In between records with Sonny Smith's band the Sunsets, who just released the excellent Antenna to the Afterworld, he has kept up a steady stream of new material via his 100 Records art project. But in a recent interview with Exclaim!, Smith revealed that Volume 3, which dropped in January, will be the final instalment in the series.
"I think it's pretty much wrapped up," he says. "It's time to move on."
For the project, Smith wrote, recorded and packaged music for a series of fictional artists he'd created; he penned two hundred songs in total. "I would just come up with a character and start making a song at home on the piano and then realize that [it was] a country-ish waltz," he says. "I would kind of assign it to a character or fictional band."
The songs were pressed onto 100 7-inch records, each with unique cover art from a collection of visual artists, and placed in a working jukebox. The final product was presented as Smith's first solo show at Gallery 16 in San Francisco back in 2010.
"It was the greatest project I've ever done and I 'm really glad that I was able to meet all these artists that contributed," he says. "But you don't want to be no Star Wars 9."
Still, he hasn't shut the door entirely on future releases related to the project. "I'd like to see an all-inclusive book of all the bios and art as one of those cool coffee table books. But I'm not gonna dedicate the next two years of my life to making that book."
In the meantime, you can catch Smith with the Sunsets on tour supporting Antenna to the Afterworld, which is out now on Polyvinyl. Find the dates below.
Tour dates:
7/12 Oakland, CA – The New Parish
7/13 Sacramenton, CA – Central City
7/24 Visalia, CA – The Cellar Door
7/25 San Diego, CA – Casbah
7/26 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
7/27 Ventura, CA – Zoeys
9/5 Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl
9/6 Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
9/7 Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
"I think it's pretty much wrapped up," he says. "It's time to move on."
For the project, Smith wrote, recorded and packaged music for a series of fictional artists he'd created; he penned two hundred songs in total. "I would just come up with a character and start making a song at home on the piano and then realize that [it was] a country-ish waltz," he says. "I would kind of assign it to a character or fictional band."
The songs were pressed onto 100 7-inch records, each with unique cover art from a collection of visual artists, and placed in a working jukebox. The final product was presented as Smith's first solo show at Gallery 16 in San Francisco back in 2010.
"It was the greatest project I've ever done and I 'm really glad that I was able to meet all these artists that contributed," he says. "But you don't want to be no Star Wars 9."
Still, he hasn't shut the door entirely on future releases related to the project. "I'd like to see an all-inclusive book of all the bios and art as one of those cool coffee table books. But I'm not gonna dedicate the next two years of my life to making that book."
In the meantime, you can catch Smith with the Sunsets on tour supporting Antenna to the Afterworld, which is out now on Polyvinyl. Find the dates below.
Tour dates:
7/12 Oakland, CA – The New Parish
7/13 Sacramenton, CA – Central City
7/24 Visalia, CA – The Cellar Door
7/25 San Diego, CA – Casbah
7/26 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
7/27 Ventura, CA – Zoeys
9/5 Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl
9/6 Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
9/7 Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
