(Thee) Jeff Smith is a rock’n’roller for life. Having started a band called The Dwarves (not the SF punk legends) in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 14 he has continued to write, record, play and promote music for over four decades. In February 2017 Smith’s first act to play original tunes during his high school days, The Smart Dads, was honored with a vinyl reissue of their 1982 cassette-only release ‘Bummer Summer’ via New York City’s Radio Raheem Records.
There have been fits and starts and the usual substance abuse related detours along the way. Having returned to San Antonio in 2002 after two decades in Austin, Smith launched his current label Saustex Records in 2003 and has since issued over one hundred releases by artists as diverse as Javier Escovedo, Blowfly, Piñata Protest, The Upper Crust and BP Fallon in addition to many lesser known local, regional and international acts and his own band, the long running Hickoids.
Hickoids played their debut show at the long defunct and now demolished Villa Fontana in S.A. opening for Black Flag and the Meat Puppets in 1984. Hickoids were named “Best Country Band” in the 1986 Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll and are widely cited as one of the originators and earliest practitioners of the “cowpunk” genre. After releasing several records for a variety of labels in the US and Europe the band broke up in 1991. Since reforming in 2008, Smith and the Hickoids have played well over 750 shows in over 20 US states (including Alaska), 10 European countries and Canada and were inducted to the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2014. The band, label and Smith also host the annual mini-festival The Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta. Coming up on its fourteenth edition in 2023, Smith has previously programmed an array of acts including the Old 97’s, Wreckless Eric, Mike Watt, Hamell on Trial and David Yow alongside local and label acts.
One of Smith’s other missions along the way since 2005 has been to up the profile of San Antonio music by presenting over a dozen official and unofficial showcases at South By Southwest featuring S.A. artists, and, his work with Tex Pop, a local non-profit music museum and archive that works to preserve and spotlight the Alamo City’s musical history. Additionally, Smith is a board member and fundraiser of/for The High Voltage Music Program, another local non-profit that provides free after school music instruction in low-income areas of S.A.
In March 2022 – Smith opened “The Corn Pound” – a modest arts complex on San Antonio’s northeast side that features the Flagship Records store, vintage store, three hourly rehearsal rooms and the Jet Bass recording studio (named in honor of his late musician brother Barry Smith), as well as offices of the aforementioned Tex Pop, High Voltage and Saustex Records.
Now, on the eve of his 60th birthday in late 2023 Smith endeavors to begin a “solo” recording career as “Thee Jeff Smith”, concentrating on material developed over the past couple of years that he feels will work better outside the context of the Hickoids.
With a list of accomplishments and failures too extensive to list here, Smith remains one of the staunchest champions of what he considers “true rock’n’roll”, favoring soul, chops and panache over hyperbolic bios and social media numbers. He is not famous, is not worried about it, and, has no plans to quit.
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