Articles by Joshua

COO of UL Sounds.com, a boutique publishing admin firm based in Sacramento, COO of Pac Ave Records (Stockton, CA), writer for Indie Music Discovery.com. Father of 3, all around jedi.

Interview with Heyse – The Present

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 30, 2018 3:15 pm Tagged With: China, Hip Hop, rap, United States, Washington DC

While in America, Hip Hop artist Heyse stayed low key and found it difficult to overcome the lack of a solid support system in his home of DC. However, upon moving to China as a teacher, he quickly realized there was a lot more to Hip Hop than the U.S. has to offer. Inspired by […]

Get Your Fix of Vintage Jazz and Swing on Joe Smith and The Spicy Pickles’ New Album, Gin & Moonlight

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 27, 2018 9:55 am Tagged With: Colorado, Jazz

I love vintage jazz and big band swing! I really do. When I opened up Colorado based Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles’ new album Gin & Moonlight, I was treated to 45 minutes and 45 seconds of pure sonic delight that has me feeling like the coolest cat in the club…pinstripe suit, matching hat, […]

Interview with Omer Goren – Electrockrat

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 26, 2018 2:01 pm Tagged With: Alternative, electro rock, Electronic, Israel, Middle East, progressive rock, Rock, singer, songwriter

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Omer Goren, aka Electrockrat, about his latest project, motivations, challenges and more. Full Q&A along with links and music below. Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.) I’m […]

Interview with Jiggley Jones – Truth Seeker

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 26, 2018 1:52 pm Tagged With: Americana, Folk, folk rock, Pennsylvania, singer, songwriter, United States

In this interview spotlight, I chat with singer/songwriter Jiggley Jones about his latest project, motivations, challenges and more. Full Q&A along with links and music below. Where are you from, and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications). I’m from […]

Interview with The Split Seconds – Where Have All The Good Men Gone

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 25, 2018 10:48 am Tagged With: indie rock, pop punk, Punk, Rock, United States, Washington DC

Formed in 2015, The Split Seconds exploded onto the DC music scene combining the energy of late-70’s punk with undertones of rock and roll, ska, garage rock, and 60’s pop. Frontman Drew Champion, joined by drummer Sean Peterson, bassist Stephen Parsons, and guitarist Alex Massi, brought their sound to enthusiastic audiences at east coast punk […]

Andy Michaels Displays Masterful Song Crafting On New Album, Revisited

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 24, 2018 12:48 pm Tagged With: adult contemporary, Australia, Pop, singer, songwriter

Australian singer/songwriter Andy Michaels seamlessly fuses pop, rock and adult contemporary into engaging, well arranged instrumentation and easily accessible lyrical content on his new album Revisited. Actually, Andy has been doing this over a decade at this point. Receiving comparisons to everyone from Cat Stevens to Coldplay to Pink Floyd, Michaels is an artist and […]

Ajay Mathur Remains Resilient On Rockin’ New Album, Little Boat

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 23, 2018 6:02 pm Tagged With: Americana, folk rock, indie rock, Psychedelic Rock, Rock, singer, songwriter, Switzerland

Grammy nominated artist Ajay Mathur has arrived with his latest album Little Boat. Following up on his previous releases: A Matter of Time (2011), Come See Conquer (2013) and the highly successful 9 to 3 (2015) which maintained chart rankings on US Top 50 Rock, US Top 80 Independent, US Top 50 AC and Americana […]

Jada Lee Delivers Her Latest Soulful, R&B Single Star 67

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 23, 2018 4:47 pm Tagged With: Pop, R&B, singer, songwriter, Soul

Philly based R&B songstress Jada Lee has delivered a hypnotic, sultry, soul-infused new single titled Star 67. Jada Lee first exhibited an intense love for music at a very young age. Growing up in church gets some of the credit for her soulful vocals. Being part of the All-Shore and All-State choirs during her teenage […]

Paul Maged Returns With Latest EP, The Glass River Now Available

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 23, 2018 3:53 pm Tagged With: alternative rock, indie rock, New York City, Rock, singer, songwriter, United States

Paul Maged is no newbie to these pages. We have been supporting his work for quite some time. Paul is back with the second installment of his EP trilogy, The Glass River. Fueled with socially aware lyrical substance, unapologetic rock and roll and plenty of punk attitude, The Glass River tackles issues such as mass […]

The Regency Release Infectious New Dance Jam, Love Lately – Mass Transit Mix Also Available

by Joshua (J.Smo) Smotherman April 23, 2018 3:10 pm Tagged With: dance, edm, Electronic, Pop

In case you need a refresher, we’ve featured music collective The Regency before. -Be sure to check out this previous feature article as well as my interview with member Robert Smith. The collective’s newest release, Love Lately, is a highly infectious and equally highly danceable, acoustic guitar driven single which gradually builds into an electro-infused […]