The Singing Mechanic

The Singing Mechanic- It Wouldn't Be What It Is. (sf05)

My name is Daniel Smith and the Singing Mechanic's piano songs are a tricky hat of elements. His songs are a party call for sing-along-ing and foot stomping and as they circle around beautiful instrumentals you may wonder, "didn't my grandma play that one?" There are dramatic stage elements where off-off-off-Broadway is just gonna have to come knockin', and all the while these sweet songs keep me in a place of wonder...
I wonder HOW??? and I keep wondering WHO??? but I never seem to wonder why.

Soundsfamilyre presents The Singing Mechanic:

My name is Vincent Voss. I am from Tacoma, Washington. As a child, I listened to classical music until I was eleven, that was all I was allowed to listen to. My first rock album was the Back To The Future soundtrack. Following that was: Ghost Busters, Slippery When Wet, Hysteria, Appetite For Destruction, etc. Musically, nothing connected with me as well as the Men Without Hats album - "Pop Goes The World." I wore this tape out over the next ten years.

"The Singing Mechanic" comes from my life as a mechanic. I was barely twenty when I started "Vinnie's Bus'iness" which was a mobile repair and used parts service specializing in, but not limited to, Volkswagen buses. I got to know many people of all walks of life through the Bus'iness. I met Blake Wescott, Dave Bazon and Damien Jurado. I was immediately welcomed as the Damien Jurado Band keyboard player. This was my introduction to keyboard playing. As soon as I knew more than three chords, I started writing songs. I wrote several songs about cars, cats and dying ý all prominent issues in my life. Damien occasionally let me play a couple songs before or after his set. People wanted to know what I called myself. Short on a band name I called myself "The Singing Mechanic", that was in 1997.

In 2000, I moved to Wisconsin to start over, write songs and pursue the woman who became my wife. I lived in an upstairs studio apartment and wrote songs all winter. Spring of 2001, I decided it was time to do something with my new songs. I knew Jonathon Ford from living in Seattle. He now lived in Chicago. I hooked up with him and ended up touring starting March 1, 2001. The first night in Chicago, "The Singing Mechanic's" very first show, Daniel Smith and family (Danielson Famile) showed up. They sat down right in front of me and my piano. Daniel Smith was the first person to sign my mailing list that night. After the show we talked and after the tour, I invited myself out to his house for recording the first week of May. This was the same week that Unwed Sailor was touring the east coast. Unwed Sailor had show cancellations which is how they ended up on my album. I swear I had nothing to do with those cancellations. This coincidence inspired the album title ý "It wouldn't be what it is".....I am still a full-time professional mechanic.

The Singing Mechanic is Vincent Voss.
The bass player is Jonathon Ford. (Unwed Sailor, Roadside Monument)
The drummer is Nathan Richards. (Casket Lottery, Unwed Sailor)
The back-up singers are Elin Smith (Danielson Famile), Megan Smith (DF), Jonathon Ford and Chris Palladino(DF)
The shaker is Andrew Smith. (DF)
The violin player is Melissa Palladino. (DF)
The bells are played by Megan Smith (DF).
Recorded & Produced by Daniel Smith (DF) at the New Jerusalem Recreation Room in Southern NJ.

Examples: 1. classic cars = classic rock
2. exotic cars = classical music
3. Saabs and Volvos = psychedelic rock.

(Music, bio, and image courtesy of http://www.soundsfamilyre.com)