Sycamore Smith is the
stage name of Marc Smith, a musician from
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...
. Smith, formerly of ''The Muldoons'', has toured the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
with his
comic brand of
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, complete with
derby hat
The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, and gold-plated resonator
kazoo
The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifie ...
. He is signed to the
Pentimento Music Company
Pentimento Music Company is an American independent record label founded by Streetlight Manifesto frontman Tomas Kalnoky. Pentimento was launched in 2007 to re-release '' A Call to Arms'', the 2002 debut EP from Bandits of the Acoustic Revolut ...
.
Though still little known outside of the
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
area, since his stint as lead singer of ''The Muldoons'', Smith has built a reputation as an accomplished
lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's incom ...
Smith writes folk songs in an old-fashioned, vaudevillian rural style; songs about heroes and swindlers where characters including Wolfskin Rosie, Legless Paul, and Bobo have adventures that are at times triumphant and other times melancholic. Sycamore uses his first name when referring to himself in his songs (as in ''The Razor Ball'').
Most recently, Smith appeared on an episode of The Happy Birthday Podcast in which he revealed that he would never change his birthday for anything in the whole world
Discography
*''Grosspapa'' (2017)
*''You By Me: Vol. 2 (with Toh Kay)'' (2014)
*''Sycotron (with Troy Graham)'' (2012)
*''Redux'' (2011)
*''Sickdom'' (2008)
*''Baboon'' (2007)
*''Sycamore Smith & The Pendulum'' (2006)
*''M...Some Racy Hits!'' (2005)
With The Gray Beast:
*''Demos'' (2015)
*''Syc Nurse (with Wett Nurse)'' (2013)
With The Redettes:
*''Ed'' (2011)
With The Muldoons:
*''You Are Lost & Gone Forever, Dreadful Sorry, the Muldoons'' (2004)
*''The Wreck of the Muldoons'' (2001)
*''Goodnight Muldoons, Goodnight Muldoons, I’ll See You In My Dreams'' (recorded in 1997, released in 2011)
*''DiM'' (1994)
*''New Low'' (1993)
Guest Appearances:
*''What Was That Sound?'' by Papa Crow (2012) (Song: Fart like a Pirate)
Compilations:
*''Snickers New Music Search 1990-1991 Presented By Campus Voice Semi Finalists'' (1991) (The Muldoons: Rot)
*''Misery Sessions Vol. 1'' (1994) (The Muldoons: In Something)
*''Misery Sessions Vol. 2'' (1995) (The Muldoons: All Fours)
*''Misery Sessions Vol. 3'' (1996) (The Muldoons: Remote)
*''Misery Four'' (1997) (The Muldoons: Every Single Last One)
*''Misery 5'' (2003) (The Muldoons: Shanty-Town Lullaby)
*''Pentimento Music Company Summer/Fall 2011 Sampler'' (2011) (The Man with the Skeleton Arms) & (The Reaper's Favor)
*''Isolated Culture Vol. 1'' (2013) (The Gray Beast: The Figmoron Tree)
External links
SycamoreSmith.com MySpace page on Sycamore SmithSycamore Smith's old band The MuldoonsMetroTimes article
American folk musicians
Musicians from Michigan
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{US-musician-stub