In these challenging times, NYC based singer-songwriter AJ Smith is looking to bring listeners together in a common love of music. ‘Billy Joel’, Smith’s new single, is about coming together after a fight or argument, listening to that song, and starting over.
As somebody who grew up as a Colorado/Maryland/Virginia kid who didn’t really identify with any one hometown and moved to New York to pursue a dream of being a professional musician, AJ Smith was taken aback when a few weeks into dating his girlfriend, she invited him to her mom’s for dinner to “meet the family.” On the train to see them, she gave him the run-down: “They’re super Italian and super Long Island. They love wine, The Mets, and Billy Joel.”
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After dinner, his girlfriend’s brother started the momentum when he asked AJ whether or not he knew any Billy Joel. After playing some deep cuts at the piano, AJ’s eyes were opened; he noticed just how much his girlfriend and her family were connected by their mutual love for Billy Joel and his music. Everyone has that favorite song or artist who elevates their mood when they’re feeling down. As an artist, AJ hopes to be that for people myself in his writing. ‘Vienna’ – the ‘77 Billy Joel b-side -is that special song for Brianna (AJ’s girlfriend) and is the inspiration for the new single, appropriately named after the hero of Long Island himself, ‘Billy Joel.’
ABOUT AJ SMITH
NYC-based songwriter and artist AJ Smith writes with such emotional honesty and clarity, that you can’t help but get goosebumps listening to his music. The unique qualities and power of his voice turn his nostalgia into your memories, his triumphs into your successes, and his heartbreak into your own loss.
His unique pop sound is an effectively orchestrated blend of acoustic and electronic instruments: both raw and refined, featuring beautifully patient builds, builds, mesmerizingly unforgettable melodies, and emotionally compelling lyrics. His compelling sound helped secure Smith collaborations with GRAMMY-winner producer Scott Jacoby (John Legend, Vampire Weekend) for his 2016 single & EP ‘Brooklyn Nights’, which received airplay on Z100, Eagle 97.7 and DC101 (where DJ Mike Jones compared the track to fun.’s ‘We Are Young’). He has opened for Lindsey Stirling and Emily Kinney, and performed at Milwaukee Summerfest and Bethlehem MusikFest.
AJ Smith’s inspiration is drawn from his unconventional path as a songwriter, one that has seen him serve as a Young Associate Violinist to the National Symphony Orchestra while simultaneously serving as an Engineer and Infrared Systems Developer for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Never shy about seizing opportunities or facing challenges, Smith’s diverse passions and healthy obsessions led him on a genre-crossing journey.
Now nearly 2,000 miles away from where his musical journey began, Smith makes his home in a city with a different sort of breathtaking view – New York. His continued wiz-kid love of technology that once had him building infrared sensors for the U.S. Navy now enables him to build out custom rigs for his one-man live shows that are a spectacle of showmanship, featuring Smith on a revolving multitude of instruments all at once. Be sure to stay in touch to see Smith’s next live show!
AJ SMITH
