Shawn Smith: Man of Golden Words, Amazing Music

Musical hyphenate-extraordinaire Shawn Smith has been fronting bands and playing solo in Seattle for about 15 years. As recent, local music history goes, he’s as seminal a figure as Kurt Cobain—and more prolific—though not nearly as high-profile. He should be.

Always busy, Shawn’s currently spending time with Kevin Wood, covering Malfunkshun tunes (and writing new ones) as From the North. His band Brad has a new album recorded and will, he’s confirmed, play in town next month. And tonight, he’s appearing at "Poetry Explosion 2" at the Hugo House.

We briefly talked with Shawn about his resume, current projects, and future plans. The guy don’t mince words.

Regan Hagar, Kevin Wood, Thaddeus Turner, Stone Gossard. You’ve been in multiple bands with those guys and others in town—is that the big, happy, creative family that it seems?
Yes and no. It depends on who you bond with. Is Seattle that much different than other places? I wouldn't know, I’ve only lived here.

Are there any musicians/bands you haven’t worked with that you’d jump at the chance to? Or outfits from the past—Satchel, Pigeonhed, etc.—you’d like to resurrect?
Well, I'm not sure who I would jump at the chance to work with, there are so many. I would love to make a Pigeonhed record if we could do it in New York. No reason other than I think we would need to do it out of town to focus.

The Diamond Hand hasn’t performed in a while. Is that project on hiatus or is it defunct?
Well, The Diamond Hand "record" that I haven't released is a solo record. I tried to make it a regular band but maybe I was forcing it to be something that it's not. Does that make sense? I maybe should have called it Shawn Smith and the Diamond Hand. See what I mean?

You frequently sing “Crown of Thorns” at shows. Is that in tribute to Andy Wood or is it just one of your favorite songs?
I never understand it when people say doing a cover song is a "tribute." I still don't.

From the North shows are loose, laid-back, and loud. What’s it like to be in the second coming of Malfunkshun?
Well, it's not the second coming of Malfunkshun. That being said, it is, at the moment, all songs with Andy Wood’s lyrics, and a bunch of Funkshun songs. It's not like they were the Doors though. Most people that see us have never heard the old songs. How many people can claim they ever saw Malfunkshun live? Anyway, the Malfunkshun songs are fuckin really fun to play, I will tell you that, but Kevin Wood and I are working on new shit which is sounding amazing. It's not from the past, it's happening now...

You’ve played everywhere from Key Arena to the Sunset. What’s better—an audience of thousands or dozens?
It depends. I can’t lie though—a full club or venue is the shit. If full means 75, then that is great. If full means 700, that’s great too. I have found that if the place is packed, no matter what the size, that is fantastic.

Some are saying that Portland’s music scene has eclipsed Seattle’s. What’s your take?
Fuck Portland.

A few years have passed since the bouncy, beautiful Shield of Thorns. When can we expect a new solo album?
I have no idea, I have 2 in the can but have no one to put them out. Things are looking up though in that regard.

You’re performing—spoken word, presumably—at the Hugo House’s "Poetry Explosion 2" Saturday night. Are you a fan of the slam scene?
Dude, I don't do spoken word. I have no idea what the "Slam" scene is... I got kinda manipulated into it. I hope it goes ok though.

You can hear Shawn’s tunes all over myspace, and buy tracks here. "Poetry Explosion 2" ($10/ticket) kicks off at 7pm tonight at The Hugo House.