Hear! Hear! Let the word go forth: Lenny Smith’s new album of songs to the Maker of the Universe is now being mixed in a secret place in South Jersey, in a garage studio between a tomato farm and an asparagus field. The album will be released prior to another exciting event : a worship conference in October in South Philly. Details to follow!
On Tuesday, 7 February, Lenny Smith and Half-handed Cloud will be play at Frankford and Norris. Doors at 7pm, prompt start at 7:30 to be over by 9pm. Lenny Smith is a grandfatherly free-spirit who famously wrote the Christian worship song “Our God Reigns” (yeah, his version is much better). Lenny also gave birth to Daniel Smith and the rest of the Danielson Famile who carry on in their father’s footsteps. He has released an album on his son’s Sounds Familyre label and also runs Great Comfort records with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law.
Lenny Smith “My Teeth Are Shinin’ Today” Video
Half-handed Cloud (John Ringhoffer) was the first recording artist after Sufjan Stevens to release an album on Asthmatic Kitty Records. A trombonist since the age of ten, Ringhofer picked up the guitar as a teenager while recovering from toe surgery. This same musical destiny propelled him to ask and answer such musical questions as, “What does an air conditioner sound like backwards?” Watching the artist equip himself with the sounds of a 1960’s era Sears particleboard guitar, air organ, chattering dolls, stomping on the kitchen floor, and various sixties-pop influences, one may begin to perceive an invisible pattern in the songster’s art deco rug. If such inspired titles such as, “Tanning Beds to Shine Your Love,” “Holy Pouch Shoe Guidance,” and “If Before We Were Coughing,” suggest many questions, the songs themselves take a humble and hilarious stab at providing the answers.Surely a cause for rejoicing, fans of Half-handed Cloud will make a joyful noise in the style of the artist’s songwriting: dazzlingly sweet, and dizzyingly short.Aside from his Asthmatic Kitty albums, Half-handed Cloud has had multiple EP releases, cassettes, compilation tracks, and singles on various record labels over the past decade. He has just released the DOVE one-sided LP on Burnt Toast Vinyl. He is returning home from several months abroad in Europe with his wife and will be touring back to California.
http://asthmatickitty.com/half-handed-cloud
http://www.halfhandedcloud.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97mKknpWOjQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flgl1ep4UMM
Pay as you can, suggested donation of $5 to $10 sliding scale. John and Lenny will make you smile and bring you great joy. Don’t let money prevent you from coming!