Listener (band) explained

Listener
Background:group_or_band
Landscape:yes
Origin:Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States
Years Active:2002–present
Label:Tangled Talk, Sincere, Homemade Genius, Broken Circles, Mush
Associated Acts:Deepspace5, Labklik, The Chariot
Current Members:Dan Smith
Jon Terrey
Kris Rochelle
Tim Stickrod
Past Members:Andrew Gibbens
Caleb Clendenen
Erik Olsen
Kristen Smith
Wolfgang Robinson
Christin Nelson

Listener is an American spoken word rock band from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Originally a hip hop project by Dan Smith, who used the moniker "Listener", it soon evolved into a full-fledged rock band. The current lineup consists of Smith as vocalist, trumpeter, and bassist together with guitarist Jon Terrey and drummer Kris Rochelle.[1]

History

Listener originally started as a solo underground hip hop project of vocalist Dan Smith beginning with the commercial release of the album Whispermoon on Mush Records in 2003.[2] He has also contributed to several collaborative albums with the groups Deepspace5 and Labklik,[3] both of which he is a founding member of.[4]

With his second release Ozark Empire in 2005, Smith began his first "Tour of Homes". This consisted almost entirely of traveling from home to home around the United States (the European leg of the tour was titled the "European Tour of Homes") in a grassroots style of touring. The European leg consisted more of performing in standard live music venues as well as houses, coffee shops, art galleries and warehouses.[5] It was also during this period that Smith invited drummer Andrew Gibbens and guitarist Erik Olsen to join him on tour, thus starting the transition away from traditional hip-hop performances toward a live band format. Gibbens and Olsen remained until they departed the band in December 2006. Regardless of using the name Listener for his solo work, Smith decided to continue using the name as the project developed into a live band.[6]

It was during the Tour of Homes in 2005 that Smith met musician Christin Nelson at a house show in Las Vegas, Nevada. After finding out that Nelson played drums, Smith asked him to join the group in June 2007 and the band released the album Return to Struggleville.[1] [7]

After a year and a half of touring, Listener released their third studio album, Wooden Heart, in July 2010. Later that year after being introduced to the band The Chariot, Smith was asked to collaborate on the song "David De La Hoz" on the album Long Live,[8] which released in November 2010.

Listener has since released two LPs: 2013's Time Is a Machine and a concept album in 2018 exploring the lives of famed inventors like Nikola Tesla and Robert Oppenheimer entitled Being Empty : Being Filled.[9]

Smith now also works as a talk therapist in Kansas City, Missouri.[10] [11]

Members

Current members
Former members

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Music Videos

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mavericks. https://archive.today/20130629123744/http://www.inlander.com/spokane/article-18919-mavericks.html. dead. June 29, 2013. The Pacific Northwest Inlander. Azaria. Podplesky. January 29, 2013. April 26, 2013.
  2. Web site: Listener: Whispermoon. Rollie. Pemberton. Pitchfork Media. November 20, 2003.
  3. Web site: Listener - Whispermoon. Dusted Magazine. Brian. Ho. October 2, 2003. July 21, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210102458/http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1037. December 10, 2017. dead.
  4. Web site: The Listener - Whispermoon. https://archive.today/20130721233910/http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/HipHop/listener-whispermoon. dead. 2013-07-21. Exclaim!. Thomas. Quinlan. September 2003.
  5. Web site: Show history. Listener. Listener. March 12, 2007. April 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120406132917/http://iamlistener.com/listener/oldshows_list.html. April 6, 2012. dead.
  6. Web site: Interview with: Dan Smith of Listener. The Blue Indian. Jordan. Welsh. November 8, 2011. April 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120608050022/http://www.theblueindian.com/interviews/interview-with-dan-smith-of-listener/. June 8, 2012. dead.
  7. Web site: Listener interview with Dan Smith. Enoch Magazine. Brandon. June 2011. April 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120709162519/http://www.enochmagazine.com/articles/band-interviews/listener-interview-with-dan-smith. July 9, 2012. dead.
  8. Web site: Artist Interview: Dan Smith of Listener. The Grace Notes. Joshua. Hedlund. January 15, 2011. April 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130425102319/http://thegracenotes.net/2011/01/15/artist-interview-dan-smith-of-listener/. April 25, 2013. dead.
  9. Web site: Listener's Apple Music page . . . 1 July 2024.
  10. Web site: https://theworktalktherapy.com/ . The Work Talk Therapy . 1 July 2024.
  11. Web site: Dan Smith's Instagram . . 1 July 2024.

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