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
, and Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
.
Smith currently resides in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
across the border from his Vermont studio. Smith has built Fort Apache into the name of an umbrella company from which he operates several businesses: the Fort Apache Studios business (now also using a second name, Windham Studios), a real estate and concert promotions business called Historea Properties, and an artist's management business representing talent such as Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly
Tanya Donelly is an American Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her stepsister Kristin Hersh. She then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s...
and Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
. Smith maintains a "Screed" blog at the Fort Apache website.