Quality Americana

As the baritone guitar opens “The Anvil” by Rob Dark Smith, the listener is instantly haunted and
intrigued.

“There’s a buzzard in the tree above me. It’s kind of weird, feeling no pain. Think I’ll lie here a minute and think things over, ‘cus I don’t think I’ll be back this way again.”

Smith recorded “The Anvil” for his upcoming EP on Soapy Fish Records with an expert group of musicians including Miles Davis on baritone guitar and Bill Whitbeck on bass. The recordings were produced by songwriter and instrumentalist Keith Davis at Gruene Studios with engineer Drew Heaton. Additional overdubs were done at the Beagles Nest with Matthew Briggs.

Florida Coast

Smith grew up in a Navy family that traveled around the coasts of Florida and down to the Keys.

“My first memories of my Mom was her skin diving for lobsters out behind our house and coming up on the edge of our boat and putting them over the railing,” Smith said.

“The Anvil” is Smith’s first release since 2006, tracing back to his days performing with groups in Gainesville, Florida.

Outside of a year-long stint in New York and skipping around the Florida panhandle, Smith made Gainesville his hometown for over two decades before moving to Texas.

“I went there for college and kind of never left,” Smith said.

Now settled in the Texas Hill Country, Smith performs his original works around New Braunfels.

Punk Rock Roots

Smith takes a lot of inspiration from his roots in punk and southern rock music. Smith said the biggest challenge for him has been switching to acoustic guitar for solo performing.

The baritone guitar by Davis and drums by Michael Kelton come together to create a visual, wild west feel.

“I really, really dug the way it came out,” Smith said. The song is a metaphor for the anvil seen in the Acme cartoons with Wile E. Coyote and how it feels to be aging out of a younger scene.
“The way the coyote can keep running off into space until he was self aware and plummets.”

The full EP will be released March 30th with a live performance at Duet’s in Martindale.

More information on Rob Dark Smith can be found here.