Prime Time Live

It's hard to imagine that a performer as charismatic as Meaghan Smith would have ever suffered from stage fright. The London, Ontario born animator-turned-musician explains, "I've wanted to be a singer my whole life! But I was really painfully shy." Overcoming that shyness, which originally led her to pursue her other passion of visual art over music, has allowed Smith to spread her wings and really see what she can accomplish.

Smith started off by playing secret concerts at her place of employment in Halifax, Nova Scotia for her co-workers, and this helped her to overcome stage fright. "I think I got to a point where I realized that if I wanted to try being a musician, I had to either go for it, or forget that dream forever.... I wasn't ready to let go of it," she muses.

Calling her sound "Modern Vintage", Smith's debut full-length album The Crickets Orchestra presents itself as step into the past, while simultaneously utilizing modern day sentiment and avant garde creativity to maintain contemporary relevance. Though, for the most part, it is an homage to the golden age of jazz. Smith explains, "That era to me, just feels so classic. I love knowing that musicians back then really knew their stuff... It was also a time where everything cliche wasn't cliche yet, which intrigues me."

In order to avoid replicating music that has already been done, Smith has put her own spin on this vintage sound. Utilizing samples, sound effects and DJ scratching, provided by DJ Koala, Smith's modern vintage contains a sense of whimsy that constantly keeps listeners on their toes. One notable addition, recalls Smith, was her father, Leslie Smith's, whistling solo on the track "I Know." "He did four or five immaculate takes of the most amazing whistling in the world." Smith exclaims, "He's the best!" 

 Another important contributor to Smith's music is her husband, Jason Mingo, who not only supports her emotionally, but is also a member of her band. About working so closely with her spouse, Smith could not be happier. "If he wasn't my hubby I would still hire him. He's organized, on time, professional, a wicked player and fun to be around. Top that off with being the sweetest guy in my world and someone I love to be around. How could I not hire him?... There's absolutely no drama to report here!"

Smith's career planted its roots in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she worked as an animator before making the shift towards music. Like most things, Smith has only positive things to say about Halifax as her musical nest. "The amazing thing about Halifax is that they want you to succeed, and they care. So even when I sucked all those years at open mics as I was trying to get over my stage fright, people were cheering me on... I will always be grateful and indebted to Halifax."  

And with the stage fright and first album jitters out of the way, Smith looks forward to her new material with enthusiasm, "I'm actually in the process of working on new stuff for the next record--if you can believe it! I know myself better. I know my sound. I know what I'm going for.... I am going to push the envelope with this next record."  

But for Smith, it is, at the end of the day about "making the best music [she] can."  

"I hope people get taken away into my music. I hope it makes them feel things-- good things. Love, peace, excitement, joy, humour. I hope my music makes people happy."  

Meaghan Smith will be performing at Lilith Fair among several showdates in the coming year. For more information on where you can see Meaghan Smith live, please visit her website at www.meaghansmith.com .  

The Crickets Orchestra is available at all major retailers and on iTunes.  

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