Chas Smith (AKA Charles Vincent Smith) (1957 - 2007) was an author, musician, radio personality, and a Cleveland State University music instructor.

Biography

Smith taught and explored the cultural aspects of American Roots music for over twenty years. He held both a Bachelor’s and a master's degree in music from Cleveland State University, where he offered “The Roots of Rock and Soul”, a class on American rock music and its roots, and he taught basic music composition to little kids through a program with the Cleveland Opera as a music mentor in grade schools. Smith sang and played keyboards, bass guitar, and

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

for over 30 years in many different genres. He was in The Clocks (AKA Radio Alarm Clocks), a popular Cleveland punk band in the late 1970s and early '80s, then he was keyboardist for the latter-day version of

The Pagans The Pagans were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States, that was originally active from 1977 to 1979. They reformed several times, from 1982-1983, from 1986-1989 and again in 2014-2017. Along with fellow Cleveland band ...

. In 1993 he formed the band Einstein's Secret Orchestra (later called Einstein's Secret Outlaws), voted Best Electronic/Instrumental Band at the

Cleveland Free Times The ''Cleveland Free Times'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. Its first issue was published on September 30, 1992. The ''Free Times'' and '' Cleveland Scene'', a competing weekly paper, were purchased by Times-Shamrock Co ...

Music Awards in 2001, and produced two CDs of ESO's music, with others produced by the SubGenius Foundation. He also toured with

Cobra Verde ''Cobra Verde'' (also known as ''Slave Coast'') is a 1987 German drama film directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski, in their fifth and final collaboration. Based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel '' The Viceroy of Ouidah'', the film d ...

as keyboardist from 1997 through the early 2000s, and played with the country-blues Americana band The Fullbrights. He and the band ESO often appeared on stage with Rev.

Ivan Stang Ivan Stang (born Douglass St. Clair Smith; August 21, 1953) is an American writer, filmmaker and broadcaster, best known as the author and publisher of the first screed of the Church of the SubGenius. He is credited with founding the Church wi ...

of the

Church of the SubGenius The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubG ...

, and perform on several of their CDs and DVDs. He spent over 20 years creating soundscapes on his weekly ''SwampRadio ESO'' radio show at WCSB in Cleveland. He performed live on-the-air comedy with Brain Rot Theater on Swamp Radio, and with Rev. Ivan Stang and the cast of The Hour of Slack, the Church of the SubGenius syndicated radio show. He was a board member of A.C.E. and appeared at both the Starwood Festival

and the WinterStar Symposium, offering both performances and classes on music history and electronic trance music, and hosted a dance event within the Starwood Festival called the "Rumble in the Jungle". Smith died on October 16, 2007, after suffering a stroke complicated with pneumonia, and fighting a recurrent battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma due to complications from the HIV virus, eventually leading to auto immune deficiency syndrome. On Friday November 23, 2007 a tribute event called Chasfest: The Rumble in the Urban Jungle was held at the Beachland Ballroom in his honor. All proceeds went to his family to help defray medical bills. Feature performers included

, 14th Floor, Stardust Outlaws, The Fullbrights, Caelyn, the surviving members of Einstein's Secret Orchestra (including members from past incarnations of the group and Ron Slabe), a set by combined members of the bands

, The Clocks, and Venus Envy, a drum circle that included several members of the Association for Consciousness Exploration (who also contributed to the audio and provided video projection created by Rev. Ivan Stang of the Church of the SubGenius for the event), and a special guest appearance by Egyptian composer

Halim El-Dabh Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh ( ar, حليم عبد المسيح الضبع, ''Ḥalīm ʻAbd al-Masīḥ al-Ḍab''ʻ; March 4, 1921 – September 2, 2017) was an Egyptian-American composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who ha ...

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Bibliography

*''From

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

to the Moon: The Cultural Evolution of Rock Music'' (2001 Kendall-Hunt Publishing) , *''The Soul of Sunrise: Grassroots Music in America'' (2005 Kendall-Hunt Publishing) , *''Rumble in the Jungle: The Soul of Indigenous Music in the Americas'' (2007 Kendall-Hunt Publishing) ,

Discography

Albums

* ''The Pagans (the pink album)'' (1983) Terminal TERM - 7 (reissued in 1988 by Treehouse) (LP) * ''Wake Me When It's Over'' - Radio Alarm Clocks (1983) After Hours Records (LP) * ''Venus Envy'' - Venus Envy (1985) Herb Jackson Records * ''Live From Studio "A"'' - The Clocks * ''Circus Saints and Sinners'' - Fourteenth Floor - Synthetic Records * ''XX-Day '99'' - Rev. Ivan Stang & Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999) SubGenius Foundation * ''PufferDome Devival'' - Rev. Ivan Stang & Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999) SubGenius Foundation * ''Witch Disco'' - Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999) SwampRadio Records * ''Nightlife'' - Cobra Verde (1999) Motel * ''Sex in Another Dimension'' - Einstein's Secret Orchestra (2000) Swamp Music Records * ''ESO Swamp Radio / Hour of Slack Best of #1'' - Rev. Ivan Stang, Chas Smith & Lonesome Cowboy Dave DeLuca (2001) SubGenius Foundation

Video

* ''X-Day 1998'' - Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1998) (VHS) SubGenius Foundation * ''XX-Day '99'' - Rev. Ivan Stang & Einstein's Secret Orchestra (1999) (VHS) SubGenius Foundation * ''5 X-Day'' - Einstein's Secret Outlaws (2002) (DVD) SubGenius Foundation

References

Pictures of Chas Smith on SubGenius Website
* Huff, John ''12 Simple Rules for a Successful College Career'' - The Cleveland Stater * O'Connor, Clint ''Meet Prof. Rock'' - ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' July 2, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chas 1957 births 2007 deaths American SubGenii Musicians from Cleveland Deaths from pneumonia in Ohio