Paint Your Sky is an album from singer, songwriter and guitarist Mike Smith. The album draws significant inspiration from Bob Dylan’s famed Blood On The Tracks record. Just as Dylan had done in 1974, Mike looked to capture the feel of an unscripted performance by some outstanding session musicians. No rehearsals were carried out prior to the recording process, which took place over a period of eleven days in Austin, Texas. As Mike says, they were looking for “lightning in a bottle”.

The tracks for Paint Your Sky were written over six months, with the exception of A Year Of Crying which was one of Mike’s far earlier songs. Whilst out on tour, Mike met renowned Texas producer, guitarist, singer and songwriter Stephen Doster. After chatting to him about the album concept, Stephen offered to produce and perform on the album and with his help, some fantastic session musicians were pulled together to bring the project to life.

The musicians:

– Stephen Doster (Electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals)

Stephen was inducted into the Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame in 2016. Over a long and illustrious career, he has shared the stage with Joe Cocker, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Little Feat, and many, many more.

– Dony Wynn (Drums)

A great drummer with a long (and still on-going) career. He has performed frequently with the likes of Robert Plant, Dr. John, Brookes and Dunne and enjoyed a twenty-five-year stint with Robert Palmer.

– George Reiff (Bass guitar)

George was a much-loved bass player within Texas, but enjoyed a career stretching far beyond. His past credits include Joe Walsh, Jacob Dylan, Chris Robinson and The Dixie Chicks. Sadly, George passed away in May 2017.

– Kevin Lovejoy (Piano, Wurlitzer & Hammond)

An in-demand musician who has performed and recorded with John Mayer and Spoon.

About Mike:

Paint Your Sky, whilst being a dream-come-true recording for Mike, was not his first outing into the music scene. Somewhat of a late-bloomer, Mike married young and raised his kids whilst occasionally dabbling in music before choosing to take a bigger interest around ten years ago. He began writing and gigging far more frequently, releasing two EPs and an acoustic album. As for touring, Mike has been out to Germany, South Africa, Portugal and Estonia. He has played support slots for many familiar names, such as JJ Gilmore, Nick Harper, Sean Cannon, Jon Gomm, Glen Tilbrook, Henry Priestman, Tom Hingley and Bob Cheevers (Bob was also kind enough to put Mike up in his spare room for two weeks whilst Paint Your Sky was being recorded.)

Paint Your Sky is available now from Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play and Spotify.

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