Ransom-Band

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Ransom Bios

Curt Smith:
Curt began playing guitar at the tender age of 13 at Jack Etherton's Music in Springfield Illinois. Wasn't long before he was teaching guitar lessons for Jack. Music was in his blood and he was playing at local bars at the age of 14 (it was a different world then!). He played with many local bands in his younger days including Phase IV to name one, a 4-piece rock-n-roll band that included Jaigh Lowder, Ron Carter, and his cousin, Mike Smarjesse. Then, there was a respite for raising his children . He then got hooked up with Bill Blood and Hank DeCroix, who had an established swing band called Top 3+1. Curt says that he learned so much about music from Bill and Hank (God rest their souls as they are both deceased) and playing swing jazz was great and played nearly every weekend. We even played rock-n-roll at some gigs including weddings where he switched from bass to 6-string guitar singing and playing guitar. It was quite an experience for Curt as he learned more and more about music. Following that stint, he had a couple stints at the Illinois Country Opry playing bass. That's where he learned the charting system from Brian Morgan, stage manager and banjo player. He said "I'll bet I had only heard 3 or 4 of the country songs we played a night and they we're always throwing new songs I didn't know as there was a guest every week and I didn't listen to country". With the charts and his excellent musical ear, he was quite an addition to the opry as they asked him to join them permanently on both occasions. The first stint he played over 6 months and the second, a couple months. It was a time when his kids were still young and he did not want to commit.

Throughout the years, he played with many bands playing both bass guitar and lead/rhythm guitar and throwing in some vocals throughout. He did quite a bit of studio work at Jaigh Recorders studio including recording a number of original songs written by Jaigh. He also did some studio musician work at the studio and learned a great deal from Jaigh. He says "Jaigh was a master in the studio and a master in music per se . He by far taught me more about music than anyone and he is a true professional and just a great friend and mentor".

Prior to joining Ransom over 8 years ago, he once again played with Ron and Jaigh as a 3-piece jazz band. He loves playing the jazz music as it is totally different than playing rock-n-roll. Quoting him, he says "I only wish I had time to do both the jazz scene and the County/Rock with Ransom but that is not in the cards as we have real jobs, ya' know". He goes on to say " I have totally enjoyed my time with Randy and Ransom and have learned a great deal including expanding my singing as I really enjoy signing these days". He goes on to say "I really am having fun which is a key in the band scene and continue to strive to be the best I can at both guitar and singing"