Dirty Vegas' Steve Smith to release solo effort

Grammy award winner with the band Dirty Vegas, singer/songwriter Steve Smith has found the inspiration to record his first solo album. In 2005, Smith felt tired of his native London, England and searched for a new beginning. Boston was it! With its musical heritage and the city's cosmopolitan feel, Smith knew this was his new home. When producer Anthony Saffery of Cornershop fame agreed to produce the album, the pair booked the legendary Camp Street Studios in Cambridge, MA and set to work.

Many musicians of all genres and styles appear on Smith's solo debut This Town to be released January 22, 2008 on Smith's own label, GAS Records (named for his late father, George Albert Smith.) Those who came out to play include Saffery known the world over for his sitar playing with Cornershop, Beck, Oasis and others, Claudia Gonson (The Magnetic Fields), Terry Barber (counter-tenor for the New York Symphony Orchestra), Jay Ungar (principal violinist for James Horner [“Titanic”, “Legends of The Fall”]) and Rob Swift (The Executioners.) The result is a collection of songs that blend folk, rock and electronica with Smith’s songwriting craft fusing all of those styles together.

The album's title track, “This Town” features an inspired and poignant speech recorded by the acclaimed actor John Savage (“The Deer Hunter,” “Hair”), which sets the mood for the whole record. In addition to the track listing below, the album will feature two bonus cuts: a new song “Late Nights and Street Fights” which was recently chosen as the main title theme to FOX TV’s hit series “Standoff” and a previously un-released acoustic version of Grammy award winning Dirty Vegas tune “Days Go By,” which will only appear on the album’s initial pressing.

Smith will debut his new songs in the most public of ways this weekend when he headlines Oktoberfest in Harvard Square on Sunday, October 7th in front of nearly 100,000 fans. The opportunity to do the gig came about quite suddenly when the show's promoter heard rumblings of the local recording of a new Steve Smith project and convinced him to join the bill even though none of his This Town material has yet be performed live. The band, including Saffery on sitar, has been working around the clock preparing itself to play before the huge crowd. Those who are unable to be in Cambridge on Sunday can catch the band a mere two weeks later when it headlines NYC's Highline Ballroom as part of the annual CMJ festival.

More about Steve Smith and Dirty Vegas:
Dirty Vegas made quite a splash with its 2002 self-titled album, debuting at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 and in the pole position of the Top Electronic Albums chart. Its success was propelled by the dance/pop crossover hit “Days Go By,” which was initially introduced to mainstream America via a Mitsubishi TV ad. Driven by the dazzling “Days Go By,” Dirty Vegas went on to sell close to a million records worldwide. The tune also earned the band a 2003 Grammy award for “Best Dance Single.”

Dirty Vegas toured the four corners of the globe, developing a reputation as a powerful and entertaining live act. Over the course of 2002 and 2003, the band headlined a worldwide tour, supported such like-minded artists as Moby and Groove Armada, and stole the show at a number of international festivals, including Coachella (USA), V (UK), Roskilde (Denmark) and Fuji Rock (Japan). Dirty Vegas also made a number of North American television appearances, including an acclaimed performance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Additionally, Dirty Vegas has rocked dance floors all over the world, leading to remixes for such legendary artists as Madonna, Justin Timberlake and The Dandy Warhols.

Dirty Vegas continues to appear on screens as well with placements in major TV shows such as “The O.C.,” “One Tree Hill” and “Smallville” and films such as “Die Another Day,” “Running Scared” and “Goal.” In 2006, Dirty Vegas lead singer Steve Smith composed the score to the infamous movie, “Boys and Girls Guide To Getting Down” and wrote the main title theme to the Fox TV show “Stand Off.” Smith is set to release his first solo album This Town in January, 2008. Additional information about Dirty Vegas can be found via the links below.

Steve Smith Live:
10/07 Cambridge, MA Harvard Square (Oktoberfest)
10/20 New York, NY Highline Ballroom w/ Saint Bernadette (CMJ)

This Town Track Listing:
Release Date: January 22, 2008
01. This Town
02. Hit Me Up
03. Restless
04. Universe
05. Morning Jane
06. Smile
07. Comedown Queen
08. Sleep Like A Lover
09. Better Off That Way
10. That Town
11. Bonus Track: Late Nights & Street Fights (Theme from the Fox-TV show “Stand Off”)
12. Bonus Track: Days Go By (Steve Osbourne Acoustic Mix)

On The Web:
www.stevesmithmusic.com
www.myspace.com/stevesmithmusic1
www.dirtyvegas.com
www.myspace.com/dirtyvegas